10 Ways Businesses Use AI to Save Time (With Help from a Virtual Assistant!)

Running a business means you’re the CEO… and the head of everything—but what if you could work smarter, not harder? With AI powerhouses like ChatGPT and a savvy virtual assistant by your side, you’ll reclaim more hours and focus on the fun part: growing your business.

Below are 10 creative ways businesses use AI (and a VA) to save time and stay ahead—each packed with hands-on examples, multiple AI software recommendations, and over 20 resourceful links for inspiration, automation, and practical application.

1. Drafting Emails and Replies

No more blank-screen anxiety!

• ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copy.ai can instantly draft email templates for sales outreach, follow-ups, or customer service.

  • ChatGPT Email Writing

  • Jasper Templates

  • Copy.ai Cold Emails

• Your VA tweaks tone, personalizes content, and schedules messages in Gmail, Outlook, or Spark.

2. Creating Blog Content

Keep your blog buzzing without the time drain.

• Pair your VA with AI like Writesonic or SurferSEO to generate outlines, SEO-ready drafts, and posts:

  • Writesonic AI Blog Writer

  • SurferSEO Content Editor

  • Content at Scale

• VAs manage uploads on WordPress (WordPress Blog) or Squarespace (Squarespace Blog).

3. Generating Social Media Captions

Stand out in the feed in seconds!

• Lately.ai, Buffer’s AI Assistant, and Hootsuite OwlyWriter generate punchy, on-brand captions:

  • Lately.ai Social Posting

  • Buffer AI Tools

  • Hootsuite OwlyWriter

• VAs batch schedule via Later or Meta Business Suite.

4. Answering FAQs

Consistency is key!

• Use ChatGPT and HelpScout’s AI for quick, accurate responses:

  • HelpScout AI

  • Zendesk Answer Bot

• VAs build a “FAQ vault” in Notion or Google Docs.

5. Preparing Client Proposals

Win more business—fast.

• Draft proposals with Tome AI or Proposify AI:

  • Tome AI Presentations

  • Proposify AI

• VA polishes, formats, and sends via DocuSign for e-signatures.

6. Research Summaries

Stay informed, automatically!

• Tools like Consensus and Genei synthesize reports and trends:

  • Consensus AI Research

  • Genei Summarization

  • Feedly AI

• VAs organize findings in Airtable or ClickUp Docs.

7. Creating SOPs

Scale like a pro with step-by-step guides!

• Scribe and Trainual use AI to turn workflows into SOPs:

  • Scribe Instructions

  • Trainual SOP Builder

• VAs edit and store in Google Drive or Notion.

8. Brainstorming Marketing Ideas

Ready, set, innovate!

• Unleash creativity with MindMeister AI, ChatGPT, or CopyMonkey:

  • MindMeister AI

  • CopyMonkey for Amazon

• VAs develop plans in Trello or Monday.com.

9. Writing Product Descriptions

Seduce shoppers in a scroll!

• Copysmith and AdZis create irresistible, SEO-optimized product blurbs:

  • Copysmith Product Description Tool

  • AdZis AI Product Catalog

  • Shopify Magic

• VAs integrate updates in your Shopify or Etsy stores.

10. Generating Customer Surveys

Boost feedback, effortlessly.

• Tap Typeform’s AI or SurveyMonkey Genius for brilliant survey questions:

  • Typeform AI

  • SurveyMonkey Genius

• VAs deploy and analyze results with Google Forms.

Bonus Tools to Turbocharge Your Productivity

• Otter.ai – AI meeting transcriptions.

• Descript – Podcast/video edits with AI.

• Zapier AI – Automate workflows between all your AI tools.

Ready to Free Up Your Schedule?

Mixing AI programs like ChatGPT, Jasper, Writesonic, SurferSEO, Scribe, Copysmith, MindMeister, and more with a proactive VA delivers results—and time back in your day! Try these 10 strategies, click through the tools above, and enjoy working on what matters most: growing your business and crushing your goals.