01AI automation use cases
How each one works, step by step
Common use cases, by the kind of work and by the team it sits in. Each is written the same way: the problem by hand today, what we build and what stays with a person. None names a tool or an industry; the systems are named by kind. If yours is not here, it is probably still a fit: the call finds it.
02Six in full
The six most common, in full
One for each of the kinds of work the service page names, written the same way. Each starts the same way too: tell us what your teams do by hand, and you get a reply within 24 hours, with a time for the call.
Enquiries and support
Enquiries answered within minutes
- The problem
- Enquiries arrive by email, web form and phone, and someone reads each one, works out what it is about and replies hours later, or the next morning. The customer who wrote at 7 pm has often bought elsewhere by then.
- What we build
- The automation reads each enquiry as it arrives, works out what it is about, and drafts the reply from your own answers, your price list and the customer's history. The simple ones go out at once; the rest reach the right person with a summary and the draft ready to edit.
- What stays with people
- A person approves any reply that quotes a price, makes a promise or answers a complaint, until the automation has earned the right to send those too.
- What changes
- Replies go out in minutes at any hour, in your words, and your team spends its morning on the enquiries that need a person.
Follow-ups
Follow-ups that never slip
- The problem
- Quotes go out, renewals fall due, payments run late and approvals sit in inboxes, and each one is chased only when someone remembers. The chasing is the same message, written again and again, by the people who should be selling or serving.
- What we build
- Each follow-up goes out on your schedule, written from the quote, the contract or the invoice it concerns, and escalates in tone the way you would. It stops the moment the other side replies or pays, and your team sees every morning who is warm, who is late and who has gone quiet.
- What stays with people
- A person decides the discount, the extension and the moment to pick up the phone.
- What changes
- Nothing falls through, nobody chases by hand, and the follow-up reads as if the account owner wrote it.
Quotes, orders and proposals
Quotes and proposals from your price rules
- The problem
- A quote takes an afternoon: looking up prices, copying last month's proposal, fixing the names that were left in, checking the terms. Two people quote the same thing differently, and the customer waits.
- What we build
- The automation builds the quote or proposal from your price rules, your templates and the enquiry, checks it against your terms and margins, and sends it to the owner for approval, or straight to the customer when it is within the rules you set.
- What stays with people
- A person approves anything outside the rules: a discount, a new term, an unusual scope.
- What changes
- Quotes go out in minutes, every one in the same format and at the right price, and the proposal reads as yours.
Documents
Invoices and documents read, checked and filed
- The problem
- Supplier invoices, forms, contracts and reports arrive as PDFs, scans and photographs, and someone types the numbers into a system, matches them to an order by hand and files the document where it may never be found again.
- What we build
- The automation reads each document, pulls out the fields you need, checks them against your order, your records or your rules, enters them in your system and files the document against the right record. Anything unreadable or inconsistent goes to a person with the original attached.
- What stays with people
- A person approves payment, settles a mismatch and signs what needs signing.
- What changes
- Nothing is re-typed, the mismatches surface the same day instead of at month end, and every document can be found.
Reporting
The daily numbers, before anyone asks
- The problem
- Every morning someone compiles the numbers the team asks for, copying between systems and spreadsheets. By the time the report is out, the day has started, and the week's report takes a day of its own.
- What we build
- The automation pulls the figures from each of your systems, assembles the report in your format with yesterday and last week beside today, marks what moved, and sends it before the day starts. A number that leaves the range you set reaches its owner at once.
- What stays with people
- A person reads, questions and adds the judgement; the commentary stays theirs.
- What changes
- The numbers are on time, the same every day, and the person who used to compile them now reads them.
Between systems
Data moved between systems without re-typing
- The problem
- The same order, customer or product is typed into two or three tools, by hand, by people who have better things to do. The copies drift apart, and the errors are found by a customer.
- What we build
- Each record flows from the system it starts in to the systems that need it, in the right fields, when it changes. Duplicates are matched and merged to your rules, the doubtful ones listed, and a difference between systems is reported before it costs anything.
