Many small businesses in the U.S. are left wondering: How can we keep up without losing our voice—or our customers’ in this AI era?

Enter Dragonchat, a rising AI-driven platform developed in Argentina by entrepreneur Teo Tinivelli. At its core, Dragonchat isn’t trying to out-tech the giants. It’s trying to solve a very human problem: how to talk to more people, more often, without sounding like a bot.

While most U.S. small businesses focus on email or Instagram to reach customers, WhatsApp is gaining unexpected momentum, especially among immigrant entrepreneurs and Latino-owned businesses. With over 100 million users in the U.S. and more than 2 billion globally, WhatsApp is far from niche—it’s just underused in North America.

That’s the space Dragonchat is aiming to fill. The software connects directly with WhatsApp Business, allowing businesses to:

• Send automated yet personalized voice messages with a customer’s name
• Customize communication flows for sales, follow-ups, or promotions
• Balance AI efficiency with manual interaction when it matters most

One feature that’s drawing attention? “Audio Magic.” Users can record a single voice note—something like, “Hey Sarah, just wanted to let you know about this week’s 2-for-1 special”—and Dragonchat will automatically insert each recipient’s name into the message using AI-generated audio in the sender’s own voice. It’s automation, but with a personal feel.

According to Salesforce, over 68% of U.S. small businesses are experimenting with or using AI. Yet many report being overwhelmed by complex integrations, high costs, or tools that just don’t fit their workflow.

This is where platforms like Dragonchat stand out. Designed for ease of use, low-cost entry, and real-time results, it meets business owners where they already are—on their phones, using apps they know, speaking to customers they’ve built trust with.

Verizon’s 2025 survey reveals that nearly 40% of U.S. SMBs already use AI for tasks like marketing, recruiting, and customer service—but still crave tools that don’t require a dedicated IT team to set up.

Dragonchat’s no-code interface, combined with its practical use case (sales messaging), makes it a fit for restaurants, barbershops, retailers, freelancers, and digital entrepreneurs alike.

Teo Tinivelli didn’t set out to create the next Silicon Valley unicorn. His roots are in digital education—he built a name teaching “closing,” or the art of digital sales, through live coaching and hands-on programs. After working with thousands of salespeople and seeing the friction they faced in client communication, he built the tool they needed.

Dragonchat has grown to 25,000+ users, with the next milestone being one million. Though initially targeting Latin American markets, Tinivelli has made no secret of his ambitions for the U.S. and India, where WhatsApp’s presence is massive and underserved by AI tools like his.

What makes it particularly promising for the U.S. market is its bilingual UX and appeal to a demographic often overlooked by larger platforms—immigrant-run businesses, solopreneurs, and niche retailers who rely on direct messaging to generate sales and build relationships.

With AI set to power more than 40% of customer interactions by 2026, the question is no longer whether small businesses will adopt AI—but how. And more importantly, which tools will let them keep their unique tone, authenticity, and agility in the process.

Dragonchat offers a potential blueprint:

• Simple to use
• Native to popular messaging platforms
• Human in tone
• Scalable in function

It doesn’t try to be everything. Instead, it excels at one critical piece of the small business puzzle: talking to customers, personally, at scale.

In the AI arms race, not every company needs a custom GPT or a seven-figure tech stack. Sometimes, what small businesses really need is a smart way to send a message that sounds like them.

Dragonchat might not be a household name in the U.S. yet—but if it continues to bridge the gap between automation and authenticity, it just might become the whispering voice behind thousands of growing businesses across the country.