{"id":280783,"date":"2026-10-16T07:43:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T07:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/?p=280783"},"modified":"2026-10-16T11:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T11:44:23","slug":"how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 id=\"h-key-highlights\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn how to prepare for Black Friday by using AI to plan goals, offers and margin limits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discover how AI can draft and compare emails, texts and ads you schedule before Thanksgiving week.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Explore how AI helps you build pages and plan tests for your site, mobile experience and checkout.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Know how AI Store alerts and AI-drafted customer replies help you run the busy sales weekend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose follow-up tasks AI can draft after Cyber Monday and review steps that keep you in charge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black Friday is Nov. 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is Nov. 30, so the time to prepare for Black Friday is now. You can use AI to plan offers, draft campaigns, build your site or store, prepare your tests and follow up. You still make the decisions on goals, prices and what goes live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shoppers and discounts show up weeks before the weekend itself. For a small store or service business, the hard part is fitting this work around everything else you run. AI drafts, summaries and checklists can take on part of that load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This guide gives you a dated countdown calendar, eight AI-assisted steps in order and a store readiness test with clear pass signs. It closes with guardrails that keep AI output accurate and on brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-your-black-friday-2026-countdown-calendar\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your Black Friday 2026 countdown calendar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start now and work backward from Nov. 27, because shoppers and deals arrive weeks before the weekend. Knowing how to prepare for Black Friday begins with the five dates that set every deadline in your plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Thanksgiving:<\/strong> Thursday, Nov. 26, the start of the five-day holiday shopping weekend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Black Friday:<\/strong> Friday, Nov. 27, the day your headline offer should be live.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Small Business Saturday:<\/strong> Saturday, Nov. 28, a good fit for local or loyalty offers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cyber Monday:<\/strong> Monday, Nov. 30, the close of the main sales weekend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Holiday shipping deadlines:<\/strong> Thursday, Dec. 17 through Saturday, Dec. 19, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recommended send-by dates for Christmas delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting early matters because demand and discounts build through November. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.adobe.com\/news\/2026\/09\/adobe-us-holiday-shopping-season-to-hit-record\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Adobe&#8217;s 2026 holiday forecast<\/a> projects $275.1 billion in US online spending between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2026. It expects discounts of up to 14% in early November and up to 21% just before Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adobe also expects Black Friday to grow faster than Cyber Monday. These figures are forecasts for US online retail tracked by Adobe, so read them as market context for your timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2025 National Retail Federation (NRF) survey shows that demand arrives in waves. The <a href=\"https:\/\/nrf.com\/media-center\/press-releases\/thanksgiving-holiday-weekend-draws-a-record-203-million-shoppers\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NRF Thanksgiving weekend survey<\/a> found 84% of consumers had begun holiday shopping by Thanksgiving weekend 2025, yet 53% of their shopping remained. That pattern supports two pushes: early access in mid-November and the main weekend, followed by December offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re working out how to prepare for Cyber Monday, treat it as a second launch with a fresh email and offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The calendar below splits the season into five stages. Each row lists the tasks to finish before the next stage starts and where AI can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Timeframe<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Dates (2026)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Focus<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Key tasks<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Where AI helps<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Now&nbsp;<\/td><td>Oct. 14\u201331&nbsp;<\/td><td>Plan&nbsp;<\/td><td>Review last year&#8217;s results, set goals and a margin floor, choose offers and order stock&nbsp;<\/td><td>Summarize last year&#8217;s sales data and brainstorm offer options&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Early November&nbsp;<\/td><td>Nov. 1\u201313&nbsp;<\/td><td>Build&nbsp;<\/td><td>Schedule emails and ads, build sale landing pages and fix site speed and checkout issues&nbsp;<\/td><td>Draft emails, ads and product copy, or build a sale page&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Mid-November&nbsp;<\/td><td>Nov. 14\u201325&nbsp;<\/td><td>Test&nbsp;<\/td><td>Run the readiness test, send teasers, open VIP early access and prepare support replies&nbsp;<\/td><td>Generate a test checklist and test scenarios&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Thanksgiving weekend&nbsp;<\/td><td>Nov. 26\u201330&nbsp;<\/td><td>Run&nbsp;<\/td><td>Monitor sales and stock, answer customers and launch the Cyber Monday wave&nbsp;<\/td><td>Get order alerts and restocking recommendations if you run AI Store, and draft customer replies&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>December and January&nbsp;<\/td><td>Dec. 1\u2013Jan. 31&nbsp;<\/td><td>Follow up&nbsp;<\/td><td>Ship before carrier cutoffs, handle returns and review results&nbsp;<\/td><td>Summarize