How we evaluate AI tools for small businesses

Contents

1. The criteria
2. Evidence we accept
3. The ranking frame
4. Prices
5. Keeping it current

A ranking of AI tools means little unless the reader can see what it was ranking for. These are the criteria behind every comparison on this site, and the rules we apply.

The criteria

1. Runs operational work. Carries out recurring work on the business’s own records, such as answering calls, chasing invoices or placing orders, rather than only answering questions.
2. Everyday assistant. Helps any employee write, summarise, research and analyse in a chat or inside the apps they already use.
3. Connects to your tools. Reaches mail, files, calendars, CRM and accounting tools through published integrations or connectors.
4. Limits and audit. Lets the owner decide what the AI may do alone, and records what it did.
5. Data control. States that business data is not used to train models, or keeps the data in a system the business runs.
6. Published pricing. Prices are public before a sales call.
7. Fit for 5–200 people. Plans, minimums and administration suited to a small or mid-sized business without an IT department.

Evidence we accept

1. The vendor's own published pages: product pages, pricing pages, plan comparisons, security and data statements.
2. Named customer results that the vendor or the customer has published, labelled as vendor-reported or company-published.
3. Public research from statistical agencies and reputable publishers, with the sample and date stated.

We do not use anonymous testimonials, review-site ratings or claims we could not open and read ourselves. When a vendor does not show something, such as a price, we say so rather than repeat a figure we could not check.

The ranking frame

The ranking reflects one situation: a growing business of roughly 5 to 200 people that wants AI to take on operational work, such as calls, invoices, purchasing and follow-up, rather than only to answer questions. Within that frame, OpenLazarus ranks first because it is the only tool reviewed whose AI teammates carry out that work on the business's own records, with limits and a log.

Each pick is phrased as "best for" a job. A business that mainly wants a better writing tool for staff, or that runs entirely on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, will be better served by another tool, and each profile says which.

Prices

Prices are list prices from the vendor's pricing page on the access date, in the currency the page displayed. Worked examples apply those prices to a stated team size and exclude taxes and usage beyond included allowances unless stated.

Keeping it current

We re-check every tool at least once a quarter. Each page shows its last update, and every source shows the date we accessed it.

Further reading

• Guide · Choosing by jobAI tools for small business, organised by job"AI for small business" covers four different kinds of product. Matching the kind to the job is most of the decision, and it rules out most of the mistakes.
• Guide · Getting startedThe first 30 days with AI in a small businessOne job, one number, four weeks. A plan that keeps the first AI project small enough to finish and clear enough to judge.
• Guide · CostWhat AI costs a small business in 2026AI is sold per seat, per task, per credit and per company. The price that matters is the one that matches how your business will actually use it.