When you think of artificial intelligence, you probably think about its ability to automate tasks or generate quick responses to questions. But new research suggests that the technology can help enhance your creativity by acting as a personal collaborator.
Creativity is essential for small business owners. But the hectic nature of running a company often gets in the way of brainstorming, or you may just be in a creative rut. AI may be a tool that can help.
Here’s what to know about the latest study, and how to embrace AI to get your creative juices flowing.
The benefits of using AI to support creativity
In the study, published in the Association for Computing Machinery’s journal Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems in October 2025, more than 800 subjects participated in an online experiment where they used an AI system to design virtual cars.
The AI-powered tools generated virtual design galleries that included a range of potential car designs, including “high-performing examples, unusual ideas and some deliberately imperfect ones,” according to a Swansea University news release.
When participants were shown AI-generated design suggestions, they spent more time on the car-design task, produced better designs, and felt more involved, the study authors noted.
“It was not just about efficiency. It was about creativity and collaboration,” Sean Walton, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Swansea University in Wales and the study’s lead author, said in a statement.
AI can analyze data points that your small business generates, such as sales trends or customer feedback, and quickly develop new ideas about new products to develop or new ways to attract customers.
How to harness AI for creativity
As a small business owner, here are three ways to use AI to boost creativity:
Think of AI as a collaborator
AI works best when it’s used to generate ideas, which you can take and run with. According to MIT, AI heightens creativity for people when they incorporate their own thought processes, planning, self-monitoring, and revising processes. AI shouldn’t replace these human functions.
Use AI tools, like ChatGPT and others, to brainstorm marketing taglines or campaigns, come up with ideas for a specific prompt, forecast industry trends, or answer the question “what’s a unique angle?” on a specific topic.
Break a creative slump
Small business owners must be nimble and constantly innovate, which often means tapping into your creativity. But when you’re not feeling it, AI can help you get out of the slump.
If you have rough ideas for new services or initiatives, generative AI tools can help refine them, according to Harvard Business Review. You can ask it to offer variations on a single idea, which may be something you haven’t thought of. Or, when you need to write emails or clever social media posts, AI can take your basic points and create a draft. You’ll need to revise it, of course, to make sure it’s in your own voice.
Embrace AI’s efficiency
Automation is a common use case for AI, since AI can analyze data and produce results quickly. This is beneficial for creativity, too.
For instance, AI can analyze data points that your small business generates, such as sales trends or customer feedback, and quickly develop new ideas about new products to develop or new ways to attract customers, according to New York University. AI can also help small businesses efficiently draft content, such as blogs, marketing materials, or new product descriptions. But, again, be sure to reread and revise anything you create to ensure it’s accurate, relevant to your business, and in your unique voice.
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