- What stays with people
- A person decides the doubtful matches and owns the system of record.
- What changes
- One version of every record, no re-typing, and the errors found by you rather than by a customer.
03By team
Sales and enquiries
45 use cases by the team that owns the work, each in three lines: the problem by hand today, what we build and what stays with people. Any of them can be written out in full, the way the six above are. The call starts with the team where the hours go.
First reply to an enquiry
- The problem
- Enquiries arrive by email, web form and phone; someone reads each, works out what it is about and replies hours later, or the next day.
- What we build
- Each enquiry is read as it arrives; the reply is drafted from your answers and your price list; the simple ones are sent and the rest routed to the right person with a summary.
- What stays with people
- Approves replies that quote a price or make a promise.
Lead qualification and routing
- The problem
- A salesperson judges each new lead by hand, and the good ones wait in a shared inbox.
- What we build
- Each lead is scored against your own criteria, enriched from your records and assigned to the right person with the next step written out.
- What stays with people
- Sets the criteria and takes the call.
Follow-ups on open quotes
- The problem
- Quotes go out and nobody chases them until month end.
- What we build
- A follow-up goes out on your schedule, written from the quote, and stops the moment the customer replies; the salesperson sees who is warm.
- What stays with people
- Decides the discount and the final push.
Quotes and proposals
- The problem
- A quote takes an afternoon: looking up prices, copying a template, checking the terms.
- What we build
- The quote or proposal is built from your price rules and templates, checked against your terms and sent for approval, or sent at once when it is within the rules.
- What stays with people
- Approves anything outside the rules.
CRM kept current
- The problem
- Calls, emails and meetings happen; the CRM is updated later, or never.
- What we build
- Notes, next steps and status changes are written into the CRM from the email and the call summary, in your fields.
- What stays with people
- Corrects what the automation got wrong, rarely.
Meeting notes to next steps
- The problem
- Meetings end with notes in a notebook and actions that are forgotten.
- What we build
- The call is summarised, the actions extracted and assigned, and the follow-up email drafted for the owner to send.
- What stays with people
- Sends the email and owns the actions.
04By team
Customer service and support
Ticket triage
- The problem
- Every ticket is read and categorised by hand before anyone starts on it.
- What we build
- Tickets are categorised, prioritised and routed as they arrive, with the customer's history attached.
- What stays with people
- Handles the ticket.
Answers from your own documentation
- The problem
- The same questions arrive every day; the answers are in a manual nobody opens.
- What we build
- First-line answers are written from your own manuals and past tickets, and sent or suggested to the agent.
- What stays with people
- Approves suggested answers until the automation has earned trust; takes everything unusual.
Order and delivery status
- The problem
- "Where is my order?" takes a lookup in two systems and a reply.
- What we build
- The status is read from your systems and sent to the customer on the channel the question came in on.
- What stays with people
- Steps in when the status is wrong.
Complaints escalated with a draft
- The problem
- A complaint sits in the queue until someone senior sees it.
- What we build
- Complaints are recognised and escalated at once, with the history and a drafted response.
- What stays with people
- Reviews and sends the response.
After-sales follow-up
- The problem
- Nobody asks the customer how it went, so problems surface as lost customers.
- What we build
- A follow-up goes out after delivery or service, the replies are read, and the unhappy ones are flagged to a person the same day.
- What stays with people
- Calls the unhappy customer.
05By team
Operations and orders
Order intake
- The problem
- Orders arrive as emails, PDFs and photographs of forms, and are typed into the system.
- What we build
- The order is read, checked against your catalogue and prices, and entered; anything unclear goes to a person with the original attached.
- What stays with people
- Confirms the unclear ones.
Confirmations and dispatch updates
- The problem
- Customers call to ask, and staff write the same update many times a day.
- What we build
- Confirmations and dispatch updates go out from your system's status changes, in your words.
- What stays with people
- Nothing, beyond the exceptions.
Stock and reorder alerts
- The problem
- Stock is checked when something runs out.
