Look for the task nobody wants
If your team copies the same details from email into a spreadsheet every day, you have a candidate. If it happens twice a year, you probably do not need automation.
Record frequency, time and the cost of errors before you build.
Start narrow and keep people in control
A useful workflow might extract an enquiry, prepare a reply and leave it for a colleague to approve. Full automation is not a prize in itself.
- Pick one process.
- Define a checkable result.
- Test common cases and exceptions.
- Measure saved time and corrections.
Expand only after evidence
If a pilot saves time without creating endless review work, expand it. If not, change it or stop. Sometimes the right answer is not to use AI.