Before the pandemic, Lance Lemon and his business partner, Kristen Gardner Beal, had plans to open a brick and mortar wine shop. With quarantine in effect, they shifted their business model online, creating RichWine, an online service which delivers wine to consumers across the state.

During this time, they launched a monthly newsletter to educate subscribers about the flavors and wines on the menu. They also partnered with local chefs to provide food for wine tasting events in the city, which later inspired them to open Penny’s Wine Shop in February 2023.

While RichWine continues, the owners’ primary focus has shifted to managing Penny’s Wine Shop and taking care of their families, according to Lemon.

“We’re a small business. I got two kids. I got a business. I got a daytime job. For us to try to find time is very tough nowadays,” Lemon said.

That probably won’t change after Sunday, when an advertisement featuring Penny’s Wine Shop in Jackson Ward will air during the local broadcast of the Super Bowl. The commercial is part of a “50 States, 50 Stories” campaign, which will highlight the impact that Google Gemini, a artificial intelligence program, has had on 50 small businesses.

With a busy schedule, the owners of the Penny’s began to use artificial intelligence to create marketing materials for their business. They employ it to craft emails and their monthly newsletter, something that previously took nearly four hours.

“It’s very easy to say, ‘Here are the points that I want to touch. Please generate something for me’ and it’ll do what it needs to do,” Lemon said, adding that they were approached by Google representatives last year about the advertisement.

The use of artificial intelligence is not uncommon in small businesses, and is expected to increase in 2025. According to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 41% of small businesses say they use AI, an increase of 17% from 2023.

According to a survey conducted by J.P. Morgan, 48% of small business owners plan to implement artificial intelligence in their businesses in 2025, while around 46% expressed concern about the potential negative impact on business.

“Our goal has always been good people, good wine, good food, good times,” Lemon said. “We always set out to have an approachable way of presenting ourselves in our business. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”