AI Automation Checklist

Look at what your team actually spends hours on each week — not what you think, but what the data shows.

Most time-drains have a pattern. Same inputs, same steps, same outputs. Those are your automation targets.

Rank tasks by hours saved per week. The top 3 usually deliver 80% of the time savings.

If a process is messy, clean it up first. Automating chaos just creates automated chaos.

Match the tool to the task. Not everything needs a custom AI agent — sometimes a simple integration is enough.

Automate one small piece end-to-end first. Prove the concept before expanding scope.

Let the AI handle the repetitive work, but keep a human in the loop for exceptions and edge cases.

Track real hours saved over 30 days. If it's not moving the needle, pivot fast.

Write down how the automated process works so your team can run it, audit it, and improve it.

Once one automation is proven, replicate the pattern for the next highest-impact process.