Aerosols, small particles in the atmosphere associated with ocean biology, sea spray, land, and human‐produced emissions, influence cloud brightness and, by suppressing precipitation and subsequent break up, cloud lifetime. Understanding aerosol‐cloud‐precipitation interactions is critical in understanding how aerosols influence the climate system. This study examines how the very smallest aerosol particles modify cloud formation, brightness, and lifetime over the North Atlantic ocean. We utilize a recent set of aircraft and satellite observations from a dedicated field campaign as well as a detailed model that resolves fine‐scale interactions important to cloud development. After comparing the model to real‐world observations, we test how modifying the amount of small particles impacts the cloud brightness and lifetime. We find that the small particles are able to offset precipitation removal of larger particles, helping clouds to last longer and stay brighter. Implications for how efficiently precipitation can happen in other cloud regimes and regions of the world will be discussed.