If you’re spending too much time writing emails, posting to social media, or updating your website – or if you’ve simply stopped doing those things altogether – you’re not alone. For most small businesses in Timaru, marketing is the thing that gets done last (or not at all).
That’s where AI agents come in – and they’re changing the game.
What’s an AI agent?
An AI agent is like a digital team member that can follow instructions, make decisions, and complete tasks automatically. Unlike a standard automation (like scheduling a post or sending a reminder), AI agents can respond to context, pull data from multiple sources, and adapt to new info.
How it works in a real business
Let’s say you want to send a weekly newsletter, update your Google Business Profile, and post to Facebook and LinkedIn. You’d normally need to:
- Come up with the idea
- Write the content
- Format it for each platform
- Upload images
- Schedule it
Total time: easily 3–6 hours a week.
Now, with the right AI agent setup, you can just give it the core idea (or even have the AI pick that too) and it will:
- Generate the social post and email copy
- Create matching headlines and snippets
- Resize and format the image for each platform
- Schedule everything automatically across platforms
Total time: under 90 seconds – plus a quick skim from you to approve it.
Local example from South Canterbury
A boutique homewares shop in Geraldine now has a simple AI agent workflow that creates and schedules three social posts per week using their product feed and past content. The owner just reviews the drafts on Monday – and doesn’t have to worry about marketing again all week.
What tasks can AI agents handle?
- Weekly email newsletters
- Facebook and LinkedIn posts
- Product descriptions for new stock
- Promotional campaign copy
- FAQs and customer support scripts
What tools do you need?
Most AI agents are built inside tools like GoHighLevel, Make.com, Zapier, or ChatGPT Pro. You don’t need to write code – you just define the task, choose when it should happen, and connect the pieces. Once it’s set up, it runs automatically.
But does it sound robotic?
Not if you set it up right. The secret is giving your AI agent good templates, a consistent tone of voice, and examples to learn from. I help clients build this into their system so the content sounds like *you* – not like ChatGPT had too much coffee.
Why this matters now
The small businesses that adopt this early will get more done in less time – and look more professional in the process. Meanwhile, those still doing everything manually (or not at all) will fall behind.
Need help building your own AI agent?
I help small business owners in South Canterbury build simple, smart systems using AI agents. If you’d like to spend less time on marketing – but still get the results – let’s build a setup that runs like clockwork.