feedback and draft thank-you emails&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If a task isn&#8217;t done by Nov. 13, cut it or simplify it so testing week stays on schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-8-steps-to-prepare-your-business-for-black-friday-with-ai\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">8 steps to prepare your business for Black Friday with AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Good Black Friday prep follows the calendar, so the steps below run in the same order. Each step ends with where AI helps and, where it matters, what you still decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Skip anything that doesn&#8217;t apply to you. A service business can skip stock planning, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-1-set-goals-a-budget-and-a-margin-floor\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Set goals, a budget and a margin floor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pick two or three goals and the lowest margin you&#8217;ll accept before you choose any discount. These numbers become the filter for every offer, ad and stock decision that follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Goals:<\/strong> Choose two or three, such as revenue, new customers, average order value (AOV) or email list growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Metrics:<\/strong> Track conversion rate, AOV, revenue per email and repeat purchase rate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Last year&#8217;s data:<\/strong> List your best sellers, strongest channels and anything that broke.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Margin floor:<\/strong> Add product cost, shipping, payment fees and ad cost per order. Your discount can&#8217;t cross this line.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Budget:<\/strong> Set spending limits for ads, extra stock, temporary help and tools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this hypothetical example, a $40 product costs you $22 per order after product cost, shipping, payment fees and ad spend, leaving $18. An $18 discount (45%) only breaks even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want at least $6 profit per order, your maximum discount is $12, or 30%. Write that number down before you plan a single offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> Paste a summary of last year&#8217;s sales into Bluehost AI All-Access Pack and ask for your best sellers, strongest channels and slow weeks. Then ask it to model discount scenarios like the example above, using your real costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You decide:<\/strong> Set the margin floor yourself and check the AI&#8217;s math against your own cost records. A model can run the numbers, but you choose the trade-offs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-2-plan-offers-shoppers-can-trust\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Plan offers shoppers can trust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pick one headline offer and one loyalty reward, then decide how long each runs. Keep both above the margin floor you set in Step 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tiered spend offers:<\/strong> Give $10 off $50 or $25 off $100 to raise order size.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bundles:<\/strong> Pair a best seller with a slower item at one set price.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gift with purchase:<\/strong> Count the gift and its shipping cost in your margin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Early access for subscribers:<\/strong> Open the sale to your email list 24 to 48 hours before the public launch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Free shipping threshold:<\/strong> Set it just above your current AOV to encourage one more item per order.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cyber Monday reset:<\/strong> Run a fresh offer or feature a new product category on Monday.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep your &#8220;was&#8221; and &#8220;now&#8221; prices honest. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) addresses this directly. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecfr.gov\/current\/title-16\/chapter-I\/subchapter-B\/part-233\/section-233.1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">FTC guide on former price claims<\/a> says a former price should be a genuine price you offered regularly for a reasonably substantial period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, avoid raising prices right before the sale to make a discount look bigger. Treat this as general guidance, and talk to a lawyer about your specific pricing. Put exclusions and the end date on the offer itself, in your emails and on the sale page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> Ask AI All-Access Pack to suggest bundle pairings and gift-with-purchase ideas from your product list. Compare how two models word the same offer, then check each option against your margin floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You decide:<\/strong> Set the final prices and confirm every &#8220;was&#8221; price is one you charged regularly. AI only knows your price history if you give it accurate records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Also read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/black-friday-ideas-for-small-businesses\/\">Black Friday ideas for small businesses<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-3-line-up-email-sms-social-and-ads-with-ai\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Line up email, SMS, social and ads with AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Write and schedule your full campaign by mid-November so launch week is about monitoring. One sequence can cover Black Friday and Cyber Monday when each message has a single job. Use this order for email and text message (SMS) sends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Teaser:<\/strong> Hint at the sale in early November and invite sign-ups for early access.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>VIP early access:<\/strong> Open the sale to subscribers and past buyers first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Launch:<\/strong> Announce the public sale on Black Friday morning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reminder:<\/strong> Follow up with subscribers who opened your launch message but didn&#8217;t buy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Last chance:<\/strong> Send a short note a few hours before the weekend offer ends.