PayPal Ads Manager turns your shop into a revenue stream: On 7 October 2025, PayPal introduced the Ads Manager, a tool that lets small businesses sell advertising space on their own websites without any coding or upfront costs. Businesses simply install an SDK to enable advertising inventory, choose the types of ads they want to host and collect earnings directly in their PayPal account. This essentially turns your online storefront into a mini media network and creates a passive income stream while you focus on sales. PayPal manages ad placements, reporting and payouts, so you don’t need to learn complex ad‑tech.
eBay’s AI Activate program opens enterprise‑grade tools to small sellers: On 1 October 2025, eBay announced it will equip 10,000 UK small businesses with ChatGPT Enterprise and custom AI tools for one year at no charge. Participants also get training and resources to integrate AI into daily operations, from customer service chats to inventory forecasting. eBay’s goal is to democratize access so that boutique sellers can compete with big‑box retailers without needing developer skills.
Meta unveils Business AI for personalised shopping advice: Meta’s early October reveal introduced an AI assistant that learns from your existing Instagram and Facebook posts and product catalog. It can answer shoppers’ questions, recommend products, generate multilingual ad variations and assist with campaign setup. Even better, Meta is rolling out an Ads Manager assistant that suggests budgets and creatives based on your goals. For solopreneurs, this means more effective marketing with less guesswork.
OpenAI’s AgentKit fast‑tracks AI agents: At OpenAI’s developer day on 6 October 2025, the company launched AgentKit, a suite that helps you build AI agents capable of connecting to external services and executing tasks. It includes a visual designer (Agent Builder), an embeddable chat interface (ChatKit), evaluation tools, and a registry of connectors for calendars, CRMs and databases. While it’s aimed at developers, many no‑code platforms will integrate these capabilities soon, meaning solopreneurs can deploy custom chatbots or virtual assistants without writing code.
Squarespace partners with Perplexity to build AI‑researched websites: On 2 October 2025, website builder Squarespace announced a collaboration with Perplexity’s AI search assistant, Comet. When a user describes their business idea to Comet, the assistant now offers domain registration, brand name suggestions and design recommendations that can be purchased instantly through Squarespace. For new solopreneurs, this integration shortens the journey from brainstorming to launching a professional website.
These launches aren’t just interesting headlines — they reflect a broader trend: major platforms are racing to provide AI features tailored to smaller players. By lowering costs and removing technical barriers, they allow you to operate like a much larger company without hiring an army of specialists.
AI tools you can start using today
The following tools launched over the last couple of weeks and are ready for you to explore. Each one solves a specific pain point, from marketing to customer service, with minimal setup.
Mailmodo AI — your conversational email marketing partner
Email marketing remains one of the highest‑ROI channels, but drafting campaigns, designing templates and analysing results can eat up your time. On 14 October 2025, email platform Mailmodo rolled out Mailmodo AI, a conversational assistant that lets you plan, generate and refine campaigns simply by typing prompts. Need a welcome sequence for new subscribers? Tell the assistant your goals and tone, and it will generate subject lines, content blocks, segmentation rules and even follow‑up emails. You can ask it to create A/B tests or adjust messaging for different customer personas. According to Mailmodo, early users report that tasks that used to take hours now take minutes. Pricing is included in Mailmodo’s existing plans, so there’s no extra cost to experiment.
Be My Eyes Service AI — accessible customer support on autopilot
If your business sells physical products or relies on visual instructions, you’ll appreciate the new Service AI from accessibility app Be My Eyes. Released on 6 October 2025, this solution trains an AI agent on your product catalog and support knowledge so it can answer customer questions via text, audio or image. It recognises objects in photos, provides step‑by‑step assistance and hands off complex issues to a human when necessary. Your business is also listed in Be My Eyes’ Service Directory, reaching more than 900,000 blind and low‑vision users worldwide. There’s no need to build your own chatbot — just upload your content and the AI does the rest.
Amazon Seller Assistant with agentic capabilities
During its annual seller conference in early October, Amazon unveiled upgrades that transform its Seller Assistant from a passive Q&A bot into a proactive business advisor. The assistant can now reason and plan on your behalf: it identifies slow‑moving inventory, recommends price adjustments, suggests ad campaigns and even runs “what‑if” scenarios for shipping or marketing changes. Combined with new tools like Opportunity Explorer and AI‑powered video creation, these features integrate into a single interface so you can manage operations, marketing and creative assets without switching tabs.
Google’s “Make AI Work For You” course
AI adoption isn’t just about tools; it’s also about skills. On 8 October 2025, Google launched Make AI Work For You, a free training course designed in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The program aims to train 40,000 small businesses through virtual lessons and in‑person workshops. It teaches how to use generative AI for marketing, project management and customer support. Real‑world examples include a Chicago bike shop using Gemini to monitor supplies and generate onboarding materials. You can sign up via Google’s Small Business Hub and gain access to mentorship and a community of peers.
These tools are just the tip of the iceberg. In the coming months, expect more platforms to integrate AI assistants and analytics. By adopting them now, you’ll not only save hours each week but also gather the data needed to make smarter decisions.
Turning AI buzz into business wins
AI can feel like a buzzword until you see it drive real outcomes. Here are some ways the above developments can transform your daily workflows:
- Amplify your marketing reach: Mailmodo AI and Meta Business AI both tailor messages to individual customers. Use them to send personalised newsletters, respond to queries on social media and generate multilingual ads. You’ll reach more people without doubling your effort.
- Create new revenue streams: By enabling PayPal Ads Manager on your site, you can earn passive income each time a visitor clicks an ad. This can help offset transaction fees or fund future marketing campaigns.
- Deliver accessible customer support: Service AI ensures that blind and low‑vision customers receive timely assistance, improving satisfaction and broadening your customer base. Inclusive businesses often see higher loyalty and word‑of‑mouth referrals.
- Maximise operational efficiency: With Amazon’s upgraded Seller Assistant and eBay’s AI Activate program, small sellers gain sophisticated analytics and planning tools. These can help you forecast inventory, optimise pricing and automate shipping choices.
- Build a future‑proof skillset: Google’s training helps you understand how AI works and how to implement it ethically. Investing time in these courses now will pay dividends as more tasks become automated.
Quick actions to harness AI this month
You don’t need to overhaul your entire business to benefit from AI. Here are a few steps you can take right away:
- Sign up for Mailmodo AI and generate a welcome email for new subscribers this week. Measure the time saved compared to your usual process.
- Enable PayPal Ads Manager if your website already runs on PayPal. Spend an afternoon choosing the ad categories you’re comfortable hosting.
- Upload your FAQ and product photos to Service AI to start offering accessible customer support. Use the built‑in analytics to see how many queries are handled without human intervention.
- Register for Google’s Make AI Work For You course by month‑end. Dedicate 30 minutes weekly to apply one lesson to your business.
- Join the waitlist for eBay’s AI Activate or Amazon’s enhanced Seller Assistant if you sell on those platforms. Early adopters often receive extra support and incentives.
Your next move
The AI landscape evolves quickly, but that shouldn’t deter you from diving in. The tools covered here are designed with busy solopreneurs in mind. They promise tangible benefits: fewer manual tasks, new revenue streams, broader reach and happier customers. By trying just one or two this month, you can free up time to focus on the creative and strategic work that only you can do.
