Let’s be honest, in 2025, it feels like every other company has slapped "AI" onto its homepage. The term isn’t just for a handful of tech giants anymore. Artificial intelligence has gone from a sci-fi concept to a tool that businesses are using for everything from answering customer questions to organizing their internal docs.
But with all this buzz, it’s getting tough for business leaders to tell what’s real and what’s just marketing fluff. How do you find an AI tool that actually helps your team without needing a giant budget or a crew of developers? This guide will cut through the noise, break down the different kinds of companies with AI out there, and give you a straightforward way to think about bringing AI into your own business.
What does it mean to be one of the companies with AI?
Being a "company with AI" isn’t about having some futuristic robot in the office. It’s about using AI to solve real problems, make things run smoother, and give your customers a better experience.
The whole AI world is pretty much split into two camps:
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AI Builders: These are the big players creating the core technology, like the large language models (LLMs) that everyone is talking about.
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AI Appliers: These are the companies that take that powerful tech and build practical apps on top of it to solve specific business problems.
For most businesses, the real magic happens when you partner with the AI appliers. They’ve done the heavy lifting of turning a raw, general-purpose AI into a specialized tool that can start delivering results right away.
The two types of companies with AI, up close
While both types of companies with AI are essential for the AI world to function, they play very different roles when you’re looking to adopt AI for your business. Figuring out the difference is the first step to making a smart choice.
The giants: Companies with AI that build foundational models
You know these names. Companies with AI like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft are constantly featured on lists like the Forbes AI 50, and for good reason. They’re building the incredibly powerful, general-purpose models (think GPT-4 and Gemini) that the entire industry is built on. Their game is a high-stakes race to create the biggest, smartest models possible.
But for your average business, trying to work directly with these foundational models comes with some major hurdles:
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It’s complicated: Using their raw APIs isn’t a simple plug-and-play situation. It requires serious technical know-how and developers who can dedicate time to it.
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It gets expensive: Training and running these huge models costs a lot of money, and the bills can be unpredictable, making it a nightmare to budget for.
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They’re a blank slate: These models know a lot about the world, but they know nothing about your company. They don’t know your specific workflows, your support ticket history, or your brand’s voice without a ton of time-consuming fine-tuning. This is the "last mile" problem where most businesses get stuck.
The specialists: Companies with AI solving real problems
This is where AI gets practical. Instead of handing you a generic engine and a user manual, these companies with AI build user-friendly tools that target specific pain points, turning all that raw potential into actual value for your business.
How companies with AI make customer and IT support better
This is one of the areas where applied AI is already making a huge difference. The goal is simple: answer customer questions faster so your human agents can focus on the trickier, more personal issues. But how you get there matters. The trouble with many AI support platforms is that they’re a huge pain to set up. They often make you move everything over from your current help desk (like Zendesk or Freshdesk), take months to get running, and lock you into clunky automation rules you can barely control.
There’s a much better way. The best modern tools are lightweight and work with what you already use. For example, a platform like eesel AI plugs into your help desk in minutes, not months. It learns from your past support tickets automatically, so its answers are tailored to your business from the get-go, without you having to rip out your existing systems and start from scratch.
How companies with AI help sort out internal knowledge
Another big win for applied AI is helping your own team find the info they need to do their jobs. We’ve all been there: company knowledge is scattered everywhere. Important stuff is buried in Confluence, Google Docs, and that one Slack thread from three weeks ago. Most internal search tools only look in one place, which leaves employees clicking around in frustration, wasting valuable time.
An internal AI assistant that actually works has to connect all those dots. With eesel AI’s Internal Chat, you can link all your knowledge sources with just a few clicks. So when an employee asks a question in Slack, they get one clear, accurate answer pulled from the company’s entire, up-to-date knowledge base.
How to pick the right partner from the many companies with AI
Okay, so you get the landscape. Now, how do you find an AI vendor that will actually help you? It really comes down to looking for a few things that separate the practical tools from the overhyped ones.
