Writing a business plan from scratch is time-consuming and complex – requiring in-depth market analysis, strategic planning and financial projections.
AI business plan generators offer a smart solution for quickly assembling professional business plans with less hands-on work.
In this article, you’ll discover how to create an AI business plan, the seven best tools available and what to look for when choosing the right one for your startup.
How can an AI business plan help?
Instead of manually researching and crafting your business plan, you can leverage generative AI to do most of the work. Generative artificial intelligence tools – like ChatGPT – create purposeful content based on your prompts.
Get AI tools to draft your startup’s business plan faster by having them gather insights, format the document and write key sections.
AI business plan generators facilitate your planning efforts by:
Structuring your business plan. While these tools don’t conduct original market research, they structure your plan according to a proven framework. AI helps you refine your ideas, clarify goals and organize critical sections.
Acting as a smart assistant. AI enhances your strategic thinking. It turns your input into a coherent, professional draft, meaning you don’t have to stress over formatting or phrasing.
Fast-tracking your first draft. AI-generated business plans serve as a strong first draft. Think of AI as a fast-track tool – it eliminates writer’s block and organizes your thoughts so you can focus on critical tasks like securing funding.
AI business plan generators use natural language processing (NLP) and conversational AI models to understand, process and respond to human language). The models can analyze stacks of business documents to find structure, tone and content patterns.
Feeding the generator key business details – like your industry, target market, revenue model and ideas – creates a well-rounded draft you can easily polish.
The bottom line: While AI won’t replace your strategic thinking, it helps you structure, refine and speed up the business planning process.
7 best AI business plan generators
With so many AI business plan generators available, you’ll need to determine which ones offer the best features, usability and value for your startup needs. To guide you, here’s a list of seven top tools explaining how they work, their key features and what makes them stand out.
1. Bizplanr: best for first-time founders
Bizplanr streamlines the creation of professional business plans, focusing on accessibility, speed and industry-specific content.
While many business plan generators offer AI-assisted writing, Bizplanr offers a free core offering that focuses on helping you secure funding.
How Bizplanr works:
First, provide Bizplanr with key details about your business idea through a guided questionnaire.
The AI processes your inputs and crafts a comprehensive business plan, including financial reporting, market insights and strategic sales goals. You can then refine the business plan and download it as a PDF.
Bizplanr’s key features:
Pro plan for advanced financial modeling and pitch deck creation
Industry-specific business plans, including for tech startups and non-profits
Quick creation of business plans in less than 15 minutes
Plans tailored to crowdfunding initiatives, bank loan applications or investor pitches
Web browser and mobile app functionality for business planning on the go
Bizplanr is easy to use and accessible for startups and small-scale business owners.
2. Venturekit: best for visual market insights
The Venturekit tool offers a comprehensive business planning experience with visualization capabilities.
In addition to business plans, it uses AI technology to create detailed executive summaries, competitive analyses and marketing strategies.
How Venturekit works:
Venturekit provides a questionnaire to help you start:
Answer key questions about your business idea, and the AI tool will draw up a detailed plan from scratch.
Venturekit’s key features:
Over 50 templates to generate the different parts of your business plan
Visualization elements, including dynamic charts and financial projections
Interactive chat feature that answers business-related questions and offers content suggestions
Supports multiple users to work simultaneously on your plans
Venturekit suits new entrepreneurs looking to present a visually rich business plan with AI-driven insights. Its AI business assistant offers both personalized guidance and content suggestions.
3. ChatGPT: best for brainstorming business ideas
ChatGPT is an AI tool that’s able to generate business plans through conversational guidance.
Unlike dedicated business plan writers, ChatGPT’s tool provides flexibility in structuring business plans. You can request specific sections, adjust content in real time and refine the plan with feedback.
How ChatGPT works:
To draft a business plan, start by prompting ChatGPT with your small business idea, key details and goals.
ChatGPT will respond with business plan sections based on your input. Then, create additional prompts to ask follow-up questions and request modifications.
ChatGPT’s key features:
Fully customizable business plans based on prompts
Enables real-time edits and adjustments through conversation
Business plan sections generated individually or as a complete document
Provides industry-specific insights and business strategy recommendations
ChatGPT is a general-purpose AI providing broader support beyond business planning. You can write specific prompts for each business plan section, giving you more control over the output.
4. Copy.ai: best for affordable market-ready business plans
Copy.ai is an AI-powered writing tool that can generate creative content. While not exclusively a business plan generator, Copy.ai gives you templates and tools to design each section.
How Copy.ai works:
Choose a business plan template, then give Copy.ai the necessary information it asks for.
Copy.ai will formulate content for each section of your business plan. You can refine and edit the generated copy according to your needs.
Copy.ai’s key features:
Range of business plan templates for apps, restaurants and more
Free plan that lets you test the tool before investing
Go-to-market workflows to kickstart your business beyond plan creation
Copy.ai is suitable for solopreneurs and small startup teams that need guidance but don’t have the budget for consultants. It taps into different large language models (LLMs) to create your business plan alongside task automation, data analysis and providing insights.