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cyber Monday wave:<\/strong> Introduce your new Cyber Monday offer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Thank-you:<\/strong> Confirm orders and share delivery details.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around that sequence, set up the background pieces. Have these ready by Nov. 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Automations:<\/strong> Turn on welcome, browse abandonment, cart abandonment and back-in-stock messages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Segments:<\/strong> Separate past buyers, subscribers who never bought and VIP customers so each group gets a relevant message.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Paid social and search:<\/strong> Launch ads in early November to test messages before the weekend, and retarget recent site visitors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Creative and message:<\/strong> Use one offer line with the same visuals and wording across email, ads and your homepage banner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For templates and deliverability tips, read our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/black-friday-email-marketing-strategy\/\">Black Friday email marketing playbook<\/a>. Our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/black-friday-advertising-strategies\/\">Black Friday advertising strategies<\/a> covers paid social, search ads and retargeting in more depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> Use AI All-Access Pack to draft each message in the sequence and compare subject-line variations side by side. Check every date, code and price before you schedule a send.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-4-speed-up-your-website-mobile-pages-and-checkout\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Speed up your website, mobile pages and checkout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To prepare your website for Black Friday, test speed and checkout on a phone first. Then fix the biggest issues before Nov. 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.adobe.com\/news\/2025\/12\/adobe-cyber-monday-hits-record\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Adobe&#8217;s Cyber Week 2025 results<\/a> showed 57.5% of Cyber Monday online sales came through mobile devices. That figure covers US online retail tracked by Adobe, so mobile shoppers are likely a large share of your weekend visitors too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use clear speed targets for your pages. <a href=\"https:\/\/web.dev\/articles\/vitals\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Google&#8217;s Core Web Vitals thresholds<\/a> define a &#8220;good&#8221; experience at the 75th percentile of page loads, measured separately on mobile and desktop. Meeting them aligns with what Google&#8217;s ranking systems seek to reward, though <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/appearance\/page-experience\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Google&#8217;s page experience guidance<\/a> notes it doesn&#8217;t guarantee rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):<\/strong> The main content loads within 2.5 seconds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Interaction to Next Paint (INP):<\/strong> The page responds to taps and clicks in 200 milliseconds or less.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):<\/strong> The layout shift score stays at 0.1 or less.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with a few common fixes. Each targets a frequent cause of slow store pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Images:<\/strong> Compress product photos and serve them at the size they display.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plugins and apps:<\/strong> Remove the ones you no longer use.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Caching:<\/strong> Turn on page caching and a content delivery network (CDN).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Homepage banner:<\/strong> Keep the sale banner light, with one image and short text.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For step-by-step testing, see our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/what-is-my-page-speed\/\">how to improve page speed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Checkout is the next place to look. <a href=\"https:\/\/baymard.com\/lists\/cart-abandonment-rate\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Baymard cart abandonment statistics<\/a> put the average documented cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, based on 50 studies. Its US shopper survey also lists reasons for abandoning, and shoppers could pick more than one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Extra costs (40%):<\/strong> Show shipping, tax and fees on product pages or early in the cart.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Slow delivery (20%):<\/strong> Publish expected delivery dates and your holiday order cutoff.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Card trust (19%):<\/strong> Confirm your Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is active and show your returns policy near the pay button.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Forced account creation (18%):<\/strong> Turn on guest checkout.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Long checkout (17%):<\/strong> Cut optional fields and add the express payment options your payment provider supports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, learn how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/optimize-ecommerce-checkout-flow\/\">optimize your eCommerce checkout flow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, refresh holiday product titles, descriptions and your sale landing page so they match your offer. This holiday season, take advantage of Bluehost&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/yoast-seo\">Yoast SEO AI+ offer<\/a>. Start with a free trial, followed by $3.99 per month, to support your website optimization efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: Bluehost pricing was verified in October 2026 and may change. