What AI Actually IS (AND Isn’t) : A Simple Guide for Small Business & Everyday People (Part 2)

Written By Scott Turnmeyer
AI For Small Businesses and Every Day People

Part 2: The Three Types of AI You Actually Need to Know (Explained Super Simply)

When most people talk about “AI,” they mix up a bunch of different technologies that sound the same but actually do very different things.
If you’re a small business owner, creator, or just an everyday person trying to make sense of all this — the jargon gets overwhelming fast.

So today, in Part 2, we’re breaking it down into the three types of AI that truly matter in the real world, using clear examples and zero tech-speak.

Let’s go.

Predictive AI: The “What Will Happen Next?” Tool

This is AI that looks at data and tries to guess what might happen.

Think of it like a weather forecast… but for your business.

Examples you already use:

  • Netflix recommending movies it thinks you’ll like

  • Your banking app predicting your monthly bills

  • Shopify or Google Analytics forecasting future sales

  • Ads targeting someone because they’re “likely to buy X”

Why it matters to small businesses:

Predictive AI helps you answer questions like:

  • What products might sell better next month?

  • Which customers are likely to buy again?

  • When should I push ads harder or scale back?

This is the AI that quietly boosts profits when used right — and quietly drains budgets when ignored.

Generative AI: The “Create Something From Scratch” ToolLet’s clear up some myths:

This is the type everyone talks about — ChatGPT, Midjourney, Claude, etc.
Generative AI can create:

  • text

  • images

  • videos

  • code

  • product descriptions

  • ad copy

  • social posts

  • blog posts (like this one!)

It doesn’t “think” like a person.
It reshuffles patterns from the data it was trained on, draws conclusions, and produces something new.

Examples you use without realizing:

  • Auto-generated Instagram captions

  • Email apps finishing your sentence

  • Shopify creating automatic collection descriptions

  • Photo apps improving your pictures

Why it matters to small businesses:

Generative AI helps you:

  • save time

  • automate repetitive tasks

  • create marketing content

  • optimize workflows

  • think more clearly

  • move faster than your competitors

This is the AI that gives small businesses superpowers.

Automation AI: The “Do It For Me” Tool

If predictive AI forecasts and generative AI creates, automation AI acts.

This is the type of AI that:

  • responds automatically to customers

  • restocks products

  • updates spreadsheets

  • triggers email sequences

  • schedules posts

  • moves data between apps

  • sends alerts when something breaks

It’s the “set it once and let it run” version of AI.

Examples you may already be using:

  • Abandoned cart emails

  • Automated Google Ads bidding

  • Inventory notifications

  • Chatbots that handle FAQs

  • Customer win-back workflows

  • Auto-posting tools for social media

Why it matters to small businesses:

Automation AI frees you from the time-sucking tasks that slow growth.

When used well, it becomes digital staff that:

  • works 24/7

  • never gets tired

  • never takes shortcuts

  • never forgets to do something

This single category alone can save small businesses hundreds of hours per year.

Bringing It All Together: The AI Stack of a Modern Small Business

If you’re wondering how these three types play together, here’s the simplest way to think about it:

Predictive AI → tells you what to expect

Generative AI → helps you create what you need

Automation AI → handles the execution

Together, they form a system that:

  • helps you make smarter decisions

  • speeds up your content creation

  • reduces your manual effort

  • allows you to grow without burning out

  • gives you a competitive advantage

And you don’t need to know how the tech works.
You just need to know what it can do for you.

What’s Coming in Part 3

Next time, we’re diving into the biggest misconceptions about AI — the things news headlines, influencers, and even tech companies get completely wrong.

It’s going to clear up a ton of confusion and help everyone feel a whole lot less intimidated by this stuff.

Have questions already?

Drop them in the comments or message me — I’ll answer them in future posts.

And if you want to follow along with the whole series, keep an eye here and on my socials where I’ll be posting the vlog versions as well.

Let’s explore this new world together.

— Scott Turnmeyer

Scott Turnmeyer
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What AI Actually IS (AND Isn’t) : A Simple Guide for Small Business & Everyday People (Part 1 of 15)