5. Venture Planner: best for unique brand strategies
Venture Planner uses a simplified business plan creation process, guiding you through multiple-choice questions.
In contrast with other AI business plan generators, the tool eliminates the need for extensive typing and data entry.
How Venture Planner works:
First, respond to questions that will help Venture Planner understand your vision, business goals and mission statement.
Venture Planner then analyzes your inputs and offers suggestions and strategies. As you progress through the creation wizard, Venture Planner will populate the business plan sections with detailed text, charts and graphics.
Venture Planner’s key features:
No typing required – provide your information by clicking multiple-choice questions
Suggests strategies to enhance business growth and planning
Supports multi-user collaboration for teams
Develops unique brand positioning, promotional and pricing strategies for specific target audiences
While it lacks an AI rewrite option, Venture Planner’s user-friendly platform organizes your ideas into a professional business plan format.
6. Upmetrics: best for financial modeling
Upmetrics is an AI business plan generator that combines AI content creation with advanced financial forecasting. The tool integrates with accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero to provide in-depth financial modeling.
How Upmetrics works:
Start the strategic planning process by selecting a business plan template. You can also generate a content roadmap from scratch using built-in AI assistance.
The Upmetrics platform will guide you through each section, providing step-by-step instructions and real-time financial forecasting tools.
Upmetrics’ key features:
Cash flow forecasts, balance sheets and profit and loss projections
You can extract key insights from the plan to generate an investor-ready pitch deck
Allows multiple users to edit and comment on your business plan draft
Over 500 sample plans for different business types
Upmetrics goes beyond basic AI-generated outlines with financial insights and stakeholder-focused tools. It supports entrepreneurs who need a quick, professional-grade business plan to acquire funding.
7. Grammarly: best for polishing business plan language
Known for its AI writing assistance, Grammarly also offers a free business plan generator. The feature creates polished executive summaries with AI-driven grammar correction, tone analysis and writing style improvements.
How Grammarly works:
Craft a business plan in four steps: provide a company summary, marketing details, competitor information and a financial overview.
Grammarly will generate a cohesive business plan ready for you to fine-tune based on the information you enter. The platform offers writing suggestions to improve grammar, tone and clarity as you edit the results.
Grammarly’s key features:
Creates clear and professional summaries from the information you submit
High-level grammar and clarity suggestions to enhance content quality
Aligns summaries with the desired tone and offers tips for improvement
Refines marketing content for social media, email campaigns and more
Grammarly creates persuasive, error-free content. While it won’t give you the most detailed business plan, it gives you a starting point plus ongoing suggestions to tailor your language to your target audience.
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What to look for in an AI business plan generator
Choosing the right AI business planning software can streamline planning and improve your startup’s organizational strategy. Each AI-powered tool will have different benefits and features, so choose what works for your company.
Consider these key elements when selecting an AI business plan generator.
Customizable outputs to tailor the plan to your business
A good AI business plan generator lets you edit and refine the content to fit unique business needs. The AI should output structured plans that allow you to change sections, add details and modify the tone.
Here’s how to evaluate each business plan generator’s customizability:
What to look for | What to avoid |
The ability to add, remove or modify sections of the business plan | Generators that lock the content, making it difficult to rewrite or refine it |
Custom branding options to include your logo, color scheme and fonts | One-size-fits-all templates that don’t adapt to your industry or business type |
Financial projections to highlight profitability
A business plan should include financial data to show investors how your idea can make money. The best tools generate AI reports like cash flow projections and balance sheets.
Some tools, like Upmetrics, integrate with accounting software to reduce manual data entry.
What to look for | What to avoid |
Financial modeling that allows for adjustments based on actual business performance | AI-generated projections that use unrealistic business expansion rates or fail to consider business expenses |
AI that bases projections on industry data rather than generic estimates | Tools that don’t let you modify projections to reflect actual sales revenue and costs |
The ability to input historical financial data to make projections more accurate | Business plan generators that lack financial plans, as investors and lenders won’t take the results seriously |
Multiple output formats so you can share the plan easily
Different audiences require unique types of business plans. A strong AI generator should be able to create traditional long-form plans, lean startup plans, one-page overviews or investor-focused reports.
What to look for | What to avoid |
The ability to download or export in multiple formats, like PDF, Word or PowerPoint | AI tools that only generate one format |
Formatting options for investor sales presentations, internal planning or grant applications | Business plans that look unstructured or unprofessional for presenting to investors |
Professional layout and design for a polished final product | Platforms that charge extra fees to unlock different formats after generating the plan |
Detailed questions so your plan is industry-specific
High-quality AI tools ask specific questions about your business model, target market, revenue streams and competitive positioning.
Detailed questioning ensures that the plan generated is relevant to the industry, making it more useful for investors, lenders or internal planning.
