AI Social Media Management for UK Businesses (2026)
AI has made social media agencies almost entirely unnecessary for small businesses. AI writes posts, generates graphics, schedules content, suggests hashtags, analyses performance, and optimises posting times — all for £30–100/month. The businesses paying agencies £2,000+/month for 3 LinkedIn posts per week are paying the biggest AI replacement premium in any service category.
Penny's take
AI social media stack for under £100/month: AI for copy drafting (£20/month), AI image generation for graphics (£10/month), Buffer or Hootsuite for scheduling (free–£20/month). Total: £30–50/month plus 45 minutes of your time per week. That replaces a £2,000/month agency. And your content will be more authentic because it's actually from you, not agency-generic.
From my notebook
“A B2B software company was paying a social media agency £2,800/month to manage LinkedIn and Twitter. Output: 3 LinkedIn posts and 5 tweets per week at £87 per post. We replaced the agency entirely with AI: the founder uses AI to draft posts from her actual insights, AI generates accompanying graphics, and Buffer schedules everything. She spends 45 minutes every Monday morning. Quality improved dramatically — authentic founder content gets 3x more engagement than agency-generic content.”
“Authentic, founder-led social media content generates 3x more engagement than agency-produced content for B2B companies.”
— LinkedIn B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, 2024
What affects the cost — and can AI replace it?
- •Number of platforms
- •AI tool capabilities
- •Content volume
- •Whether engagement management is needed
- •Paid advertising management
What Penny says
Penny analyses your social media spend vs results and maps which tasks AI already handles. Most businesses spending £1,000+/month on social media management find that AI tools (£30–100/month) + 45 minutes of founder time per week delivers better engagement than agency-produced content.
Ask Penny about AI alternatives →Frequently asked questions
Can AI replace a social media manager?
For content creation and scheduling — yes. AI drafts posts, generates graphics, suggests hashtags, and schedules automatically. What AI can't replace: genuine community engagement, real-time crisis management, and strategic brand positioning. But for most small businesses, AI handles 90% of social media work.
What AI tools work for social media?
Content drafting: ChatGPT or Claude. Graphics: Canva AI or Midjourney. Scheduling: Buffer AI or Hootsuite. Analytics: Sprout Social or built-in platform analytics. Total cost: £30–100/month vs £1,000–5,000/month for an agency or manager.