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/pricing\">current Bluehost plans and pricing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> If you need a new sale page or site, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/bluehost-ai-website-builder\/\">AI Website Builder<\/a> can build one from your description. An AI assistant can also rewrite product titles to match your offer and turn the checkout fixes above into a checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-5-prepare-inventory-shipping-support-and-returns\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Prepare inventory, shipping, support and returns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Confirm stock and carrier cutoffs now, then publish your own order deadlines and support hours. Clear dates help shoppers and your team plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with carrier dates. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usps.com\/holiday\/holiday-shipping-dates.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">USPS 2026 holiday shipping deadlines<\/a> list Dec. 17 for Ground Advantage, Dec. 18 for Priority Mail and Dec. 19 for Priority Mail Express. USPS presents these as recommendations for delivery by Dec. 25, and actual delivery can vary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you use UPS or FedEx, check their holiday dates too. Then turn those dates into store rules shoppers can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Stock:<\/strong> Forecast each promoted product from last year&#8217;s sales and planned offers. Reorder before supplier lead times run out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Backup items:<\/strong> Choose a substitute product to promote if a best seller sells out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Your order cutoff:<\/strong> Take the carrier date and subtract your handling time plus one buffer day. Show the result on product pages and in the cart.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Support:<\/strong> Publish a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page covering order status, shipping cutoffs and returns, then prepare saved replies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Returns:<\/strong> Post a clear return window and a step-by-step return process on your site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Returns keep coming after the sale ends. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.adobe.com\/news\/downloads\/pdfs\/2026\/01\/010726-holiday-shopping-season-2025.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Adobe&#8217;s 2025 holiday season recap<\/a> found 1 in 7 season returns happened between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31, across US online retail tracked by Adobe. Plan support and returns staffing for that week too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> If you sell through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/ai-store\">AI Store<\/a>, its Inventory Agent monitors stock levels and surfaces restocking recommendations so you decide what to reorder. An AI assistant can draft FAQ answers and saved replies from your shipping and returns policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you take bookings or get the same questions after hours, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/ai-receptionist\">AI Receptionist<\/a> can answer supported questions 24\/7 using your business information. It can also handle bookings, rescheduling and cancellations through Google Calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-6-run-a-store-readiness-test\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Run a store readiness test<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Run the full test between Nov. 14 and Nov. 20 on a phone and a laptop, then repeat it the day before launch. Each row shows what to check and what counts as a pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Test<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>What to check<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Pass sign<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Test order&nbsp;<\/td><td>Guest checkout on mobile and desktop with each payment method&nbsp;<\/td><td>Every order completes and appears in your order list&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Discount codes&nbsp;<\/td><td>Eligible, excluded and minimum-spend items, plus stacking rules&nbsp;<\/td><td>Codes apply only where they should&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Campaign links&nbsp;<\/td><td>Every link in your emails, texts and ads&nbsp;<\/td><td>Each link opens the right page with the offer showing&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Shipping and tax&nbsp;<\/td><td>Totals in the cart and at checkout&nbsp;<\/td><td>Totals match before the shopper pays&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sale page and banners&nbsp;<\/td><td>Dates, prices and end time&nbsp;<\/td><td>Details match the offer in your emails&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Email triggers&nbsp;<\/td><td>Order confirmations and cart reminders&nbsp;<\/td><td>Confirmations arrive and cart reminders stop after purchase&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Support handoff&nbsp;<\/td><td>Contact form, chat or support email&nbsp;<\/td><td>A test message reaches a person on your team&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Backups&nbsp;<\/td><td>Latest backup and restore steps&nbsp;<\/td><td>A recent backup exists and you know how to restore it&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If a test fails, fix it and rerun that row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pro tip:<\/strong> Freeze nonessential site changes 48 hours before launch so the pages you tested stay unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> Ask an AI assistant to turn the table above into a checklist with your own products and codes. It can also suggest edge cases, such as a stacked code on an excluded item. You still place the test orders and mark each pass yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-7-monitor-the-weekend-with-ai-and-keep-a-backup-plan\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Monitor the weekend with AI and keep a backup plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check a short dashboard a few times a day and decide in advance who fixes what. Watch these five signals from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sales and conversion rate:<\/strong> Compare hourly results against your Step 1 goals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stock levels:<\/strong> Pause ads on items that sell out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Checkout errors and payment declines:<\/strong> Look for spikes that point to a broken step.