Where should AI start in my business?
An interview, then a ranked shortlist and what to leave alone.
Remove names and account numbers before you paste.
I want to know where AI should start in my [TYPE OF BUSINESS] with [NUMBER] people. Interview me one question at a time. Wait for each answer. Ask me to name up to 10 tasks, and for each one: - times per week, minutes each time, and how many people do it - whether it is the same each time (same / mostly / different) - where it starts (software, spreadsheet, email, PDF, or paper/phone) - whether someone retypes the result into another system - what a mistake costs (low / medium / high) When I am done, compute hours at stake for each task: times per week × minutes each ÷ 60 × people × 48 working weeks. Talk about hours at stake, never a promise of time given back. Hours at stake are a ceiling, not a promise. Then rank the tasks. Weight hours at stake, sameness, how digital the start is (software beats paper), whether work is retyped, and mistake cost. Leave a task alone for now if the steps vary every time, it starts on paper, hours at stake are low, or a mistake is expensive. Give me: 1. A shortlist of where to start, with hours at stake 2. What to leave alone, with the reason 3. The first task I should time for two weeks Don't recommend a vendor.
How to adapt it
- If you already timed a task, paste the before number and skip that question.
- Use 52 weeks if your year has no real time off. The default is 48.
Don't paste this in
- Client or customer names
- Account, card, SSN or tax ID numbers
- Passwords
- Health information
- Use a business AI account, not a personal one, for company data.