AI workflow opportunity map · sample deliverable
Which step is worth automating first?
A fictional B2B services team receives enquiries by form and email, copies them into a CRM, checks fit, drafts replies and tracks follow-up by hand. Here is the kind of decision I would return before building anything.
01 / Current path
See the handoffs before choosing a tool.
The buyer would verify these steps in a walkthrough. The diagram is a starting hypothesis, not a claim about a real company.
- 01Enquiry arrivesForm or shared mailbox
- 02Copy into CRMFields and ownership checked manually
- 03Assess fitHuman interprets the request
- 04Reply and follow upHuman sends and records outcome
Questions first: How many enquiries arrive, what data may be used, which CRM owns the record, who approves a reply, and how often do handoffs actually fail?
02 / Ranked options
Three opportunities. One sensible start.
Open each option to inspect its authority boundary and the evidence that would make it useful. The ranking is illustrative; real priorities depend on the buyer's volume, cost and data constraints.
01Validate intake and identify duplicatesFirst pilot candidate
A narrow rules-first change that can be checked before AI or a CRM write is introduced.
- Authority
- Stage a normalized record; route ambiguous merges to a human.
- Check
- Field completeness, duplicate-review accuracy, handling time and visible errors.
02Suggest a fit category and reply draftLater option
Useful only after source fields are reliable and reviewers can see what the suggestion rests on.
- Authority
- AI may propose and cite; a person approves every external reply.
- Check
- Reviewer agreement, unsupported claims, edits needed and stale-source rate.
03Track follow-up ownership and outcomesLater option
A reminder is helpful once record ownership and outcome states are agreed.
- Authority
- Create an internal reminder; no automatic customer message in the first pilot.
- Check
- Missing owners, overdue tasks and completeness of recorded outcomes.
03 / Recommended pilot
Prove one path without sending a message.
With the buyer's permission, start with 10–20 representative, privacy-safe examples: clear fit, poor fit, duplicate, missing data, uncertain fit, stale data and a provider error. Redacted or synthetic records come first.
Acceptance path
- Normalize and validate each input.
- Identify duplicates and missing fields.
- Propose a fit decision with its source and uncertainty.
- Place any reply draft in a human review queue.
- Record approval, edit or rejection; send nothing in this pilot.
Stop if source rights, consent, field quality or decision ownership is unclear.
What a client would receive
A decision pack, not a vague promise.
Verified steps, owners and handoffs.
Three options with assumptions and trade-offs.
Tool/data rights, approvals and stop conditions.
One first build, acceptance checks—or a reason not to build yet.
The published £500 entry offer does not include production integrations, model tuning, data migration or ongoing operation.