Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept reserved for tech giants and innovative startups—it’s becoming an essential tool for small business owners across various industries. For tanning business owners, AI offers a wealth of opportunities to streamline operations, attract more customers, and increase profitability.

This article explores how tanning businesses can begin utilizing AI to transform their business. From enhancing customer engagement to overcoming common operational challenges, we’ll delve into practical applications and actionable strategies for implementing AI.

You might be surprised to learn that the paragraphs above were written by Artificial Intelligence. While AI tools like ChatGPT are often associated with technical tasks or basic automation, their ability to produce articulate, professional, and highly engaging writing is remarkable. Whether it’s drafting polished emails, creating persuasive marketing copy, or brainstorming creative ideas, AI can mimic a natural human writing style effectively and produce thousands of words in seconds.

This capability showcases the ability of AI to streamline communication and help business owners tackle everyday challenges with ease and sophistication. Using ChatGPT to help you brainstorm, format, or even provide a finished version of any written communication is the tip of the iceberg with AI that can help save you time and improve your communications moving forward.

Businesses of all types and sizes are now using AI to create incredibly complex business solutions, but for small, owner-operated businesses, the technology can truly be a revelation on the simplest levels. While large companies have dozens or hundreds of employees who perform functions like marketing, customer support, graphic design, social media, and much more, the majority of tanning businesses tend to only have owners, managers, and hourly employees who dedicate their time to interacting with clients in the salon. So, as an owner, it can be that much more valuable to rely on AI to act as your personal assistant, customer support agent, social media specialist, copywriter, and more.

“It opens the door to a lot of possibilities for small business owners in general,” says Jeff Davis II, son of Chili Pepper’s Tanning founders Jeff and Charise Davis, who operate the largest tanning chain in Michigan. “It’s just a lower barrier to entry for a lot of things that may have been expensive that are now taking a lot less time.”

Davis has developed AI software that Chili Pepper’s now uses to perform a variety of task, with the most notable piece being a customer service chatbot that handles customer inquiries on their website and social media. He’s also created customized AI solutions for other small businesses and hopes to share his expertise with other businesses in the tanning, an industry he has been well acquainted with for virtually his entire life.

“The biggest difference for me is my knowledge of the industry. I test these bots extensively before integrating them. I have a very deep understanding of what these people want and need out of these bots,” Davis says. “We compile a giant data set that contains everything this bot may need to know about your business. This is something we change dynamically, so if you change prices or add a new service, we go in the same day and make changes. We set the bot up and don’t even start payment until you’re happy with the training.”

AI technology is advancing at an incredible pace, with its capabilities expanding daily. While small business owners don’t need to master AI overnight, it’s essential to start exploring its potential now. Embracing the technology early can help businesses stay ahead of the curve and be well-prepared to leverage the even greater innovations and opportunities on the horizon.

“I think a lot of people aren’t fully aware of the exponential growth and improvement going on with these things. Even in the past year, they’ve become so much more reliable and outperform people for a lot of tasks. For $300 a month, it can do the work of a full-time employee,” Davis says.

AI for Beginners

For those who are unfamiliar with AI, the idea of integrating this technology can seem daunting. However, starting small and gradually building your knowledge and capabilities can make the process manageable and rewarding. Here are some simple ways to begin learning about and using AI in your business:

• Start with User-Friendly Tools: Begin with AI tools designed for small business owners. Platforms like ChatGPT, Canva, and Mailchimp offer intuitive interfaces and helpful tutorials to guide you through their features.
• Focus on One Area: Identify a single aspect of your business to improve with AI, such as appointment scheduling, customer service, or marketing. For instance, you can integrate a chatbot on your website to handle common inquiries.
• Leverage Free Resources: Many AI tools offer free plans or trials. Take advantage of these to experiment with AI capabilities without committing to significant expenses.
• Use Online Tutorials and Courses: Websites like Coursera, Udemy, and YouTube offer beginner-friendly courses on AI applications. Learning the basics will help you better understand how to use these tools effectively.
• Join Industry Communities: Engage with other tanning salon owners or small business groups that are already using AI. Sharing insights and experiences can provide valuable guidance as you explore AI options.
• Work with Your Existing Systems: Many AI tools integrate seamlessly with the software you already use, such as scheduling platforms or CRM systems. Check for compatibility to make the transition smoother.
• Consult with Experts: If you’re unsure where to start or want tailored solutions, consider consulting with AI specialists who understand your industry. They can help design custom tools and provide training to maximize results.
• Experiment and Evaluate: Start small by implementing AI in a single process and track its impact on your business. For example, use AI to automate social media posts and measure engagement over time.

By starting with simple, user-friendly solutions, you can gradually become comfortable with AI and uncover new opportunities to enhance your operations. As your confidence and understanding grow, you can expand your use of AI to tackle more complex challenges and drive innovation in your business.

Simplifying Everyday Tasks with ChatGPT

The most popularized AI platform is ChatGPT, which was introduced in 2022 but did not become the cultural phenomenon it is today until even more recently. The platform has quickly become practically a necessity for any business or individual who wants to streamline their routines. For business owners, on the simplest level, its ability to simulate human-like conversations and provide intelligent, real-time responses makes it a versatile tool for enhancing customer service, streamlining operations, and improving marketing efforts.

