What to automate first: a five-question audit.

Five questions before anyone writes a prompt

Every audit starts with the same five questions. They take about an hour per workflow, and they rule out more projects than they approve. That’s the point.

How often does it happen?

Fewer than a few hundred times a month and the savings rarely cover the running cost. Count it, don’t estimate it.

How long does it really take?

Time someone doing the job, including the switching and the waiting. The honest number is often twice the first guess.

What does a mistake cost?

A wrong answer about opening hours is cheap. A wrong payment isn’t. The cost of an error sets how much review the agent will need.

Are the rules written down?

If the answer lives in one person’s head, the first job is writing it down. Agents can’t follow rules nobody can state.

Is there a way in?

The agent needs access to the systems the work happens in. If there’s no API and no export, the project gets harder and more expensive.

What to do with the answers

Put the time saved and the errors on one page and work out the months to pay back. Build the ones that pay back in six months or less, hold the ones that need more volume, and leave the rest alone.