AI Salon Talks With AI Consultant Sundee Williams about what it takes to bring AI to rural communities.

AIS: Tell us about yourself. Where do you live?

Sundee: I live in south Mississippi — in Stone County, about an hour east of New Orleans. I moved here from Houston shortly after the pandemic, hoping for a quieter, simpler life.

AIS: What kind of work do you do, and how does AI help you do it?

Sundee: That’ll take a little explaining. My background is in corporate risk management and IT content development. I’ve been fascinated by machine learning for years, and was an early adopter of AI tools. When I moved to Stone County, I wanted to bring AI to South Mississippi by offering my services as a tech and AI consultant. But the community here is very tight-knit, and I couldn’t get my foot in the door.

I decided to take a job at the local print newspaper; I sell ads and tell stories of small communities in the region. I quickly found success in that role by using AI tools for research, as a writing partner, and for ideation. My success at the newspaper came with an unexpected benefit: it helped me gain people’s trust, giving me critically important social capital. Soon, my colleagues at the newspaper started introducing me not only as “advertising and sales,” but also “business services.” Now, when business owners have a problem they want to solve, they reach out to me.

AIS: Do you show local businesspeople how they can use AI-powered tools to help solve their problems?

Sundee: Yes, but it’s not that simple. This is a very poor, rural part of the country. People are stretched thin. They don’t have the time or money to experiment with new tools that will disrupt their workflow and may not prove helpful or profitable for months, while they learn to use them. New technology lands differently in a place like this than it does in urban areas: it looks much more like a risk than an opportunity. That’s what I spoke about at the 2025 Festivus event. Tech entrepreneurs are building all these amazing new AI tools that can dramatically expand small businesses’ capabilities. But in thousands of communities across America, small-business owners don’t have the education, training, time, or money to start leveraging the new tools.

AIS: Ultimately, though, AI-powered tools could really help these stretched-thin businesses. So, how do you get people to move forward with adopting the tools?

Sundee: It starts with clear, respectful communication. Last year, for instance, I spoke about AI at a public lunch-and-learn hosted by our local community college. I talked about AI tools in a completely non-technical, boots-on-the-ground kind of way. I explained how the tools can help

with things like scheduling, bookkeeping, writing, and marketing — saving business-owners time and money. I also stressed how tools like ChatGPT or Gemini can work like an old-fashioned office assistant; they can help you think through new ideas, work out problems, and crunch numbers. Many local businesses are owner-operated, and the owners are very isolated. Often, they just need someone to bounce ideas off.

The questions I got from the audience were amazing. People were excited and curious about the new tools. What struck me was how appreciative they were of clear explanations that didn’t dumb things down, but presented AI in a meaningful, relevant way.

That kind of practical education is critical. But you also have to take the time to demonstrate tangible benefits. Not flashy tricks, but real benefits. Here’s an example. When I moved to Stone County, it was one of the few Mississippi counties without a chamber of commerce. The local businesspeople wanted one, but they weren’t sure where to start. By asking ChatGPT questions, we learned what steps we needed to take and which documents we needed. It was a terrific illustration of how AI could help create real, lasting value. We’ve launched the chamber

— and I’m honored to serve as its president.

If you had five minutes to tell lawmakers how they can help bring AI’s benefits to communities like yours, what would you say?

Sundee: I’d start with access. In many rural areas, there’s no high-speed internet. That’s a barrier to residents’ use of any digital tools. Second, I’d emphasize the need for high-quality education and training that’s people-centric and respectful of the community’s needs and realities.

But I’d also say that before you start doing any helping, you have to step back and listen. You have to really try to understand what people need, and the particular challenges they’re dealing with. Honestly, sometimes I think the best thing about AI is that it gives me time; it frees me up to actually sit and listen to business owners and the problems they’re trying to solve.

Fundamentally, these communities need investment. That means more than just providing digital infrastructure. It means offering the kind of time and attention that fosters hope and opportunity. AI has the potential to transform small businesses and rural communities. If we can unleash that potential, we can bring so many benefits to so many Americans.