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Site uptime and speed:<\/strong> Load your homepage and checkout on a phone several times a day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Customer messages:<\/strong> Track how long replies take and clear the queue each evening.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Write a one-page backup plan before Thanksgiving so anyone helping you can follow it. Include these three items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Who to call:<\/strong> List support contacts for your hosting provider and your payment provider.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Status message:<\/strong> Prewrite a &#8220;we&#8217;re fixing it&#8221; banner and email.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sellout swap:<\/strong> Choose an alternate offer in case your hero product sells out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> If you run on AI Store, its Order Agent can alert you to fulfillment delays and payment issues. An AI assistant can draft replies to common messages and your status banner. Read each reply before it goes out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-8-follow-up-after-cyber-monday-with-ai\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. Follow up after Cyber Monday with AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use the week after Cyber Monday for delivery updates, thank-you and a results review. These five tasks help turn first-time buyers into repeat customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shipping updates and thanks:<\/strong> Send tracking details and a thank-you without an immediate sales pitch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Honest review requests:<\/strong> Ask buyers for reviews. Under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/business-guidance\/resources\/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">FTC consumer reviews rule guidance<\/a>, you can offer an incentive as long as it doesn&#8217;t depend on the review being positive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A reason to return:<\/strong> Offer a December or New Year perk for a second purchase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Results review:<\/strong> Compare sales, AOV and new customers against your Step 1 goals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Notes for next year:<\/strong> Write down what to keep, change and drop.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where AI helps:<\/strong> Use AI All-Access Pack to summarize customer feedback and draft thank-you emails. Then ask it to compare your results summary against your Step 1 goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You decide:<\/strong> Choose who gets a review request and keep any incentive separate from the rating. Read every AI-drafted request to confirm it asks for honest feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Also read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/small-business-owners-preparing-for-the-holidays\/\">Holiday follow-up and retention tips<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-how-to-keep-ai-helpful-and-in-check-during-black-friday-prep\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to keep AI helpful and in check during Black Friday prep?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI works well for first drafts, summaries and checklists, and each still needs your review. These five habits keep the output accurate and the business decisions with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Review every draft:<\/strong> Check facts, prices, dates and claims before you publish or send anything.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Keep pricing decisions yours:<\/strong> AI can model scenarios, but you set discounts above your margin floor and keep &#8220;was&#8221; prices genuine.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protect customer data:<\/strong> Don&#8217;t paste customer personal or payment details into AI tools unless the tool and your policies allow it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Match your brand voice:<\/strong> Edit AI copy so it sounds like you and uses the words your customers know.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Test what AI builds:<\/strong> Run the readiness test from Step 6 on any AI-built page or store before launch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-bluehost-ai-tools-for-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-prep\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bluehost AI tools for Black Friday and Cyber Monday prep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four Bluehost tools map to different starting points in this plan. If you need a site, use AI Website Builder, and if you sell products, use AI Store. To draft and compare campaign content, use AI All-Access Pack, and if you take bookings or field repeat questions after hours, use AI Receptionist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-ai-website-builder-get-a-site-live-before-testing-week\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI Website Builder: Get a site live before testing week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/ai-website-builder\">Bluehost AI Website Builder<\/a> uses a conversational AI agent to turn a description of your business into a site you can edit and publish. The agentic builder asks a few questions, shows its work in real time and stays available to take edit requests after launch. It follows a Build-to-Buy model, so you build first and choose your domain and plan when you publish. You review the result before it goes live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Setup<\/strong>: Describe your business in plain language and add a logo or brand image to guide the design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Editing<\/strong>: Ask the AI for changes or edit pages yourself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Publishing<\/strong>: Launch on your own domain with hosting included.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Paid plans<\/strong>: Get SSL, a CDN, weekly backups and Yoast SEO Premium preinstalled.