When a business starts exploring AI, the list of possibilities can grow quickly. A more useful first question is smaller: which recurring task is slowing people down, and what would a better version look like?
Choose a bounded task.
Examples include preparing a first draft from an approved brief, helping someone find information in a knowledge base, or organising an incoming request for review. Describe the input, the expected output and the person who owns the result.
Decide what information it can use.
An assistant needs relevant context. Identify the sources it should work from, how those sources are maintained and which information should remain outside the workflow. A clear boundary is easier to evaluate than an open-ended instruction to do everything.
Keep review visible.
Drafting, recommending and taking an external action are different levels of responsibility. Decide where a person should approve the next step. Make it clear when the system is uncertain or when a request should be handed over.
Try ordinary and difficult cases.
Review representative requests, incomplete questions and situations where the right answer is to ask for more information. Record what works and where the workflow needs clearer instructions or better source material.
Learn before expanding.
Once the first task is useful and understandable, consider what should come next. The goal is a workflow people can trust enough to use, with a clear way to spot and correct mistakes.
Useful AI starts with a defined purpose. A small improvement that fits the team’s work can provide a stronger foundation than a broad promise with no clear owner.