Anthropic courts a new type of customer: small business owners

Anthropic is looking to court small companies. To this end, the company announced on Wednesday the launch of Claude for Small Business, a new group of services designed for customers who resemble Walmart and Starbucks and resemble a hardware or coffee shop.

So far, the biggest adoption of AI has been in businesses. In the past, studies have shown that most companies that have developed AI systems beyond pilot testing or integration become large companies with larger budgets. This appears be changing somewherewhile small and medium enterprises are seeing the greatest adoption.

New Anthropic groups were created to support these new AI converts. They are available through an update that has just been introduced within Claude Cowork, the company’s self-service platform for business users who can browse the web, manage files, and perform multiple tasks on behalf of the user. On activation, paying users get access to many services automatically, including library services, business information, and tools to create marketing campaigns.

The new team also includes integration between Claude Cowork and several software programs – such as QuickBooks, Canva, Docusign, HubSpot, and PayPal.

“Small businesses account for 44% of US GDP and employ nearly half of the corporate workforce, but their adoption of AI has lagged behind that of large enterprises,” the company said. “Tools and training often don’t fit the way small businesses work, so their use often stops at the social screen.”

For startups and investors, this move shows that the AI ​​platform wars are intensifying and that the next battleground is not the Fortune 500; and 36 million small businesses that form the backbone of the US economy.

Anthropic is behind its competitor, OpenAI, which launched it Enterprise ChatGPT at the end of 2023, including the integration of small groups called ChatGPT Business.

Anthropic plans to promote its new products with a coast-to-coast promotional tour, starting in Chicago and hitting 10 cities in total. At each stop, the company plans to offer free AI training to 100 local leaders.