Guest commentary: How the Central Coast can ride the AI holiday wave
By Starr Hall
The holidays used to run on intuition. Store owners would stock up based on gut feeling, handwrite notes to loyal customers, and pray that the weather, the locals, and the tourists cooperated.
In Santa Barbara, that intuition was practically an art form. You could walk down State Street or through the Funk Zone and see business owners who knew what their customers wanted before they even walked in the door.
Now, intuition has a new ally: artificial intelligence.
This year, AI isn’t just creeping into the holiday season; it’s unwrapping it, tagging it, and predicting it. It’s the invisible extra set of hands behind every small business, whispering, “You might want to order more of that candle, it’s trending three zip codes over.”
Across the Central Coast, boutique owners, winery managers, and restaurateurs are proving that AI belongs as much in a tasting room or shop window as it does in a tech lab. It’s becoming the quiet partner behind smarter planning and more personal service. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing, between scrambling and planning.
For example, Miller Family Wine Company in Santa Maria introduced an AI-sommelier earlier this year, providing personalized wine recommendations around the clock, and reshaping how they package and sell holiday gift bundles. Instead of firing off one generic campaign, they’re using data about past members’ preferences to suggest perfect wines for this season.
Of course, most owners I talk with aren’t waking up thinking, “I need an AI strategy.” They’re wondering how to get through the fourth quarter without burning out their team, disappointing customers, or blowing the marketing budget.
The good news is you don’t need a data science degree or a big-city tech address to participate. Many of these tools are already baked into the platforms local businesses use every day: email systems, point-of-sale software, e-commerce platforms, and social media ad managers.
The shift is less about buying something brand new and more about turning on the features that are already quietly sitting there.
It’s not about robots replacing relationships; it’s about refining them. Even the humble “Shop Now” button has evolved.
Meta and Google’s new AI ad systems are like tireless elves, testing thousands of versions of a single message to see which image, headline, and tone make someone click. Instead of hoping an ad lands, small businesses can finally compete with bigger players- armed with data, not dollars.
Hospitality, too, is getting its own AI glow-up. For example, Mason Beach Inn in Santa Barbara partnered with an AI-driven chatbot system that handles guest inquiries, logs lead data into their CRM 24/7, and frees the front desk to focus on high-touch moments.
These aren’t futuristic fantasies; they’re tools that exist now, helping small teams deliver five-star service without five-star staff sizes. And by freeing those staff from routine tasks, the team can focus on the in-person moments that make the difference.
With all of this power comes a new kind of responsibility — AI can help you move faster, but it can also amplify a bad customer experience just as quickly as a good one.
The businesses that will see the biggest return aren’t the ones automating everything; they’re the ones setting clear guardrails. That means keeping a human in the loop on anything customer-facing, being transparent about when people are talking to a bot, and using data to serve people better, not simply to squeeze one more click out of them.
The key isn’t using all the tools, it’s choosing the right ones. Start with one place AI can save you time or create more connection.
Maybe it’s rewriting product descriptions, sorting inventory, or sending follow-up notes to loyal guests. Let it handle the repetitive so you can focus on the relational.
Because that’s the heart of Santa Barbara business, the personal touch, the smile, the story, the local flavor.
AI may optimize the process, but what makes the Central Coast unique, connection, story, and creativity can’t be automated. The businesses that win this holiday season will use AI to deepen, not replace, humanity.
Using AI in your Central Coast business? I’d love to hear how. Email me at [email protected].
Starr Hall has over 25 years in PR, branding and marketing. She is the founder of Starr Hall Media in Santa Barbara.
