Self-audit · before you spend another $ on AI
Where AI Pays — and Where to Leave It Alone
A 3-question test to score every process in your business: should AI run it, or should you leave it human? The checklist that finds the right ones to automate.
You didn't fail at AI. You automated the wrong thing. "I tried AI, it didn't stick." "Bought the tool, never used it." "Not sure what's actually worth automating." If that's you — the problem usually isn't AI. It's that it got pointed at the wrong process.
of companies scrapped most of their AI last year — up from 17%. Not because AI doesn't work. Because they pointed it at the wrong process.
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, 2025
The 3-question test
Run every process in your business through these three questions. Three yes = hand it to AI. Any no = keep it human, or fix the process first.
Does it repeat at least 3× a week? Rare tasks cost more to build than they save.
Is there a clear “done right” you can measure? No measure → no way to trust the output.
If AI slips, do you catch it before a client does? If the first to notice is your customer, keep a human in the loop.
Any “no” → keep it human, or fix the process first. And never automate one that's already broken — “automating a mess yields an automated mess.”
— Michael Hammer, HBR
Grow with AI — or leave it alone
- Lead intake & first replies
- First-draft emails, docs & summaries
- Booking, reminders & follow-up
- Order status & FAQ, 24/7
- Qualifying leads before sales
- Assembling reports from data
- Who to hire or let go
- What your brand stands for
- Closing & negotiating deals
- Rare or one-off tasks
- Anything with no clean data
- A process that's still broken
Want this scored for your real business? We map it free — and on ~1 in 5 calls we tell you not to build it.
Nikita · FORMA