The 20 best AI tools for SMEs: what each one does

Twenty AI tools a Dutch SME can actually use, with what each one is good at, who it suits and what to watch for. We deliberately leave out prices and time savings per tool: they change every few months and depend on how you work. Check the current price with the vendor before you choose.

How is this list put together?

Each tool is here for one reason: it does something an SME needs every day. We looked at what the tool does, whether it connects with software that is widely used in the Netherlands (Exact Online, AFAS, HubSpot, Microsoft 365) and what you need to arrange around privacy. This is not a test with measured results. It is a map of what exists, so you know sooner where to look.

A tool is not a solution to a process. If you start with the tool, you often buy something that does not fit. Start with the work you want to take over, and only then choose.

Which general AI assistants are there?

1. ChatGPT (OpenAI)

Writes, summarises, analyses text and data and thinks along. The best-known assistant and widely usable. Suits anyone who wants to speed up individual tasks: an email, a summary, a first draft. Watch for: with the free and personal versions, what you enter can be used for training. For company data, choose a business plan and check the privacy settings. See also ChatGPT and the GDPR.

2. Microsoft Copilot

Sits in Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and SharePoint. The advantage is that you do not set up a new environment: it works in the tools your team already uses. Suits companies that run entirely on Microsoft 365. Watch for: it is an extra licence per user, and the quality depends on how well your files and permissions in SharePoint are organised.

3. Claude (Anthropic)

Strong with long documents, contracts, reports and programming. Reads a stack of documents at once and gives a coherent answer. Suits work where you have to digest a lot of text. Watch for: here too, arrange business use separately. A comparison with the two above is in ChatGPT, Copilot or Claude.

4. Google Gemini

Sits in Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet) and works as a standalone assistant. Suits companies that work on Google. Watch for: as with Copilot, your Workspace plan decides which functions you get. More in Google Gemini for SMEs.

5. Perplexity

A search assistant that gives answers with sources. Suits market research, looking up regulations and getting up to speed on a topic quickly. Watch for: check the source behind an answer yourself before you use it in a quote or advice.

Which tools automate work between systems?

6. Zapier

Connects apps without code: when something happens in one system, an action follows in another. With AI steps you can also have texts assessed or summarised. Suits simple trigger-and-action processes. Watch for: as soon as a process branches or is error-prone, a Zap quickly becomes hard to follow.

7. Make (formerly Integromat)

Does the same as Zapier, but with a visual diagram in which you can draw branches and loops. Suits processes with more steps. Watch for: the learning curve is steeper, and someone has to maintain it.

8. n8n

An open-source alternative that you can host yourself. Suits companies that want to keep their data in their own hands or have a lot of volume. Watch for: hosting it yourself means securing, updating and monitoring it yourself. More on choosing between these three in an integration layer for your systems.

9. HubSpot AI

AI functions in a CRM: drafting emails, summarising conversations, scoring leads. Suits teams that already use HubSpot. Watch for: the functions come with certain plans, and the quality stands or falls with how clean your CRM data is. That is often the first thing to tidy up: see data foundation.

10. Notion AI

Searches, summarises and writes in your Notion workspace: notes, projects, internal knowledge. Suits teams that keep their knowledge in Notion. Watch for: it is only as good as the order you have put in yourself.

Which tools help with writing and marketing?

11. Grammarly

Checks and improves what you write in your browser, email and documents. Suits people who write a lot in English. Watch for: check whether the support for Dutch is enough for what you need before you roll it out.

12. Jasper

A writing tool for marketing teams, with brand voice and templates for common texts. Suits teams that produce a lot of content and want to keep it consistent. Watch for: a general assistant does part of this too. See first whether you already get there with that.

13. Surfer SEO

Analyses what the best-scoring pages contain and gives guidelines for your own text. Suits anyone who structurally drives search traffic. Watch for: guidelines are no guarantee of a ranking. A good text remains the starting point.

14. Canva (Magic Studio)

Designs posts, presentations and documents with AI help, including for text and images. Suits SME teams without a dedicated designer. Watch for: keep your house style in a brand kit, otherwise everyone drifts their own way.

Which tools do you use for meetings, video and images?

15. Fireflies

Records meetings, transcribes them and makes a summary with action points. Suits teams with a lot of meetings. Watch for: always say that you are recording, and check where the recordings are stored. Client conversations often contain personal data.

16. Otter

The same goal, with live transcription during the conversation. Suits people who want to read along right away. Watch for: the same points about consent and storage. Also check how well the tool recognises Dutch.

17. Loom

Records your screen and voice as a short video, for example to explain something without a meeting. Suits explanation and handover within teams. Watch for: videos with client data do not belong behind a public link.

18. Synthesia

Makes videos with an AI presenter from a text. Suits training and explainer videos where recording is too much hassle. Watch for: for client contact an avatar quickly feels impersonal. Use it where the content matters, not the person.

19. Beautiful.ai

Turns content into a formatted presentation with automatic layout. Suits people who make decks often and do not want to spend hours on it. Watch for: always look at the result yourself, because a nice slide can still contain a wrong claim.

20. Midjourney

Makes images from a description. Suits imagery for campaigns and presentations. Watch for: the rights and origin of generated images are not clear everywhere in legal terms. Do not use it for anything where you need a clear licence.

What is the difference with your own AI agent?

All the tools above do a task for one person or one system. An AI agent does a whole process across several systems: it reads the invoice from the email, matches it to the purchase order in Exact Online, prepares what differs and books it after your check. The agent prepares, you check. That is what we build, and you only need it when a tool no longer covers the work. Sometimes that is never. Read what an AI agent is and which types there are, and what an AI agent costs.

How do you choose the right tool?

Step 1: decide what you want to take over

Write down one process that takes time and comes back often. Without that you choose by name. An AI scan with the UnifyAI Agent helps you lay that out in a few questions.

Step 2: test before you buy

Try one tool on one task, with your own examples. Many vendors have a trial period.

Step 3: look at the connections

A tool that does not talk to your accounting, CRM or mail becomes an island. Check that beforehand, not after buying.

Step 4: check GDPR and data processing

Know where your data is processed, whether there is a data processing agreement and whether input is used for training. See AI and the GDPR.

Step 5: plan training and adoption

A tool nobody uses saves nothing. Agree who uses what and who checks. More on this under AI adoption.

What mistakes do companies make when choosing AI tools?

• Too many tools at once. Start with one or two, and add more when those work.
• Not looking at connections. A tool without a connection to your core systems costs manual work.
• Underestimating the subscription. Per-user licences add up fast. Calculate with your real team size.
• Forgetting the team. Without explanation and agreements it stays with a few enthusiasts.

Which tool fits my company size?

A freelancer or small team gets a long way with one general assistant and a tool for presentations or images. Around ten to fifty people, connections and permissions start to matter: Copilot or Gemini inside your office suite, and an automation tool for the repeated steps. Above that it often pays to write out processes and choose per process instead of per tool.

What is a good next step?

Make an AI scan for one process or book an introduction. We will also tell you when a tool from this list already gives you enough.