Starting a business is tough, right? You have a million ideas but don't know which ones could actually be successful.
Well, you're not alone! Many entrepreneurs struggle to find that perfect idea to build a thriving company.
But here’s the good news: The booming AI industry offers amazing opportunities to launch innovative and profitable businesses.
In this article, I’ll share 17+ of the best AI startup ideas that can set you up for success in 2023 and beyond.
These AI business ideas range from practical services that automate tasks to exciting technologies that shape the future.
You don’t need a technical background to make them work either. I’ll explain each idea in simple terms with real-world examples and actionable tips.
Whether you want to disrupt an industry or launch an AI-powered side hustle, you’ll find an idea that matches your skills and interests.
So if you’re ready to build an amazing AI-driven business this year, read on!
What are the best AI business ideas in 2023?
Here are 17+ top AI business ideas to consider:
1. Starts an AIO Writing Agency
Starting an AI-powered writing agency is one of the most promising business opportunities for entrepreneurs in 2024.
So, what is AIO?
AIO stands for artificial intelligence optimization.
This type of business allows you to leverage artificial intelligence to deliver high-quality, optimized content at scale—something that is in huge demand but in short supply.

Unlike a traditional human writing agency, you don't have to deal with unreliable writers or spend time training and managing them.
With the right AI writing assistant, you can produce better content faster and more profitably.
The key is finding an AI tool like Content at Scale or KoalaWriter that provides long-form articles with great SEO right out of the box.
With the AI doing the heavy lifting, your human writers can focus on optimizing and polishing the content efficiently. This results in a highly scalable and profitable service that earns you 73% profit margins.
2. Offer AI lead generation services
Providing AI-powered lead generation is an extremely promising business idea this year.
Instead of relying solely on humans to manually identify, qualify prospects, and outreach to them, you can tap into the vast power of AI to analyze mountains of data.
First, you can use an AI-powered lead generation tool like Leadzen to perform prospect research and streamline your outreach.
Leadzen has a Chrome extension to easily see contact details on websites. It helps send messages on LinkedIn and run email and WhatsApp campaigns.
The tool uses AI to keep your client list updated and gives you good leads to follow
This allows you to deliver targeted, sales-ready leads to clients in a fraction of the time—it could be 10X more than even the best human lead generation team could churn out.

For your clients, this is huge: AI lead generation can rocket their revenue growth by shortening sales cycles and only handing over leads poised to convert.
As the entrepreneur powering this service, you get to be on the ground floor of leveraging revolutionary AI to solve one of marketing's toughest challenges.
And that puts you in a prime spot to completely dominate the lead generation space as demand for AI blows up across industries.
3. Start an AI automation agency (AAA)
An AAA business model is a kind of DIY model for total newbies, helping smaller companies leverage AI without needing a bunch of technical know-how.
Most companies are hungry to boost business efficiency with new technology but don't have the budget for a full-on AI system.
That's where you come in, offering tailored AI solutions without the giant price tag.
The key is tapping into user-friendly no-code platforms that make it simple to build chatbots, set up predictive analytics, and automate workflows—you name it.
For example, you can use Make.com to automate customer support in businesses by setting up a system where every time a customer fills out a contact form on a website, their details are instantly sent as a text message to the relevant team, ensuring immediate follow-up and enhancing efficiency.
Here's my detailed guide on AI automation agency ideas you can start.
4. Sell AI-generated personalized digital art
Selling personalized AI art could be a crazy lucrative e-commerce niche to jump into. The idea is to use artificial intelligence algorithms to generate unique digital artwork for each customer instantly.
They could be portraits, landscape photography, or trippy abstract images—whatever people's heart's desire—created on-demand in any artistic style.
The key is leveraging AI art platforms like NightCafe or Jasper Art that handle the design rendering using next-level neural networks.
Then you set up a slick online shopfront with tons of customizable products, hook up print-on-demand fulfillment with Printify, and you've got an automated system from order to doorstep.
If you find the process of setting up your store daunting, leverage a platform like Fy! - - a popular online art marketplace.