What to look for | What to avoid |
AI tools that ask for detailed information about your own business | Generators that produce the same generic business plan regardless of the industry you choose |
Industry-specific questions and templates that adapt to your business type | AI that fills in unrealistic details, making the business plan seem artificial or unreliable |
AI that suggests relevant competitive insights based on the industry you select | Lack of customization in market research, leading to irrelevant data or missing sections |
Strong data privacy so your business information is secure
Because business plans contain sensitive financial and strategic information, security is essential. The best AI platforms use encryption, secure cloud storage and strict privacy policies to ensure third parties don’t access your data.
What to look for | What to avoid |
Platforms that clearly state their data privacy policies and data protection measures | AI tools that store or resell your business data without consent |
AI software that doesn’t store your business information after generating the plan | Platforms that lack transparency about where and how they store your information |
Ready-made templates to speed up the process
Pre-built templates give you a head start on structuring your business plan. A strong AI tool should offer industry-specific templates for businesses like e-commerce startups or service-based companies – saving you time and effort during the planning process.
What to look for | What to avoid |
Industry-specific templates with pre-filled relevant sections | Generic templates that aren’t particularly useful |
The ability to modify templates based on your needs | AI tools that charge extra for basic templates |
Look for features like customizable outputs, financial projections, various export formats, detailed questionnaires, strong data privacy and ready-made templates to streamline planning.
Choosing the right AI business planning tools will lay the groundwork. Integrating them with CRM software enables you to make even more effective plans – here’s how.
5 ways CRM software can support an AI business plan
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a valuable tool during the business planning phase. While typically associated with managing existing customers, a CRM system can help you create a data-backed plan to win new business.
Here’s how a CRM like Pipedrive supports the pre-launch business planning process.
1. Estimating market interest and conversion potential
Even before making a sale, CRM data provides insights into early customer interest and engagement. Using this data, you can estimate potential demand for your business plan.
An AI CRM like Pipedrive tracks:
Lead volume over time (how many potential customers show interest) with Insights and Reports features
Response and engagement rates for your outreach sales efforts
Sales pipeline movement (how many leads progress from initial sales conversations to expressing strong buying intent)
Here’s a sneak peek at Pipedrive’s reporting dashboard, where you can easily track sales metrics:
Use this data to estimate conversion potential and define milestones in your business plan. This information ensures realistic expectations for when revenue will start flowing post-launch.
2. Mapping out a scalable sales process
Investors and lenders want a repeatable, scalable sales funnel in the business plan. An AI CRM like Pipedrive helps you:
Structure a sales pipeline before launch, defining fundamental stages like lead generation, sales demo, sales proposal and deal closing
Track early-stage customer interactions to refine the sales cycle duration
Set up automated email follow-ups and use workflow automation to improve engagement
Here’s what creating an early-interaction pipeline looks like in Pipedrive:
Instead of making vague claims in the business plan, Pipedrive lets you outline a step-by-step approach to customer conversion.
3. Improving your sales plan with actionable AI advice
A CRM with integrated AI generates insights that help you map out a scalable sales strategy before you start making revenue.
Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant is a dedicated AI-powered sales tool that:
Analyzes early-stage interactions with potential customers to recommend follow-up actions and flag opportunities to improve sales effectiveness
Predicts deal win probability by identifying which types of sales leads are most likely to convert
Provides personalized AI-driven tool recommendations to enhance your planning
Here’s how deal suggestions appear in Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant:
Use the tool’s AI insights to create a rounded business plan with an accurate sales budget and optimized workflows.
4. Building an ideal customer profile (ICP) before launch
When starting a new business, your plan needs a clear target audience. Pipedrive helps you create an ideal customer profile by:
Organizing leads and prospects into different segments (e.g., industries, customer demographics)
Tracking customer pain points from initial sales conversations
Identifying which sales channels generate the most interest
Pipedrive’s contact management features allow you to build detailed customer profiles and find key information at a glance.
With the right knowledge, you can plan a well-defined customer acquisition strategy based on early-stage interactions, not just market research.
5. Managing investor and partner relationships
Before securing customers, startups must build relationships with potential investors, suppliers and business partners. Pipedrive keeps track of:
Investor meetings and follow-ups
Potential partnerships and collaboration opportunities
Networking contacts and business development leads
For instance, Pipedrive’s Scheduler tool books your upcoming meetings with a few clicks:
During business planning, Pipedrive’s AI-driven sales advice helps you define your target market and manage investor relationships – so you can focus on growth.
Your startup can then create a solid partnership and fundraising strategy, using Pipedrive to organize all your efforts for easier execution.
Final thoughts
AI business plan tools make it easier to create a well-structured, investor-ready plan. To find the best software fit for your startup, prioritize customization, financial forecasting, efficient templates and affordable pricing.
Alongside AI-powered planning, Pipedrive’s CRM organizes your data, automates tasks and gives you insights to win customers fast. Start a 14-day free trial to set your business up for success.
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