Two years ago, Brianna Sylver, founder and president of Sylver Consulting, started using artificial intelligence for one initial reason — curiosity.
Sylver said she was first exposed to ChatGPT at a work conference, where the software piqued her interest. She began to wonder how her company could innovate with AI.
According to a 2025 report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 58% of the small businesses the agency surveyed currently use AI products, an 18% increase from 2024.
The numbers are even higher in Illinois. According to the report, 67% of small businesses in the state use AI platforms.
Businesses in Evanston seem to follow this trend: consulting groups like Sylver’s use AI to research potential buying committees, while marketing firms use it to generate social media content and realtors incorporate it to survey the demographics of an area.
For Sylver’s team of 14, she said AI has helped “refine” their process. They mainly use platforms like Recollective and Google’s NotebookLM for research and to have more frequent check-ins with clients during their data collection process.
“We typically have a recruitment phase, a data collection phase, analysis, synthesis, etc.,” she said. “We have integrated AI at each of those areas in distinct ways.”
Reed Hansen, chief growth officer at MarketSurge, said AI has “extended the reach” of his Evanston-based marketing company. His 12 employees can now take on additional clients without having to pay more employees.
Hansen has steadily integrated AI into his operations over time, saying that it was not a sudden occurrence.
“Over time, AI got better and better,” he said. “You can include more customization, and you can get better quality, more human-sounding content. It really continues to improve every day.”
Hansen said he uses over eight platforms for both internal operations and external work with clients.
Internally, he said he relies on Jasper software for content generation and automation, while also looking to ChatGPT for additional support. Externally, he utilizes an AI voice agent trained on his website to answer client inquiries, as well as platforms like Suno and Descript for audio and video content.
“A tool that doesn’t have some AI does feel a little incomplete,” he said.
Allie Payne, an Evanston realtor with more than 25 years of experience, recently started her own real estate company, Allie Payne Group. With a team of five employees, Payne sought to incorporate AI platforms into her work.
However, Payne said she remains hesitant about fully incorporating AI into each step of her process.
“I’m a little reluctant to use it a lot because I think it keeps you from thinking for yourself,” Payne said. “But at the same time, it also covers all the bases. You may only think of the general direction, but this gives you all the details, and that’s really helpful.”
Sylver and Hansen said they also have their limits when it comes to AI platforms.
In Sylver’s company, she promotes AI use as a brainstorming tool to ensure they’re considering all possible options. Yet, she draws the line at using fully AI-generated content.
“I wouldn’t use it to write a report fully. I wouldn’t use it to write a discussion guide. I wouldn’t use it to find a recruitment screener fully,” Sylver said. “I use it to help and assist, but in terms of dumping data and saying, write the report for me — no.”
Hansen said he uses AI more for content generation, including a platform called HeyGen, which creates videos where Hansen can create an avatar that mimics his voice and mannerisms for advertising.
Even with these accessible platforms, Hansen said he and his clients are not comfortable with a fully automated marketing agency.
“A business is always going to need a little bit of human touch. And it’s going to need a face, a voice that is human and real, and stutters and pauses and says ‘ahs’ and ‘ums,’” Hansen said. “I think there are people who do want to connect with a human.”
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