If you want to begin delving into AI but you don’t know where to begin, dabbling with ChatGPT will provide immediate benefits as well as helping you familiarize yourself with all the possibilities. At the most basic level, ChatGPT can help save you valuable time doing mundane tasks such as responding to emails. Have you ever found yourself fretting over the exact wording of an email, wasting valuable time on a simple task just because it doesn’t sound quite right? Chat GPT can help.

For example, if you need to respond to a client who submitted a complaint after having to wait too long to use the sunbed they wanted, just copy and paste their complaint and ask GPT to write a response and it will give you a professional, well-crafted response. Even though the response ChatGPT creates may not be perfect, it can save you the majority of the time and effort by getting you started. Just briefly edit it as needed from there.

ChatGPT can also help tanning salon owners manage everyday tasks with ease, reducing stress and saving time. Here are a few practical ways to incorporate ChatGPT into daily operations right away.

Time Management:

• Task Prioritization: Help organize daily, weekly, or monthly tasks by importance and deadlines.
• Checklists: Generate comprehensive checklists for cleaning, maintenance, or inventory management.
• Drafting Emails and Responses: Whether it’s replying to customer inquiries, addressing complaints, or sending out promotional emails, ChatGPT can quickly generate professional and personalized content. This ensures timely communication and maintains a professional tone.
• Generating Reports: From daily sales summaries to inventory updates, ChatGPT can assist in creating easy-to-understand reports based on input data, allowing owners to track
• Draft Policies and Procedures: Help write or refine employee guidelines, cancellation policies, or customer service protocols.

Customer Communication:

• Respond to Inquiries: Quickly generate professional responses to customer questions about services, pricing, and promotions.
• Complaint Resolution: Draft polite and empathetic replies to customer complaints, ensuring timely and effective communication.

Marketing Support:

• Social Media Content: Generate engaging captions, hashtags, and post ideas for platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
• Promotional Campaigns: Draft email templates, SMS offers, or ad copy for special deals and events.
• Blog Writing: Create educational blog posts about topics like skin care, tanning tips, or the benefits of red light therapy.
• Product Descriptions: Craft detailed and appealing descriptions for services or products sold in the salon.

Task Automation:

• Draft Policies and Procedures: Help write or refine employee guidelines, cancellation policies, or customer service protocols.
• Content Templates: Generate templates for newsletters, surveys, or feedback requests.
• Product Descriptions: Craft detailed and appealing descriptions for services or products sold in the salon.

Creative Problem-Solving:

• Brainstorming: Offer fresh ideas for promotions, events, or new service offerings.
• Feedback Analysis: Summarize insights from customer feedback to identify areas of improvement.
• FAQs: Generate a list of frequently asked questions to include on your website or social media profiles.

Training and Development:

• Staff Training Materials: Develop scripts or guides for onboarding new employees or training in customer service.
• Role-Playing Scenarios: Create mock interactions to train staff on handling challenging customer situations.

The best part about AI is, of course, its Intelligence – particularly its ability to learn. When you use Chat GPT or similar platforms, the more you use it, the smarter it becomes. So, after a while, the program will begin to understand you and your business, which will only make it more capable of providing exactly what you’re looking for.

Customer Service

Tasked with managing her salon’s social media presence and online inquiries in addition to the countless other responsibilities of a small business owner, Carolina Tan & Wellness owner Emily Sigmon turned to AI to help manage the workload with a chatbot called Manychat.

“Through Manychat, there’s a way to set everything up where if I create a post about hydrotherapy, I can say in the video or the caption, comment ‘wave’ below. If they do, the AI takes over and automatically sends them a message. Depending on how the person answers along the way, they get more info on memberships or receive a coupon to use. It’s going to take a huge load off my shoulders when people can get all this information without me having to send it,” Sigmon says.

Chatbot integration with Chili Pepper’s website and social media was the first function that Davis originally pursued. GPTMyBiz.AI uses Al to automate customer interactions by rapidly training bots with publicly available data and any additional provided data. It has already shown success in businesses like Chili Pepper’s, where it increased efficiency and improved customer engagement by handling inquiries, concerns, and promotions automatically. The program works by scraping existing public data to quickly train bots. Once trained, these bots are integrated into platforms like Facebook Messenger and WordPress websites, where they handle inquiries, concerns and promotions autonomously. This allows tanning businesses to focus on in-person customer service while AI handles routine tasks. After training, the bot integrates seamlessly with your digital platforms, instantly improving customer interactions.

The benefits are two-fold, even in the simplest terms. An AI chatbot opens up owners and employees from having to respond to so many customer inquiries, and the bot can be trained to provide customer calls to actions to potential clients, potentially giving them directions to the salon, taking them to an online membership sign-up, or presenting valuable offers that will most certainly increase conversions.

“Before, we weren’t funneling people into our messengers. It was something we were avoiding because we didn’t want to deal with volume, and now we’re dealing with 3000-plus requests per month with no problem,” Davis says.