- What we build
- Levels are watched against your thresholds, and a reorder draft reaches the buyer before the shortage.
- What stays with people
- Approves the order.
Purchase orders and vendor follow-ups
- The problem
- Purchase orders are typed, and vendors are chased by phone.
- What we build
- Purchase orders are prepared from the approved request, sent, and chased until confirmed; delays are flagged early.
- What stays with people
- Approves the purchase order.
Scheduling and dispatch
- The problem
- Visits, deliveries and jobs are scheduled on a whiteboard or in someone's head.
- What we build
- Jobs are scheduled against availability and location, the team is told, the customer gets the time, and a change reschedules the rest.
- What stays with people
- Overrides the schedule when the day changes.
06By team
Finance and admin
Invoice capture and matching
- The problem
- Supplier invoices are typed in and matched to purchase orders by hand.
- What we build
- Invoices are read, matched to the order and the receipt, and queued for approval with the mismatches marked.
- What stays with people
- Approves payment and settles the mismatches.
Receivables follow-up
- The problem
- Overdue payments are chased when someone remembers.
- What we build
- Reminders go out on a schedule, written from the invoice, escalating in tone, and stop when the payment lands; the list of who owes what is current every morning.
- What stays with people
- Decides when to stop writing and call.
Expenses and bills
- The problem
- Receipts are collected in envelopes and entered monthly.
- What we build
- Receipts are read as they arrive, coded to your categories and entered for approval.
- What stays with people
- Approves.
Month-end reports
- The problem
- Month end takes days of copying between spreadsheets.
- What we build
- The reports are assembled from your systems on the first morning, in your format, with the variances marked.
- What stays with people
- Reads, questions and signs off.
Reconciliation
- The problem
- Two systems disagree, and someone finds out why, line by line.
- What we build
- Records are matched across systems, the differences listed with the likely cause, and the fix proposed.
- What stays with people
- Approves the fix.
07By team
HR and people
Candidate screening and scheduling
- The problem
- Applications pile up, and screening calls are scheduled by email, back and forth.
- What we build
- Applications are screened against the role's criteria, the shortlist drafted, and interviews scheduled from the panel's calendars.
- What stays with people
- Makes the shortlist final and interviews.
Onboarding
- The problem
- New joiners chase documents, accounts and forms for a week.
- What we build
- The checklist runs itself: documents requested and filed, accounts requested, the first week's schedule sent.
- What stays with people
- Welcomes the person.
Leave and attendance queries
- The problem
- The same questions reach HR every day.
- What we build
- Questions are answered from your policy and the person's own record; requests are routed for approval.
- What stays with people
- Approves the leave.
Policy questions from the handbook
- The problem
- The handbook exists, nobody reads it, and HR answers by email.
- What we build
- An assistant answers from the handbook, cites the section, and hands over when the answer is not there.
- What stays with people
- Owns the handbook.
Offboarding
- The problem
- Exits are a scramble of access, assets and paperwork.
- What we build
- The checklist runs on the exit date: access removed, assets listed, documents issued, the handover tracked.
- What stays with people
- Signs off.
08By team
Reporting and management
The daily numbers
- The problem
- Someone compiles the daily report by hand every morning.
- What we build
- The numbers your team asks for are pulled from your systems and sent before the day starts.
- What stays with people
- Reads them.
Weekly reports from several systems
- The problem
- The weekly report is a copy-and-paste exercise across tools.
- What we build
- The report is assembled from each system, in your format, with last week beside this week.
- What stays with people
- Adds the commentary.
Alerts when a number leaves its range
- The problem
- Problems are found at month end.
- What we build
- A watch on the numbers you name, with a message to the owner the moment one leaves its range.
- What stays with people
- Acts on it.
Board and investor packs
- The problem
- The pack takes a week of chasing.
- What we build
- The figures are gathered and the pack drafted in your template; the narrative is left to you.
- What stays with people
- Writes the narrative.
09By team
Documents and compliance
Contracts from templates
- The problem
- Every contract starts from the last one, with the old names left in.
