Those in the Localogyverse know the longstanding dynamics of SMB marketing fulfillment, which often boil down to DIY, do it for me (DIFM), or do it with me (DIWM). In the age of AI, the question is if these structures are outdated… AI can just do it. For now, let’s call it automate it-for-me (AIFM).
This is the thinking behind Vendasta’s latest AI agent. Expanding from the AI receptionist it launched back in August, Custom AI Employees now join its arsenal. These functions are housed in Vendasta’s AI Customer Acquisition and Engagement Platform, and automate various aspects of SMB operations.
The timing could be right as SMBs face rising costs in their supply chain, payroll, and marketing. Automating elements of their marketing and operations lets them scale their time and achieve greater efficiencies. This is what SMBs need more than anything, as their greatest scarcity is time and resources.
“Small businesses don’t need more software. They don’t need tools. They don’t need another login. What they need is more capacity,” Vendasta CPO John Vars told Localogy. “Custom AI Employees let SMBs effectively add new team members in minutes, each trained on how their business actually works.”
Reusable Workflows
Vendasta is also quick to point out that one of the goals is to democratize advanced AI for SMBs. Here, Goldman Sachs reports that generative AI could boost global GDP by seven percent over the next decade. And OpenAI’s State of Enterprise AI report shows the biggest gains in reusable workflows.
But the issue is that opportunities for those reusable workflows are often confined to larger organizations that have deeper AI integrations that can train themselves on operational workflows at scale. Vendasta is aiming to bring those capabilities to SMBs by training its AI on their marketing and operations.
And the natural training ground is Vendasta’s platform itself. Given that Vendasta has expanded into many SMB functions, it holds a goldmine of data for AI agents to train themselves on everything from customer service to inbound marketing. They can then achieve all those coveted reusable workflows.
To boil that down to a practical example, an AI agent could be trained on an SMB’s email marketing, learning things like seasonal promotions, top products, and the business’s “voice.” It can then be deployed to automate weekly newsletters that free SMBs from a task they’ve always dreaded doing.
Another application is writing sales proposals. For example, Vendasta’s partner, Blue River Digital, trained a Custom AI Employee to complete proposals in just a few minutes. “I can finish six proposals at the end of my day and know they’re accurate and consistent every time,” said Blue River VP Nick Prentice.
Automating the Future of Work: A Conversation with Vendasta, Part 2
Surface Area
As noted, this is the latest in Vendasta’s AI agents that were promised when it launched its new AI platform in August. It started with an AI receptionist for customer support functions and inbound leads (think: booking appointments or providing product information). That was meant to be the first of many.
Now, the plot thickens with Custom AI Employees, which will likely expand into several directions as we enter 2026. Those could include AI sales reps, content creators, and SEO specialists. The idea is to take all the benefits noted above and double down by deploying agents to cover even more SMB surface area.
In that sense, the benefits SMBs achieve with each agent could multiply as they deploy them across the organization. Agents will also be modular to mix and match for the optimal combination for each SMB. For all these reasons, we see ample potential as these agent functions address real SMB pain points.
“This is the next evolution of our AI workforce,” said Vars. “AI employees that can take on real roles, execute real workflows, and help small teams compete at an entirely new level.”
Header image credit: Roselyn Tirado on Unsplash
