ai · 4 min read

Choose your first AI workflow

A small, measurable experiment beats a sweeping transformation. Here’s how to pick yours.

Start with a task you already understand. A useful first AI experiment has a clear input, a repeatable output, and someone who can tell whether the result is right. It should also be easy to pause without interrupting the business.

1. Make the work visible

Write down five tasks your team repeats every week. For each, note the time spent, the number of hand-offs, and the consequence of a mistake. A weekly internal summary is easier to experiment with than a customer-facing decision that affects someone’s money or access to a service.

2. Define what good looks like

Keep a small set of examples with known, checked answers. Write down the requirements: facts that must be present, details that must never be invented, and the format the next person needs. Without a baseline, a fluent answer can look more useful than it really is.

3. Keep the first test small

Use synthetic or appropriately approved information. Give one person responsibility for reviewing every output. Record the original time, the review time and the corrections needed. A faster first draft is not a saving if it creates more checking downstream.

4. Decide before you expand

After a short trial, compare complete task time and error rates with your baseline. Keep the workflow only if it improves the whole process. Write down when a person must take over, who owns the process and how to turn it off. A useful experiment can also end with a decision to keep the existing method.