- What we build
- Contracts are drafted from your templates and the deal's terms, with the departures from your standard marked for review.
- What stays with people
- Reviews and signs.
Classification and filing
- The problem
- Documents arrive in inboxes and stay there.
- What we build
- Documents are recognised, named, filed in the right place and linked to the right record.
- What stays with people
- Nothing, beyond spot checks.
Data from forms
- The problem
- Forms are read and typed into a system.
- What we build
- The fields are read, checked against your rules and entered, with the unreadable ones sent to a person.
- What stays with people
- Handles the unreadable ones.
Renewals and expiries
- The problem
- Licences, certificates and contracts expire unnoticed.
- What we build
- Every dated document is tracked; the renewal starts before the expiry, with the paperwork prepared.
- What stays with people
- Signs the renewal.
Vendor and customer document checks
- The problem
- Onboarding a vendor or a customer means checking a pile of documents by hand.
- What we build
- Documents are checked for completeness and consistency against your list, the gaps requested, the file assembled.
- What stays with people
- Approves the onboarding.
10By team
Between systems
Data moved without re-typing
- The problem
- The same record is typed into two or three tools.
- What we build
- Each record flows from the system it starts in to the systems that need it, in the right fields.
- What stays with people
- Nothing, beyond the exceptions.
Cleaning and de-duplication
- The problem
- Duplicates and typos pile up in the CRM and the mailing list.
- What we build
- Records are matched, merged and corrected to your rules, with the doubtful ones listed.
- What stays with people
- Decides the doubtful ones.
Records kept in step
- The problem
- Prices, customers and products differ between systems.
- What we build
- A change in the system of record reaches the others, and the differences are reported.
- What stays with people
- Owns the system of record.
Notifications on change
- The problem
- People find out late that something changed.
- What we build
- A message to the right person when a record changes, an order stalls or a payment lands.
- What stays with people
- Acts on it.
11By team
Knowledge
An assistant on your procedures
- The problem
- Procedures live in documents nobody can find.
- What we build
- An assistant answers from your procedures and records, with the source cited, for your team.
- What stays with people
- Keeps the procedures current.
Answers for the field team
- The problem
- The field team phones the office for every question.
- What we build
- The same assistant on the phone or in chat, answering from your documents and the job's record.
- What stays with people
- Takes the calls the assistant cannot.
Training from recorded calls
- The problem
- Good calls are never turned into training.
- What we build
- Recorded calls are transcribed and the best examples turned into short training material in your format.
- What stays with people
- Picks the examples.
12By team
Voice
Inbound calls answered
- The problem
- Calls go to voicemail after hours and to the wrong person in hours.
- What we build
- Calls are answered, the caller's need understood, simple matters handled and the rest routed with a summary, in the languages your customers speak.
- What stays with people
- Takes the routed calls.
Reminders and confirmations
- The problem
- Staff spend mornings on reminder calls.
- What we build
- Appointments, deliveries and payments are confirmed by call or message, and the replies written into your system.
- What stays with people
- Handles the no-shows.
Call summaries into the CRM
- The problem
- Calls end and the details are lost.
- What we build
- Each call is summarised and written to the record with the next step.
- What stays with people
- Checks the next step.
13What stays with people
What we do not automate
Every automation we build leaves something with your people: the decision, the exception or the approval. The call says what, before anything is built.
Decisions that need judgement
A hire, a price for a new kind of work, a claim that is not clear-cut.
Anything where a wrong answer costs more than the time saved
The automation asks a person before it acts, or it is not built.
Work that changes every time
A one-off project, a negotiation, a piece of writing with a point of view.
A customer conversation that has gone wrong
The automation recognises it and hands it to a person with the history.
A person reviews wherever a mistake would matter, every action is logged, and the review step is tightened wherever errors appear.
14Get started
Tell us what your teams do by hand. We come back with what to automate first.
A call about how your teams work, a written plan with scope and price, and a build on the systems you already use. A reply within 24 hours.