In short
- Score each candidate process on four criteria: how often it repeats, how many documents it involves, what an error causes, and who owns it.
- The best first choice is a frequent process with few documents, mistakes that are easy to fix, and a clear owner.
- Leave processes with irreversible errors or no owner for later, however high they score.
- Fill in the worksheet with the people who do the work every day, not only in a management meeting.
An AI agent is software that carries out tasks on its own from your instructions: it reads documents, looks up data, and prepares replies or drafts. For your first agent, choose the process that suits an agent best. It does not have to be the most important process in the company.
Print the worksheet, sit down with the people who do these processes every day, and fill it in together. It takes about an hour.
How to use the worksheet
- In the first column, list 5 to 8 processes that come to mind. For example: processing incoming invoices, answering customer inquiries, preparing quotes, reviewing contracts, placing orders with suppliers.
- Rate each process from 1 to 3 on the four criteria (described below).
- Add up the points. The highest total is your candidate for the first process.
- Before you decide, check the stop conditions below the table.
The four criteria and how to score them
| Criterion | 1 point | 2 points | 3 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repetition: how often the process runs | A few times a month or less | Several times a week | Every day, or several times a day |
| Documents: how many documents one case involves | Many attachments, mixed formats, handwritten or scanned | A few documents, partly consistent format | One or two documents, similar format every time |
| Impact of errors: what happens if the agent makes a mistake | The error reaches a customer, costs money, or cannot be undone | The error becomes visible but can be corrected with limited damage | The error is caught in review before it causes anything |
| Owner: who is responsible for the process | Nobody in particular, everyone does it their own way | A department is responsible, but no single person | A named person knows the process and makes decisions about it |
For the Documents criterion, fewer documents and a more consistent format mean more points. The agent finds its way around them more easily, and you can check its work more easily.
Worksheet
| Process | Repetition (1-3) | Documents (1-3) | Impact of errors (1-3) | Owner (1-3) | Total (4-12) | Stop condition? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop conditions
Rule out a process, even if it scores high, if at least one of these applies:
- The error cannot be undone. For example, a payment that has been sent or a contract signed with a customer.
- The process has no owner. There will be nobody to say whether the agent is doing it correctly.
- The process uses data the agent should not have access to, and nobody has yet decided who may access what.
- Nobody can describe what a correct result looks like.
How to read the result
- 10 to 12 points: a good candidate for the first process. Start here.
- 7 to 9 points: possible, but try to simplify the process first, or pick another one.
- 4 to 6 points: leave it for later.
What to write down for the chosen process
Once you have a winner, fill in these lines as well. Do not start the work without them.
- Process name: ______________________
- Owner (name): ______________________
- Who checks the agent's results: ______________________
- What a correct result looks like (one sentence): ______________________
- What the agent may do on its own, and what it only proposes for a person to approve: ______________________
- Which documents and data the agent may access: ______________________
- What to do when the agent makes a mistake: ______________________
- Date when you will review the first results together: ______________________
Come back to the same worksheet in three months. Once the first process runs reliably, pick the next one from it.
AI agent use cases for companies by industryData security when you deploy AI in your company
Prepared by AI. Adapt it to your company before use. Not legal advice.