Start with the workflow, not the model
The fastest way to waste an AI budget is to start with tooling. Start with the queue, review step, document flow, or decision bottleneck that is already slowing the business down.
- Find the choke point: manual review, slow approvals, fragmented data, or repeated data entry.
- Pick the right pattern: extraction, retrieval, forecasting, classification, or a workflow copilot.
- Cut weak ideas early: use conventional automation or process cleanup where AI adds nothing.
- Leave with a buildable plan: owners, systems, metrics, and the first pilot scope.