It's similar to RedBubble for print-on-demand.
For the right entrepreneur, an AI art shop could be a goldmine waiting to be tapped. The technology keeps getting more advanced too, so your automated masterpieces will only get eerily lifelike.
5. Provide video editing services
Starting a video editing service that taps into artificial intelligence could be a smash-hit business idea.
AI tools like InVideo can handle time-intensive editing tasks like creating scripts and scenes, adding voiceovers, and tweaking the video at your command.
This allows you to focus on providing that human creative touch for show-topping videos.
The technology will only get more innovative, too; AI can now do automated video tagging, smart cuts, voice dubbing, audio enhancement, and more futuristic features.
While it does require deep video editing expertise, this startup opportunity allows you to blend cutting-edge AI with human artistry.
This combination speeds up your turnaround time, enabling you to serve more clients and ensure each one meets their uploading schedule.
A Quick Look at the Current State of the AI Market
AI has made tremendous advances in recent years thanks to bigger datasets, more computing power, and algorithmic improvements. While AI still has limitations, its capabilities are growing rapidly.
Here are some real-life examples:
- The US AI market is estimated to be worth over $299.64 billion by 2026. Major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are making massive investments.
- In healthcare, AI is being used to assist doctors with diagnostics, customize treatment plans, and even predict patient outcomes. One report predicts the AI healthcare market will be worth nearly $187.95 billion by 2030. That's a huge opportunity to lower costs and improve care.
- AI chatbots and virtual assistants are also taking over customer service in all kinds of businesses. By 2025, over 95% of customer interactions could happen via AI, vastly improving efficiency.
- On the cybersecurity front, AI is helping detect and stop hackers and online threats before they cause damage. With cyberattacks on the rise, AI security tools will be essential. This market is forecast to be worth $38 billion in the next few years.
- Automation is improving, with companies like Tesla racing to build fully autonomous cars. According to a report by Allied Market Research, the autonomous vehicle market is expected to reach $556 billion by 2026.
While narrow AI has made great progress, we are still far from human-level artificial general intelligence.
Today's AI doesn't really understand common sense, finds it hard to think abstractly, and doesn't really know itself. We might achieve this one day, but for now, such advanced AI isn't here yet.
The rise of AI is just beginning, and it will probably change many fields in the future.
It's good to be realistic; we should be happy about what AI can do now but also know what it can't do. As AI keeps growing fast, exciting changes are coming.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it—5 exciting AI business ideas primed for success in the years ahead!
The key is finding that idea that ignites your passion and plays to your strengths. Do you want to revolutionize healthcare? Empower small businesses? Or build AI robots? The possibilities are endless.
With a solid plan and the drive to execute, any one of these AI startup ideas could become the next big thing.
The global demand for AI solutions will only expand. So get out there and make your futuristic business dreams a reality!
I hope this article has inspired you and provided a launchpad to brainstorm the best AI business ideas for your goals.
The future is here; now go seize it. I wish you tremendous success as you leverage AI to make your mark on the world!
Frequently Asked Questions
The future of AI for small businesses is bright - AI can help automate processes, provide insights from data, improve customer service through chatbots, and more. Targeted AI tools will allow small businesses to compete and be more efficient.
An AI could not independently run all aspects of a business today, but in the future AI assistants may be able to handle more responsibilities, freeing up human managers and owners for creative tasks.
AI fields like computer vision, NLP, reinforcement learning, and generative AI have major potential going forward as they continue to develop abilities matching or exceeding human skills.
AI applications like automated ad buying, predictive analytics for business forecasting, and resume screening have already proven highly successful at providing value and ROI.
Small businesses need to evaluate their pain points and data assets, then determine where commercially available AI solutions can affordably automate processes or provide actionable insights. Focusing AI on narrow tasks will maximize benefits.