Topic
AI Models, agents, assistants and what they actually do for a small company.
Living page · How updates work
Where things stand Models, assistants and agents from Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, covered for what they do in a 10-to-50-person office. Business seats now cost about $20 to $25 a user a month, and agents add usage charges. We report what changed, what it costs, and the one or two jobs where it actually saves hours. We skip benchmark races and launch-day demos that will not survive contact with your customer list.
Timeline Nothing filed here yet.
What to watch
Seat prices and usage credits on ChatGPT Business, Claude Team and Copilot Business.
Agent features that act in your accounts, and whether you can keep approvals on.
FTC action on AI marketing claims aimed at small businesses.
Explainers Oct 5, 2026 Anthropic and OpenAI now sell agents that log into your tools and do multi step work. Here is what that means for an owner, with the hours and dollars.
Carter Josephson
✓ Try it
Oct 5, 2026 Three kinds of tool, three price models, three ways to fail. If you can draw the job as a flowchart, you want an automation, not an agent.
Carter Josephson
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Oct 5, 2026 H.R. 5764 would add AI guidance and training to what Small Business Development Centers already do for free. It adds no grants, no tax credits, no new rules…
Carter Josephson
◷ Wait
Oct 5, 2026 Before you buy an AI answering add on, count your missed calls. For a 14 tech shop, 22 lost jobs a month at a $450 ticket is about $9,900. The add on is $29…
Carter Josephson
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Oct 5, 2026 AI phone answering is now an add on in Jobber and a standalone product from Smith.ai and Goodcall. Here are the published prices, the receptionist wage they…
Ben
? Ask your vendor
Oct 5, 2026 ChatGPT Business lists at $20 per user per month billed annually. Enterprise is quote only. For a 20 person company the real question is how many of the 20…
Ben
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Oct 5, 2026 Customers now ask ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode for a plumber or a CPA. Nobody can buy a slot in those answers. Here is what decides them, and a checklist an…
Carter Josephson
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Oct 5, 2026 Copilot Business is Microsoft's small business version of Copilot. It lists at $21 per user per month on a one year commitment. Here is what it does and how…
Carter Josephson
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Oct 5, 2026 Claude is Anthropic's AI assistant. Since May 2026 it connects to QuickBooks, HubSpot and Microsoft 365. Here is who in your office should get a seat, and who…
Carter Josephson
✓ Try it