Choose a useful first AI workflow

Choose a repeatable task with a visible outcome.

Look for work where the inputs and desired result can be described clearly. Examples include classifying a service request, summarising customer-supplied project context or finding an answer in an approved information set. Identify the person who uses the result and the decision it supports.

Ask whether a simpler form, rule or template would solve the problem. AI is not necessary for every automation. When the required result is a fixed calculation, known route or exact record update, a deterministic step may be easier to validate and maintain.

Define the information the system may use.

For a website assistant, create an approved source of service information, process details and common answers. Give that content an owner and a review process. The assistant should not invent prices, available dates, client results or business policies to make an answer sound complete.

Collect only the information needed for the task and explain the purpose at the point of collection. Decide where lead details are stored, who can access them and how retention or deletion is handled. Review provider arrangements and applicable privacy requirements with the appropriate people before using sensitive information.

Write down the decisions it cannot make.

A lead assistant may help prepare a request without being authorised to confirm a booking, issue a firm quote or accept contractual terms. State those boundaries in the workflow and the visitor-facing language. A clear handoff is part of the feature, not an exception to it.

When an answer is uncertain or outside the approved information, route the question to a person or ask for clarification. Do not let fluent language conceal missing evidence. The business should decide which outputs need review before they are shown, stored or acted upon.

Test the complete handoff.

Use realistic examples, incomplete requests and questions the system should decline to answer definitively. Check whether a visitor can correct information before submitting it and whether the team receives an accurate summary alongside the original context.

Validate failure handling as well as the successful path. If an integration is unavailable, the interface should explain the status accurately and offer an appropriate next step. A success message is not enough if no record reaches the system responsible for follow-up.

Measure usefulness and keep a human owner.

Choose measures tied to the task, such as whether the team receives sufficient project context, how often a summary needs correction or whether enquiries reach the right workflow. Do not judge an assistant only by the number of conversations it starts.

Assign someone to review recurring errors, outdated answers and escalation patterns. Expand the workflow only after the initial task is understood and dependable. At Surf, an AI feature belongs within the wider website and Flor lead process, with its scope and limitations agreed before launch.

Your planning checklist

• Choose one defined task and a person who uses its result.
• Approve the information source and collection purpose.
• Document decisions that require human review or confirmation.
• Test corrections, uncertainty, integration failure and handoff.

Common questions