“It depends on what you want your call to action to be. It’s very dynamic so if you want it to land people on your website or call your store, that can be the end goal. We get a lot of generic requests, whether it’s about our location, or hours or services we offer, but one thing I find particularly valuable is we funnel this to an ad for free services. That ended up bringing a lot of people in the door. We’ll run an ad like, ‘Message us now to claim your free service,’ and it helps them pick a location and tell them hours and gets them in the door ultimately.”

Marketing and Communications

Even before AI technology was available to the masses, for several years, new technology has been helping small businesses manage tasks like graphic design and social media management in ways that used to be reserved for trained experts. Now, AI is helping further streamline the processes that platforms like Canva and HootSuite made possible.

“We are using AI graphic design functionality, and it’s becoming more useful. That needs more time, but it’s definitely coming. In the next year, it will really be viable. We do offer bots that will do your social media, but you have to give it pictures to use,” Davis says.

“There are a couple ways to go about it. [One business I work with] puts images in a folder and types a basic premise of what he wants to post, and it comes up with the wording and schedules the posts and posts them across all platforms.”

AI’s content creation abilities can also be used to keep your website updated and improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You’ve probably read articles in this magazine or on SmartTan.com about the benefits of maintaining some sort of blog with regular, educational posts. It’s good to provide additional information for your customers, and the content is valuable to use on social media to drive people to your website, where they will find additional information about your business and services. Having new posts and useful keywords on your website also enhances your organic SEO, improving your ranking when people search for tanning businesses in your area.

But, for most small tanning businesses without support staff in place to handle these types of duties, it seems website blogs are most often one of things that are created with the best intentions, then quickly go by the wayside. Now, AI can make it practical to actually keep up on a blog and also use its knowledge to utilize keywords that will draw more attention to your website, among other capabilities.

“We get a lot of use out of the blogs. It’s a lot of research to use keywords to keep pumping out SEO content. It opens doors to things we couldn’t do before. It could be set up any way you want. It could post in intervals when you give it a prompt. The possibilities are pretty endless with it. It could pick topics of its own, but what sets my program apart from standard GPT is retrieval and prompting. Say ‘red light’ and that’s all the prompting it needs. It’s removing steps more than anything,” Davis says.

Hiring, Training and Management

AI isn’t just for streamlining operations or improving customer experiences—it can also completely transform how tanning salons hire, train, and manage their teams. With the right tools, salon owners can save time, make better decisions, and build a team that’s motivated and effective.

Streamlining Hiring Processes: Finding the right team members is critical for success, but the hiring process can be time-consuming. AI simplifies recruitment by:

• Automating Job Postings: AI tools can draft professional job descriptions tailored to your salon’s needs and distribute them across platforms like job boards and social media.
• Screening and Shortlisting Candidates: AI-powered systems analyze resumes to identify candidates with the best qualifications and experience, ranking them for easy prioritization.
• Scheduling Interviews: AI tools coordinate interview times, eliminating back-and-forth communication with candidates.
• Reducing Bias: By focusing on objective criteria, AI can help create a fair and inclusive hiring process.

Onboarding and Training: AI can transform how new hires are trained by creating customized, interactive programs. Examples include:

• Interactive Learning Modules: AI-powered tools provide step-by-step tutorials and quizzes tailored to your salon’s specific needs.
• Simulated Customer Interactions: ChatGPT can simulate real-world scenarios, such as handling customer complaints or upselling memberships, to help employees practice their skills.

Managing and Motivating Staff: AI also supports ongoing staff management, ensuring teams remain motivated and productive:

• Performance Tracking: AI systems monitor metrics like appointment bookings and sales, helping identify areas for improvement and recognizing top performers.
• Optimized Scheduling: AI analyzes peak hours and staff availability to create efficient schedules that balance workload and prevent burnout.
• Gamified Incentives: AI platforms can introduce friendly competition by tracking sales or service goals and rewarding employees for achievements.

Continuous Improvement: AI helps salon owners identify training gaps and opportunities for growth by analyzing feedback from customers and employees. It can also provide on-demand answers to staff questions, ensuring employees stay confident and informed.

The Future of AI in Tanning

If you have greater ambitions regarding what AI can achieve for your business but not the personnel or expertise to achieve it, it could be worth consulting with experts like Davis who have true knowledge to build and train you in platforms that are easy enough to manage and utilize once they are created.

AI experts can create tailored solutions that cater to the unique needs of tanning salons, offering practically endless possibilities for innovation and growth. By working with AI specialists, business owners can develop tools and systems that align perfectly with their objectives.

The possibilities of AI are endless, and its impact on the tanning industry is only just beginning. AI provides tools that can save time, reduce costs, and elevate every aspect of your business. Whether you’re just starting to explore its potential or looking to deepen your AI integration, now is the time to embrace the ever-growing potential.

And remember, embracing AI isn’t about replacing the personal connection that makes every tanning business unique and has the most significant effect on customer loyalty. It’s about enhancing it, allowing salon owners to focus on what they do best: creating exceptional experiences for their clients.