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Free trial<\/strong>: Build and preview your site before you pay, with no credit card required. The trial uses a temporary domain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Common uses<\/strong>: Build a service business site, a local business site or a freelancer portfolio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-ai-store-run-your-store-through-conversation\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI Store: Run your store through conversation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re launching a store for the season, Bluehost AI Store helps you build a WooCommerce store from a prompt and manage it by chat. You review and approve the decisions, while AI agents carry out supported tasks such as stock and order monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Setup:<\/strong> Guides you through Stripe payments and shipping setup in conversation during onboarding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Catalog Agent:<\/strong> Helps create and improve product listings and descriptions, and flags listings that are missing prices, images or descriptions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inventory Agent (Step 5):<\/strong> Monitors stock levels and surfaces restocking recommendations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Order Agent (Step 7):<\/strong> Tracks orders and fulfillment status, flags fulfillment delays and alerts you to payment issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coordinator Agent (Step 7):<\/strong> Prioritizes your most important actions in a daily action plan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Customer Agent (Step 8):<\/strong> Surfaces customer insights, purchase history and at-risk buyers for your follow-up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fees:<\/strong> Adds no platform transaction fees on top of payment gateway fees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 14-day free trial needs no credit card. Starting by early November leaves time to build, test and fix issues before Thanksgiving week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One limitation to plan around: AI Store can&#8217;t be added to an existing Bluehost website on a current hosting plan. Instead, you start in AI Website Builder and upgrade to the Sell Online plan when you&#8217;re ready to sell. If setup questions come up during peak week, our experts offer 24\/7 human support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Also read:<\/strong> Learn how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-create-online-store-ecommerce\/\">use AI to create an online store<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-ai-all-access-pack-draft-and-compare-campaign-content\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI All-Access Pack: Draft and compare campaign content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/all-access\">AI All-Access Pack<\/a> puts ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok in one dashboard with one subscription. You can switch models by task and compare responses side by side before you pick one. It works without Bluehost hosting, and premium usage limits apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>AI Article Writer:<\/strong> Start a longer draft, such as a holiday gift guide for your sale page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI Research Agent:<\/strong> Get cited reports on questions that come up in your post-sale review.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI Presentation Builder:<\/strong> Turn your Cyber Monday results into a slide deck.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chat Memory:<\/strong> Import chat memory from ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude if you already use those tools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Team seats:<\/strong> Assign seats and manage access for a team or freelancers in the Account Management Dashboard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Privacy+:<\/strong> Add privacy controls for sensitive prompts if you work with confidential details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-ai-receptionist-answer-questions-and-take-bookings-after-hours\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI Receptionist: Answer questions and take bookings after hours<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, questions about order cutoffs, returns, gift cards and appointment availability can arrive after your business hours. Bluehost AI Receptionist responds to the supported ones around the clock, so your team can focus on orders and complex requests. For service businesses, it can also help fill holiday booking slots while you&#8217;re away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trained on your business info:<\/strong> Uses your website and documents to answer supported questions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Google Calendar booking:<\/strong> Lets customers book, reschedule or cancel appointments based on real-time availability and blackout dates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lead capture:<\/strong> Engages visitors, qualifies their intent and moves them toward a booking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brand voice:<\/strong> Matches the response style you configure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dashboard:<\/strong> Tracks bookings, chat trends and lead volumes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Setup:<\/strong> Includes expert onboarding from our Pro Services team, goes live in days after you hand over your content and works with sites hosted anywhere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pro tip:<\/strong> Hand over your FAQ, shipping cutoffs and returns policy by early November so it can be live before Thanksgiving week. Then review its answers to a few holiday questions before your sale starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make the most of Bluehost&#8217;s Black Friday and Cyber Monday savings. Get 15% off one eligible product, 20% off two or 25% off three when you choose 12-month terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI Store and AI All-Access Pack are eligible products, so pairing them on 12-month terms can move you to the 20% tier. At checkout, confirm the discount applies to your plan and term before the offer ends Nov. