6 Steps to Start Using AI Across Your Business Before You Sell

Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just tech industry buzz—it’s a business imperative. And if you’re planning to sell your company in the next few years, integrating AI into your business operations can help you create a smarter, more efficient, and more sellable business.

According to entrepreneur Chris Daigle, a recent study involving Procter & Gamble revealed something striking: “An employee who has been properly trained in AI will outperform an entire team of employees who are not using AI.” For a potential buyer, that’s not just a stat—that’s a roadmap for scaling the business at lower cost.

So where do you begin?

Step 1: Make It a Company-Wide Initiative

AI isn’t just for your IT department. It has practical applications across every function—from recruiting and HR to operations, marketing and finance.

Start with a simple challenge: ask each department to identify three ways that AI could improve their performance by:

• Reducing time spent on repetitive tasks
  
  
• Improving accuracy or speed
  
  
• Enhancing employee or client experience

Then bring everyone together in a casual “AI Ideas Summit” to share. Keep the tone light and exploratory—this is about uncovering opportunities, not launching a tech overhaul.

Step 2: Set Goals That Increase Business Value

It’s easy to chase shiny new tools. But buyers want to see clear ROI.

Link each AI use case to a measurable objective that boosts business value such as:

• Increasing gross margins by reducing labor hours
  
  
• Improving customer satisfaction with faster service
  
  
• Eliminating operational bottlenecks
  
  
• Freeing up leadership time for strategic work
  
  

Set specific metrics and timelines. A documented path for improvement is a major selling point.

Step 3: Explore AI Use Cases by Department

Here’s a jumpstart list:

💼 Human Resources & Recruiting

• Scan and score resumes
  
  
• Generate job postings or personalized rejection letters
  
  
• Analyze exit interviews with sentiment tools
  
  

📊 Finance & Accounting

• Automate P&L and expense reports
  
  
• Predict cash flow
  
  
• Spot anomalies in invoices with machine learning
  
  

⚙️ Operations & Admin

• Refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  
  
• Automate scheduling, reminders, and form responses
  
  
• Identify recurring workflow issues
  
  

📣 Sales & Marketing

• Segment email campaigns and personalize outreach
  
  
• Generate content drafts and ad copy
  
  
• Deploy chatbots to qualify leads
  
  

🤝 Customer Service

• Train bots to resolve Tier 1 support issues
  
  
• Monitor customer sentiment
  
  
• Auto-generate knowledge base articles

Step 4: Start Small, Document Everything

You don’t need to go all in at once.

Choose one low-risk project per department:

• Pilot
  
  
• Measure
  
  
• Refine

Track results: time saved, quality improved, cost reduced. Then document it. Create or update SOPs, name the tools used, and start compiling an “AI Playbook” that shows buyers that your systems are streamlined and scalable.

Step 5: Learn from Real-World Examples

Case Study: Construction Firm
A 60-person contractor used AI to forecast inventory needs. They cut material delays by 30%—boosting timeline reliability and attracting institutional buyers.

Case Study: Accounting Firm
A regional practice used ChatGPT to write engagement letters and summarize IRS updates. They reduced admin time by 20% and reallocated staff to higher-value work.

Case Study: Boutique Marketing Agency
A 12-person firm used generative AI to produce first drafts for content and creative presentations. Content turnaround dropped by 40%, letting them scale without new hires. The acquirer was impressed—not just by talent, but by documented, repeatable systems.

Step 6: Build a Culture of Learning, Not Fear

The biggest barrier to AI adoption isn’t having the right technology, it’s resistance.

Long-time employees may worry about being replaced. Help them see AI as a tool to:

• Reduce their repetitive work
  
  
• Lower their stress
  
  
• Increase their personal value and contribution to your business
  
  

Offer short, friendly training sessions and make experimentation part of the culture.

Future-Proofing Adds Exit Value

Buyers don’t want to inherit outdated systems or overwhelmed teams. They’re looking for scalable infrastructure, documented processes, and AI-literate staff. They want to know:

Will this business keep running smoothly after the owner exits?

The best way to say “yes” is by making AI a proactive part of your operations—before you go to market.

This article is part of our Future-Proof Your Exit series. If you haven’t yet, check out our foundational post: AI, Automation & Exit Value: What Tech Readiness Means for Your Business. Up next, we’ll also look at more practical ways to get started, how to prepare your team to embrace AI tools without resistance, and how to use automation to improve marketing, sales, and KPIs.

In the meantime, ask your team: “How could AI make your job easier this week?”

You might be surprised at the answers—and how much value they could add before your exit.