AI & Automation5 min read
Your first AI assistant: what to automate first (and what to keep human)
AI is brilliant at some jobs and wrong for others. A simple way to decide where it should start in your business.
The best first AI project isn't the flashiest one. It's the task you do the same way, many times a week, where a fast and consistent answer matters more than a personal touch.
Good first jobs for AI
- Replying to new inquiries and asking a couple of qualifying questions.
- Answering the same ten questions about hours, pricing ranges, location and what's included.
- Booking, rescheduling and sending reminders.
- Drafting follow-up emails and review replies for a person to approve.
Keep these human
- Complaints, refunds and anything emotional.
- Final pricing on complex or custom jobs.
- Anything with legal, medical or financial judgement involved.
A good rule: let AI handle the first reply and the routine, and make sure there's always a clear, quick path to a real person.
A simple test
List the messages your team sent last week. Mark each one: same answer every time, mostly the same, or genuinely unique. Start AI on the first group, give it a helper role on the second, and leave the third to your team.