Look for radical simplicity and quick results from companies with AI
Too many big AI projects fizzle out because they get bogged down in long, complex setup phases. You shouldn’t have to wait six months to see if your investment was worth it. You should see a difference in days, maybe even hours.
What to look for: A truly self-serve platform. Can you sign up, connect your tools, and get a basic AI agent running without sitting through a mandatory demo or a dozen sales calls? With a tool like eesel AI, you can go from signing up to having a live AI agent in your help desk in less than an hour.
Demand full control and customization from companies with AI
A one-size-fits-all AI is a recipe for disaster. It leads to robotic, off-brand replies that annoy customers and frustrate your team. You need to be in the driver’s seat, controlling what the AI does, how it talks, and when it knows to pass a conversation to a human.
What to look for: A flexible workflow engine. Does the platform let you tweak the AI’s persona, set its tone of voice, and define the specific tasks it can handle? eesel AI’s prompt editor and custom AI Actions let you configure everything, from automatically tagging tickets to looking up order details in your Shopify store.
Test solutions from companies with AI thoroughly before you go live
Unleashing an unproven AI on your customers is a massive gamble. You need to know exactly how it’s going to behave before it ever has a conversation with a real person.
What to look for: A solid simulation mode. The best platforms let you safely test your AI setup on thousands of your past tickets. This gives you an accurate, data-backed forecast of how it will perform. The simulation feature in eesel AI shows you exactly how it would have answered past questions, giving you the confidence to roll it out safely and gradually.
Insist on transparent, predictable pricing from companies with AI
Watch out for confusing "per-resolution" pricing. Many AI vendors use this model, which means your bill goes up the better the AI performs. You’re basically penalized for success, and it makes it impossible to know what you’ll be paying from month to month.
What to look for: Simple, flat-rate pricing. You should know exactly what you’re paying, with no surprises. eesel AI’s pricing is based on a predictable number of AI interactions, with clear tiers and no hidden fees.
| Criteria | The Old Way (Traditional Enterprise AI) | The Modern Way (eesel AI) |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Months-long setup, mandatory demos | Self-serve, go live in minutes |
| Integration | Requires replacing your existing tools | One-click connection to your help desk & apps |
| Control | Rigid, "black box" automation rules | Fully customizable workflows, prompts & actions |
| Testing | No pre-launch testing, high risk | Powerful simulation on your historical tickets |
| Pricing | Unpredictable per-resolution fees | Transparent, flat-rate plans |
You Don’t Need to Be a Tech Giant to Join the Companies with AI
The world of AI isn’t just for massive corporations anymore. Practical, useful AI is available to businesses of all sizes, and it’s never been easier to get started. The trick is to look past the hype and focus on tools that are simple, give you control, and fit right into the way you already work.
You don’t need a huge budget or a special AI team to become a company that uses AI to make a real difference. The right platform can start improving your operations in a matter of days, not years, bringing immediate value to your customers and your team.
Ready to see what AI can do for your support?
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Frequently asked questions
Not at all. While working directly with foundational model builders is expensive, "AI appliers" like eesel AI offer practical, affordable tools that fit into your existing workflow. This makes it easy for businesses of any size to get started without a massive budget.
For most businesses, partnering with specialist AI appliers is the most practical choice. They offer ready-to-use solutions for specific problems like customer support, allowing you to see a return on investment quickly without needing a team of developers.
Unlike traditional enterprise software that can take months to implement, modern AI tools are designed for speed. With a platform built for simplicity, you can often connect your existing tools and launch a functional AI agent in under an hour.
The best modern AI platforms give you full control. You should be able to customize the AI’s persona and tone of voice, define its exact tasks, and decide precisely when a conversation should be handed off to a human agent.
Reputable AI companies prioritize security with strict data handling policies. When choosing a partner, look for transparency about their security practices and ensure they comply with data privacy regulations to protect your company and customer information.
AI is being applied across many business functions to drive efficiency. You’ll find AI tools helping with sales outreach automation, marketing content generation, data analysis, and even software development.
