AI for a small business owner what to decide, at what price
Updated October 5, 2026 · 5 min read
The owner of a small or midsize business does not need to become an AI expert. There are three decisions to make: which tools the company approves, which data never goes into them, and how each person learns to use them. On budget, the team plan of an assistant costs from €15.60 excl. tax to $25 per user per month (prices checked on October 3, 2026).
The three decisions that are yours
- The approved tools. One general-purpose assistant is enough to start. Choose the one that fits your software: Microsoft Copilot if you are on Microsoft 365, Gemini on Google Workspace, ChatGPT or Claude otherwise. Put it in writing: without a rule, people may well use their personal accounts.
- The off-limits data. Your accounts, your contracts, and your customers’ and employees’ data do not go into a free personal account. Choose a team plan, where your content is not used to train the AI by default, or have names and amounts removed.
- The training. Who learns what, and at what pace. A tool handed out without examples for each job has little chance of being used.
You are not behind. In France, in 2025, 15% of companies with 10 to 49 employees use at least one AI technology, compared with 58% of those with 250 employees or more, according to Insee, the French national statistics office. Among those that do not use it, 71% say they do not see the point: so the first step is to find your two or three useful use cases.
What budget to plan
| Tool | Team plan | Price per user per month |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Copilot Business, for a company already on Microsoft 365 Business | €15.60 excl. tax until December 31, 2026, then €18.20 excl. tax, paid yearly (price in France) |
| ChatGPT | Business, from 2 people | $25, or $20 if billed yearly |
| Claude | Team | $25, or $20 if billed yearly |
| Gemini | Included in Google Workspace | No extra cost, depending on your Workspace plan |
Public prices checked on October 3, 2026 with the vendors. An example for 10 people: ten Copilot Business licenses come to €156 excl. tax per month; ten Claude Team seats billed yearly, to $200 per month. You can also start with two or three roles where the gain is obvious, then expand.
Free versions are for getting to know the tool, with no confidential documents. They are not suitable for company data.
The risks, and how to manage them
- Data leaks. The easiest risk to avoid is personal accounts. The French data protection authority (CNIL) recommends a written policy that states which uses are allowed and which are forbidden, and points out that the company is liable if its staff misuse AI. See AI and GDPR at work.
- Errors. An assistant can state something false with confidence. Any figure you quote to a banker gets checked against your accounts; a contract, an employment matter, or a tax matter gets reviewed by your lawyer or your accountant.
- Decisions about a person. GDPR (Article 22) gives everyone the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing when it significantly affects them. A hire, a disciplinary measure, or a salary is not decided on an assistant’s answer.
- The European rule. Since February 2, 2025, Article 4 of the EU AI Act has asked you to take measures to support your staff’s AI literacy, whatever the size of the company. The details: the EU AI Act and AI literacy.
Where to start this week
- List three tasks that come back often and cost you time: meeting notes, follow-ups, quotes, replies to customers.
- Choose one assistant and a team plan for the people concerned.
- Write one page of rules: the approved tools, the off-limits data, who approves what.
- Try it yourself. A good first use case for an owner: have a contract read before you sign it, then read the flagged clauses yourself. The use cases are detailed on the small business owner page.
What Nova brings to a business owner
Nova is subscription software that trains your team on AI continuously. Each person gives their job and their level, then follows a path of demos and guided use cases, with the tool, its price, and the precautions. You set the framework: a catalog of approved tools, a budget per person, tool requests approved in one click, shared methods.
You see team trends, never one person’s activity or questions. The plans: Solo at €19 per month for you alone, Team at €129 for up to 10 people, Business at €199 for up to 25, Company at €349 for up to 50, and custom, quote on request. Subscriptions to the assistants are bought separately, from their vendors. See pricing or try the interactive demo.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI tool should a small business start with?
With a single general-purpose assistant, chosen to fit your software: Copilot with Microsoft 365, Gemini with Google Workspace, ChatGPT or Claude otherwise. Specialized tools come next, job by job.
Does AI pay off for a very small business?
No general figure is honest: it depends on your tasks. Measure on a real case. Time a task that comes back often, redo it with the assistant, review included, and compare with the price of the subscription.
Am I required to train my employees on AI?
If your company operates in the European Union and uses AI systems, Article 4 of the EU AI Act asks you to take measures to support your staff’s AI literacy. The text sets no duration, no format, and no certificate. National employment law may add its own duties: in France, for example, the Labor Code requires employers to keep employees able to do their jobs.
What happens if an employee pastes customer data into a free assistant?
The company remains responsible for the personal data it processes. Depending on the tool and its settings, this content may be kept and used to train the AI. Talk to your data protection officer or a lawyer to assess the situation.
Does Nova replace ChatGPT or Copilot?
No. Nova is not an assistant: it says which tool to use for each task, how, and what it costs, then guides the person to the result.
Sources
- Information and communication technologies in companies in 2025 (Insee Première no. 2120, July 21, 2026, in French), Insee, the French national statistics office
- CNIL’s questions and answers on using a generative AI system (July 18, 2024, in French), CNIL, the French data protection authority
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Article 22: automated individual decision-making, EUR-Lex, European Union
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 of July 8, 2026 (digital omnibus on AI), which rewrites Article 4 of the AI Act, EUR-Lex, European Union
- French Labor Code, Article L6321-1 (in French), Code du travail numérique, French Ministry of Labor
- Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing (France, in French), Microsoft
- What is ChatGPT Business, OpenAI
- Claude pricing, Anthropic
- Google Workspace pricing, Google
Go further
- AI training for small business owners
- AI training for entrepreneurs
- AI training for building contractors
- Train your teams on AI
- EU AI Act: Article 4 and AI literacy, in plain terms
- AI and GDPR at work
- AI training by job
- Nova custom, quote on request
- Guide: the AI budget of a small team, tool by tool
- Nova pricing
- Try the interactive demo
Create your workspace. Solo, or as a team.
Nova shows each person what AI can do in their job, guides them to the result, and keeps them up to date.
Interactive demo
€0
Free, no account needed. You try the real product yourself, as a preview: it is not a sales call.
Try the interactive demoTeams
from €129 per month
Team, Business, or Company, for up to 50 people. Beyond that, custom, quote on request.
See pricingNo commitment · Cancel anytime · Nova is subscription software, not an accredited training provider