AI tools for small shops, minus the hype

Most of what you read about AI for small business is either fear or fantasy. This is neither. This is what the AI tools in the toolbox do, what they do not do, and what one credit gets you.

The toolbox has three AI tools right now.

Since this was written, the Customer Reply Generator and the Product Listing Writer have joined the toolbox.

The image prompt generator

You describe the picture you want, and it turns your description into a prompt you can paste into an image tool. Handy for product shots you cannot stage, listing photos, banners.

The review response generator

You paste a customer review and it writes replies that thank the customer and move any fix to a private message. Handy for the reviews you would rather not answer yourself.

The AI image studio

You describe the image you want, or upload a photo of your own product, and it generates the picture. Then you keep editing it in plain words until it is right. This one works differently from the rest: it costs 5 credits per image, whether you create one or change one.

All three work the same way. You type in plain words, they write out the result, you copy it. Most runs cost one credit, and the AI Image Studio is 5 credits per image, created or changed. Credits come in packs and never expire, and the cost is shown on each tool before you use it.

Now the part nobody puts in the ad. AI does not know your product better than you do. It will not get your measurements right if you do not type them in, and it can invent details when you leave gaps. Read what it writes before you use it. That is not a bug, it is the nature of the tool.

What AI is good at: the first draft, the blank page, the tenth name when you are stuck on nine. What it is not good at: being you. The tools handle the blank page. You handle the rest.

The tools are in the toolbox. Each one shows its cost before you use it, and your balance is always visible in the header, so there are no surprises.