Thryv continues to be a leader in the world of SMB Saas, with ample operational scale and continued feature updates to its platform. The past few months have seen the integration of AI tools for home services, among other things. And Thryv’s broader evolution is a notable case study (a separate article).
All the above puts Thryv’s exec team in a unique position in terms of perspective on the workings of the SMB SaaS world – including its ongoing convergence with AI. With that in mind, we recently had the chance to interact with Thryv to gather perspectives from its top execs, most notably CEO Joe Walsh.
With that backdrop, what do Walsh and co see as the biggest trends and value drivers, now and moving into the unknown territory of 2026? Starting with the topic on everyone’s mind, AI, the company remains bullish on its thoughtful placement in SMB SaaS products as a practical tool to solve pain points.
Specifically, Walsh sees AI as a mechanism to boost SMB productivity. This looks past AI’s buzziness and rests on a more universal and longstanding principle of automation (which happens to resonate more with SMBs). But though automation for SMBs isn’t new, AI has breathed new life into it.
“Small business productivity will skyrocket as business owners use AI-enhanced automations for everything from marketing to invoicing and scheduling, to customer communications,” said Walsh. “Beyond that, the insights these automations produce, once only available to enterprises, create the opportunity for them to make data-driven decisions and anticipate business demands in ways they never could have before.”
Enterprise Grade
That last part is a key insight, in that AI’s applicability to SMBs should be seen in light of its democratization. As we examined yesterday with Vendasta, one of the things that’s not discussed enough amidst all the AI noise is that it will bring enterprise-grade capabilities down-market to SMBs.
But more than just theoretical advantages or supply-side posturing about the benefits of integrating AI into SMB Saas products, the demand side is responding. In other words, AI’s benefits are starting to resonate with SMBs en masse. This is simply because it addresses tangible pain points for them.
“A recent Thryv survey found that more than half of SMBs are using AI,” Walsh tells us, “most of them daily, and 58 percent report saving 20+ hours per month. It feels like the small business digital transformation is now accelerating into the later innings.”
This is critical as AI’s integrations in SMB SaaS will only be as good as its rate of adoption. That has to be done in an organic and demand-driven way, or it will be dead on arrival. So its success will hinge upon thoughtful integrations that truly automate and offload work, rather than create UX confusion.
Here, the opportunity for the Thryvs of the world is to utilize their trusted and one-stop-shop relationships with SMBs to bring them into the AI era. Many SMBs are confused about AI and its paradox of choice (think: many apps/options). Thryv could be the one to hold their hands into the AI era.
Free Advice
With those broader market dynamics in mind, Thryv takes it a step further in spelling out the tactics it has internalized for good AI integrations into SMB workflows. These apply Thryv’s product and UX acumen, as well as its time-tested insight on SMBs themselves: What makes them tick and what works?
With that in mind, here are 3 tactical best practices Thryv offers, which we’ve summarized in our own words for Localogy Insider readers. Consider it free advice from the minds at Thryv…
Go Slow, then Fast
Thryv advises judicious integrations. Don’t try to boil the ocean on the first try. Start in one high-impact area (think: automating appointment scheduling or lead follow-ups), then expand where it’s working. Also, become a student of the game and evaluate others’ integrations to see what worked.
AI is a Team Sport
AI integrations require everyone to row in the same direction. It’s only as effective as the people using it. That means train teams how to use AI, interpret its insights, and incorporate them into daily business. This ensures good execution but also makes everyone feel a sense of ownership.
Use Fresh Ingredients
Any good dish requires quality ingredients. And AI’s key ingredient is data. This means inputting customer and business data that’s clean, organized, and current. The better the inputs, the better the outputs. That translates to good recommendations and smarter AI-driven business decisions.
So there you have it… We’ll pause there and return in Part 2 of this series with a deeper dive with Thryv CEO, Joe Walsh, as we explore what he expects to see in 2026. Stay tuned for that in the coming weeks.
Header image credit: Dmitriy Demidov on Unsplash
