![\"Yelp\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785670094_554_0x0.jpg\")
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Close-up of sign on facade at headquarters of travel and restaurant rating company Yelp in San Francisco, California, December 25, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection\/Gado\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty ImagesLet\u2019s Recap:
\u201cTokenmaxxing\u201d wanes in popularitySome non-profits are using AI in smart waysYelp adds an AI phone assistantFixing your spotty Wi-Fi at homeHow old tractors are becoming self-driving tractorsWorkplaces Look for Cheaper AI as ‘Tokenmaxxing’ Fades as a Corporate Fad<\/p>\n
Companies are hitting the breaks on tokenmaxxing<\/a> \u2013 maximum usage of AI tokens \u2013 and turning to more disciplined usage of AI. A token is a unit of text (roughly three-quarters of a word each) that AI uses to read and write language. AI models charge based on tokens. Earlier in 2026, some companies encouraged employees to use as many AI tokens as possible, viewing heavy AI usage as a sign of innovation and productivity. Now reality is setting in as skyrocketing AI costs are causing companies to pull back and adopt \u201cmodel routing\u201d \u2013 sending queries to cheaper and more efficient AI systems. \u201cNot everything needs a Claude Opus 4.6,\u201d said June Wang, Bain & Company management consultant. Companies are now delegating which tasks require more advanced, expensive models. Another reason behind this shift is productivity gains haven\u2019t matched the high degree of AI utilization \u2013 and businesses of all sizes are taking a more prudent approach. (Source: AP News<\/a>) <\/p>\n Why this is important for your small business: <\/p>\n AI isn\u2019t free. In fact, it can be pretty darn expenses as many companies are finding out. Although small and mid-sized companies are lured in by \u201cfree\u201d programs or costs around $20 per month, the real cost comes when you start integrating your AI platforms \u2013 i.e., ChatGPT, Claude, etc. \u2013 into your company\u2019s data. The API\u2019s then start using \u201ctokens\u201d and the more people prompt, the higher goes the cost. The lesson for business owners of all sizes is to get a handle on what these costs using conservative usage estimates at the beginning of your AI project so you can truly determine its return-on-investment.<\/p>\n 3 New Ways Nonprofits Can Put AI To Work<\/p>\n This week, Google posted on its blog the ways in which non-profits can take advantage of its AI offerings \u201cto help more organizations put AI to work for their missions.\u201d Google is introducing new tools and resources with Google Workspace for Nonprofits to help organizations operate more efficiently. Eligible users get access to Gemini, NotebookLM, and applications (Google Sheets, Docs, Meet, etc.) Nonprofits can also receive substantial discounts on higher-tier Workspace editions. The other standout feature of Google Workspace for Nonprofits are free AI courses which will focus on topics that nonprofits have shared with Google such as fundraising, marketing, and operations. Organizations will also receive one-on-one, personalized productivity training. This latest update includes a significant statistic the company shared per their research: 86 percent of nonprofits they surveyed said that AI has the potential to make their work more effective. (Source: Google<\/a>)<\/p>\n Why this is important for your small business: <\/p>\n I\u2019m the Treasurer at a very small nonprofit and already sent this article to our Executive Director!<\/p>\n Yelp’s AI Phone Assistant Just Got A Lot More Useful For Small Restaurants<\/p>\n Yelp has expanded its Yelp Host AI phone assistant adding new capabilities that will help restaurants<\/a> keep their operations running smoothly. For independent restaurants facing labor shortages or high call volumes, voice AI is becoming a revenue-generating tool. According to the announcement, Yelp Host can answer incoming calls 24\/7, take pick-up orders conversationally, and send them directly to a restaurant’s point-of-sale (POS) system without employee involvement. For establishments that use OpenTable \u2013 an online reservations platform \u2013 Yelp Host will book, modify or cancel reservations around the clock reducing missed calls. According to the company, Yelp Host has exceeded one million handled calls, and Host has increased call volume by an average of 38 percent month over month. (Source: The Useful Daily<\/a>)<\/p>\n Why this is important for your small business: <\/p>\n This is a good solution, and so is Slang.ai,<\/a> another AI-leveraged phone system that automates routine calls for reservations and other questions. Restaurants are struggling this year and want to keep overhead as low as possible. Employing a person to answer these calls is not a great use of funds when technology can do it for you. This is not replacing workers, it\u2019s augmenting them. The system is answer simple questions and offers the caller the option to immediately speak to a human if the request is more complicated. If I was crazy enough to own a restaurant (not kidding!) I would absolutely have a system like this in place. It works.<\/p>\n A Tech Writer Fixes Her Home Office’s Spotty Wi-Fi with Samsung’s Free Diagnostic Tool \u2013 In Minutes<\/p>\n Kerry Wan of ZDNet shared how she resolved a connectivity issue in her home office based on her computer\u2019s location. \u201cMy internet for work really took a tumble,\u201d Wan said. Then she discovered Samsung\u2019s Connectivity Labs feature that helps diagnose weak Wi-Fi coverage. Included inside of Samsung\u2019s Wi-Fi settings, Connectivity Labs provides advanced diagnostics, has a home Wi-Fi inspection feature that lets users walk around their home or office while the phone measures signal strength. The tool creates a \u201cheatmap\u201d that measures areas with strong, weak, or inconsistent Wi-Fi. Based on what she found, she repositioned her desk and ran another test which showed a higher Wi-Fi signal. Wan also takes you through the steps of how to unlock the feature on your phone. (Source: ZDNet<\/a>)<\/p>\n Why this is important for your small business: <\/p>\n Are you running your business from home? Or maybe you work from home for a business. Fast Wi-Fi is critical and if your connectivity is also \u201cspotty\u201d you may find Wan\u2019s advice helpful.<\/p>\n New Automation Tech Turns Old Tractors into Self-Driving Farming Machines<\/p>\n Illinois-based agri-tech startup Sabanto Tractors has developed a system for converting existing tractors into autonomous machines \u2013 saving farmers the expense of replacing equipment. The company has developed autonomous driving technology for many existing tractor models. The startup reflects a broader shift toward advanced, AI-driven farming. (Source: Fast Company<\/a>)<\/p>\n Why this is important for your small business:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a rig that can be attached to just about any tractor,\u201d as detailed in the article. Farmers supervise the equipment as the autonomous vehicle performs mowing, seeding, or weeding \u2013 which also helps with labor shortages farmers are dealing with. The company emphasizes that the technology is designed to automate repetitive, time-consuming field work \u2013 not eliminate farmers. Sabanto was founded by Craig Rupp who grew up on a farm in Iowa and was acutely aware of labor shortages. Rupp set out to address the problem and immersed himself in learning about the technology that resulted the autonomous rig. Sabanto also sells retrofitted kits to individual farmers.<\/p>\n Note: Have a technology story that small business owners should know about? Don\u2019t mind me sharing my opinion? Share it with me on X @genemarks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Close-up of sign on facade at headquarters of travel and restaurant rating company Yelp in San Francisco, California,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,132,17325,59311],"class_list":["post-127186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-google","tag-tokenmaxxing","tag-yelp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}