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-final-thoughts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pick the one step where AI would save you the most time this week and start there, keeping your review step. If you&#8217;re unsure, start with Step 1, since a clear margin floor makes AI-drafted offers easier to check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If that step is getting a new store live before testing week, start your free trial of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/ai-store\">Bluehost AI Store<\/a> today. Then explore Bluehost&#8217;s Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers and save up to 25% when you purchase three eligible products on 12-month terms. Offers end November 30, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-faqs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How does Black Friday work for small businesses?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, which falls on Nov. 27 in 2026. For small businesses, the sale window now starts in early November and runs through Cyber Monday. You can mix online offers, in-store deals and a Small Business Saturday promotion on Nov. 28, based on what your customers and capacity support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How long should a Black Friday sale run?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A practical length is five days, Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, plus 24 to 48 hours of early access for subscribers. A shorter main window helps keep urgency, so avoid stretching one deal across the whole month. A fresh Cyber Monday offer gives shoppers who haven&#8217;t bought yet a new reason to look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How big should my Black Friday discount be?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set your discount from your margin floor, the lowest profit per order you&#8217;ll accept. Headline discounts at large retailers aren&#8217;t a target for a small store, since their costs and order volumes differ from yours. If a deeper discount would cross your floor, offer a bundle or a gift with purchase instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How do I prepare for Cyber Monday separately?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To prepare for Cyber Monday, plan it as its own launch with a fresh email and a new offer, such as a different category. Segment shoppers who didn&#8217;t buy over the weekend and send them the Cyber Monday email first. Check stock Sunday night, staff support Monday evening and schedule a last-chance message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Can AI set my Black Friday prices and discounts?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, AI shouldn&#8217;t set them for you. It can help you model discount scenarios and compare options, such as a bundle versus a percentage off. You set final prices from your margin floor, keep every &#8220;was&#8221; price genuine and check the AI&#8217;s math against your own records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What AI tools does a small business need for Black Friday?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It depends on your starting point. An AI assistant helps with campaign copy and research, while an AI site or store builder helps if you need a site or store. You don&#8217;t need every tool, so start with the one that covers your most time-consuming step and review its output.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026 with a dated countdown calendar and eight AI-assisted steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":280791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3707,3775,3766],"tags":[3309,3329,3330,3334,3695,3335],"ppma_author":[948,887],"class_list":["post-280783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-insights","category-ai-store","category-ai-website-builder","tag-ai","tag-holidays","tag-how-to-guides","tag-seasonal","tag-sell-online","tag-small-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to prepare for Black Friday with AI: 2026 guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plan offers, draft campaigns and test your store with AI using a dated 2026 countdown calendar and eight clear steps to get ready for Black Friday sales.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280783\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plan offers, draft campaigns and test your store with AI using a dated 2026 countdown calendar and eight clear steps to get ready for Black Friday sales.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bluehost Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluehost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-16T07:43:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-16T11:44:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1-1024x536.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Charrvi Singh, Garima Bajaj\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bluehost\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bluehost\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Charrvi Singh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"20 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Charrvi Singh\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0dd00ba2d4fe091c8ca8ade8b5d5d4ce\"},\"headline\":\"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-16T07:43:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-16T11:44:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":4367,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"AI\",\"Holidays\",\"How-To Guides\",\"Seasonal\",\"sell online\",\"Small Business\"],\"articleSection\":[\"AI Insights\",\"AI Store\",\"AI Website Builder\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to prepare for Black Friday with AI: 2026 guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-16T07:43:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-16T11:44:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"Plan offers, draft campaigns and test your store with AI using a dated 2026 countdown calendar and eight clear steps to get ready for Black Friday sales.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1256},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AI Insights\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/ai-insights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bluehost\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bluehost\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/bluehost-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/bluehost-logo.svg\",\"width\":136,\"height\":24,\"caption\":\"Bluehost\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bluehost\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bluehost\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/bluehost-com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/bluehost\",\"https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Bluehost\"],\"description\":\"Bluehost is an all-in-one platform that empowers small businesses, developers, and agencies to build, grow, and run online with confidence through high-performance hosting, AI-powered tools, and real human support.