AI Pilot Checklist for SMBs
One workflow, a baseline, and stop criteria — before anyone says “roll it out.”
Name the workflow
- Workflow name, in the words the shop already uses (quoting, intake, invoice follow-up).
- Who touches it today, and which system of record it lives in.
- What “done” looks like when a person finishes it without AI.
Pain and risk
- Pain score: how often it hurts, and who feels it.
- Risk if the pilot is wrong: customer-facing, money, safety, or internal only.
- Refuse a second workflow with “while we’re at it.”
Baseline
- Time on a typical instance, written down before the pilot.
- What errors or rework look like today — examples, not a percentage story.
- Where the current output is stored.
Window, success, stop
- Pilot window: one to two weeks beside the old process.
- Success criteria a person can observe (the draft is usable, the checkpoint holds).
- Stop criteria: what makes you turn it off without a debate.
- Named owner for the output.
- Data notes: what customer information may pass through, and what may not.