- Meta's Muse now works for small businesses, and it's free to start
- Salesforce's Piper agent answers inbound leads and books meetings
- Shopify lets you build your store by chat, and AI shoppers can now check out
- BCG finds half of firms get value from AI, but only 5% have agent controls
- OpenAI's dots are agents that keep working after you close the chat
- Claude Max and Team plans now include monthly API credits
Meta's Muse now works for small businesses, and it's free to start
On September 29, Meta launched Muse for Small Business. It's an AI agent that connects to your Facebook Page, your Instagram professional account and your Meta ad account, plus tools like Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks, Canva, Klaviyo, Slack and HighLevel.
Meta says it can analyze ad performance, draft campaigns, flag emails that need a reply and write the drafts.
If you're running the business and the marketing yourself, that's an extra pair of hands that costs nothing to start. It's free with usage limits, and it's available in the US and Canada.
And publishing, sending messages and spending all wait for your approval.
So you're still the one who says yes.
Your move
Connect Muse to your Facebook Page and Instagram account and ask which three posts from the last 90 days drew the most comments, and why. Then have it draft three new posts in that pattern for you to approve.
Sources: Meta: Introducing Muse for Small Business; TechCrunch: Meta is expanding its AI agent Muse to small businesses; Channel Insider: Meta Muse AI agent adds workflows for small businesses
Salesforce's Piper agent answers inbound leads and books meetings
At Dreamforce, Salesforce made Piper generally available. It's a sales development agent that nurtures inbound leads, answers their questions over text, voice or video, qualifies them and books meetings.
Salesforce also opened a pilot of long-horizon agents that work toward a goal like 're-engage my at-risk deals' over an extended period.
Salesforce plans to make those long-horizon agents generally available in November 2026.
You don't need Salesforce to use this. One of the first jobs Salesforce has built an agent for is the gap between a lead raising a hand and a person getting back to them.
If your inbound leads wait overnight, that gap can cost you conversions.
And it's the easiest place to put an agent, a better automation or simply a faster human.
Your move
Fill in your own website contact form today with a fresh email address and time how long it takes to hear back. Then post that number where your team will see it.
Sources: Salesforce: 21 Things We Announced at Dreamforce 2026
Shopify lets you build your store by chat, and AI shoppers can now check out
Two Shopify changes landed days apart. On October 1, Shopify debuted Canvas, where you build your store by chatting with Sidekick, its AI assistant, and watch the changes show up in real time.
Canvas is desktop-only for now.
On September 28, Shopify also opened checkout to browser-based AI agents, which can now read the checkout, update it and submit the order with the buyer's authorization. That checkout change is rolling out to all eligible merchants.
If you're launching, Canvas lowers the 'I need a developer' wall for your first version.
And if you already sell, some buyers may start sending an agent to shop for them.
An agent works from what's written on the page. So vague titles and missing details can cost you that sale before a person ever sees your photos.
Your move
Open your best-selling product page, paste it into any AI assistant and ask: 'If you were shopping for a customer, what would stop you buying this?' Then fix the top two gaps in the title and description.
Sources: TechCrunch: Shopify debuts Canvas, a way to build online stores by chatting with AI; TechCrunch: Shopify opens checkout to browser-based AI agents
BCG finds half of firms get value from AI, but only 5% have agent controls
BCG's Applied AI Index 2026 surveyed more than 1,300 senior leaders across 20-plus sectors and found that almost 50% of companies now generate value from AI. Agents' share of that value climbed from 17% to 22% in a year.
But 42% of companies expect to give agents autonomy by 2030.
Only 5% have the full set of controls BCG says are needed in place today.
BCG's advice is its 10-20-70 rule: 10% of the effort on algorithms, 20% on technology and data, and 70% on people, organization and processes.
So if your agent program is mostly a conversation about tools, it's aimed at the smallest slice of the work.
Your move
Take your top agent project and write one line each on its model, its data, and its people and process changes. If the third line isn't the longest, that's your next meeting.
Sources: BCG: The Formula for Agentic AI Value; Consulting.us: Nearly half of companies now create value with AI, BCG report
OpenAI's dots are agents that keep working after you close the chat
OpenAI introduced dots, persistent agents in ChatGPT that keep working after you close the chat window. Each dot runs on GPT-6 Astra with its own cloud computer and browser, can connect to more than 4,000 applications, and gradually learns your preferences and working habits.
The first dot is included at no charge for Pro and Business Premium customers.
So the question moves from 'what should I ask AI' to 'what job should I hand it'. A dot is closer to a junior hire than a chat window.
And like a junior hire, it does its best work with a clear role, one clear outcome and a short list of things it has to check with you first.
Your move
Write a one-page job description for your first agent: its name, the one outcome it owns, the tools it may touch, and the three things it has to ask you before doing.
Sources: VentureBeat: OpenAI launches Dots, always-on AI agent coworkers, and ChatGPT Space; InfoQ: OpenAI DevDay 2026 Recap for Developers
Claude Max and Team plans now include monthly API credits
Anthropic now gives Max and Team subscribers a monthly allowance for the Claude API. It's $100 on Max 5x and $200 on Max 20x, and on Team plans it's $20 per Standard seat and $100 per Premium seat, pooled and capped at $500.
The credits cover the Claude API, Claude Managed Agents and the Claude Agent SDK.
They don't cover interactive Claude Code sessions, and unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle.
If you already pay for one of these plans and you've put off building your first small agent because the bill felt open-ended, that reason just got smaller.
And if you saw the news about free Claude Team for startups, Anthropic's program page now says it's over capacity on that offer because of demand.
Your move
Head to your plan's billing settings and link a Claude Console organization, so this month's credits land before they expire.
Sources: Claude Help Center: Monthly API credits for Max and Team plans; Claude: Claude for Startups program
Where to go next
If you want to put one of these moves to work, start with the free Growth Mastery Workshop. You'll build your offer and the pages that sell it on your own paid Claude plan.