\",\"telephone\":\"+1-888-401-4678\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0dd00ba2d4fe091c8ca8ade8b5d5d4ce\",\"name\":\"Charrvi Singh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Media-e1732870672924.jpgc446c4008d82f101ae13175515e45db7\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Media-e1732870672924.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Media-e1732870672924.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Charrvi Singh\"},\"description\":\"I\u2019m a published author, learning every day how words can make ideas clearer and connections stronger. Beyond work, I enjoy exploring new perspectives and finding inspiration in the small details of life.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bluehost.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/charrvi-singh\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to prepare for Black Friday with AI: 2026 guide","description":"Plan offers, draft campaigns and test your store with AI using a dated 2026 countdown calendar and eight clear steps to get ready for Black Friday sales.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280783\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday","og_description":"Plan offers, draft campaigns and test your store with AI using a dated 2026 countdown calendar and eight clear steps to get ready for Black Friday sales.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/","og_site_name":"Bluehost Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluehost\/","article_published_time":"2026-10-16T07:43:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-16T11:44:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":536,"url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1-1024x536.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Charrvi Singh, Garima Bajaj","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bluehost","twitter_site":"@bluehost","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Charrvi Singh","Est. reading time":"20 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/"},"author":{"name":"Charrvi Singh","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0dd00ba2d4fe091c8ca8ade8b5d5d4ce"},"headline":"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday","datePublished":"2026-10-16T07:43:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-16T11:44:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/"},"wordCount":4367,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png","keywords":["AI","Holidays","How-To Guides","Seasonal","sell online","Small Business"],"articleSection":["AI Insights","AI Store","AI Website Builder"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/","name":"How to prepare for Black Friday with AI: 2026 guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png","datePublished":"2026-10-16T07:43:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-16T11:44:23+00:00","description":"Plan offers, draft campaigns and test your store with AI using a dated 2026 countdown calendar and eight clear steps to get ready for Black Friday sales.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bf-ai-hero-2400x1256-1.png","width":2400,"height":1256},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/how-to-use-ai-to-prepare-for-black-friday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AI Insights","item":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/category\/ai-insights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How to Use AI to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday and Cyber Monday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/","name":"Bluehost","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Bluehost","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bluehost-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/bluehost-logo.svg","width":136,"height":24,"caption":"Bluehost"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluehost\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bluehost","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/bluehost-com\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bluehost","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bluehost"],"description":"Bluehost is an all-in-one platform that empowers small businesses, developers, and agencies to build, grow, and run online with confidence through high-performance hosting, AI-powered tools, and real human support.","telephone":"+1-888-401-4678"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0dd00ba2d4fe091c8ca8ade8b5d5d4ce","name":"Charrvi Singh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Media-e1732870672924.jpgc446c4008d82f101ae13175515e45db7","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Media-e1732870672924.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Media-e1732870672924.jpg","caption":"Charrvi Singh"},"description":"I\u2019m a published author, learning every day how words can make ideas clearer and connections stronger. Beyond work, I enjoy exploring new perspectives and finding inspiration in the small details of life.","url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/author\/charrvi-singh\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":948,"user_id":152,"is_guest":0,"slug":"charrvi-singh","display_name":"Charrvi Singh","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Media-e1732870672924.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Media-e1732870672924.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":"","9":"","10":"","11":"","12":"","13":"","14":"","15":""},{"term_id":887,"user_id":143,"is_guest":0,"slug":"garima-bajaj","display_name":"Garima Bajaj","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d620cd7423c8e4f7e8cc697666046883d8e77412ee6886e820b9348e8d420c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":"","9":"","10":"","11":"","12":"","13":"","14":"","15":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280837,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280783\/revisions\/280837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280783"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=280783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}