Five questions before you commission AI automation

An automated workflow has to handle exceptions too: an invoice has no purchase order number, a form changes or a connection fails. Ask not only what the system does when everything works, but also who steps in when it does not.

You do not need technical language to answer these questions. Write down your answers before speaking to a supplier. That way, you can discuss your workflow rather than just the supplier’s proposal.

1. What should be different at the end?

‘Automate invoices’ names a project. A result you could check might be: ‘Details from incoming supplier invoices are captured for review. A person approves each invoice before it is posted.’

Describe where the workflow starts and what should be ready at the end. If you do not yet know the steps, record how the work happens today. ‘Where does the time go?’ shows you how to map it.

State what the work leaves out. Capturing invoice details is one step; a person still approves the invoice, and posting it is another step.

2. Who is responsible after handover?

Name someone in the business who knows the workflow and can report errors or request changes. Agree which tasks the supplier will handle after handover. Settle both responsibilities before work begins.

Ask what you will receive at handover and who will be able to access the system afterwards:

• Who holds the accounts and licences, and who manages access?
• Where are the workflow, settings and limits documented?
• Who in your team will learn to use and check it?
• How can your team continue if the supplier is unavailable?

To compare the handover, follow-up and possible extra costs for each package, see our package comparison.

3. Which software do you already use?

List the software your team uses in this workflow. Then check which features you already pay for and whether changing the settings would be enough. Not every recurring task needs another application. ‘The cheapest solution might already be installed’ takes you through that check.

Give the list to suppliers when you request a quote. For each new tool they propose, ask which step it handles and why your existing software cannot do the job.

4. How will you check that it works?

Choose a measure you can record in the same way before and after the change. For invoices, count how many details need correcting by hand. For enquiries, count how many are still waiting after a day.

Write down what you measure today and agree who will measure it again. Keep track of errors in the new workflow too. Two weeks after handover, we check with you how the setup is working in daily use.

5. What happens when it fails?

Imagine an invoice arrives with a new field or the accounting software is unavailable. Ask whether the workflow stops, who notices and how the work continues.

Ask to see what the system copies across, what it flags as uncertain and what it records. Decide which steps require a person’s approval (Approval means a person decides before an AI-prepared message goes outside your firm or money is spent.). A person must approve a message to someone outside your firm, or a payment, before the automation sends it.

Put the answers on one page

Use the same five answers to compare suppliers’ quotes. If one proposes additional work or a different person in charge, you will know what you need to decide.

Choose a first workflow

If you are unsure which workflow to examine first, start with the free interview. It asks about your work, one question at a time; after level two, your report shows where it pays to start and which package fits.