Write the checklist. Then automate.

THE SHORT ANSWER

The short answer

Write down the process before automating it. Define the trigger, required inputs, fixed rules, review step, and failure path. Walk through the checklist manually to find gaps before connecting services.

Connecting two tools is the easy part to picture. The harder questions show up when a brief is incomplete, the same request arrives twice, or a draft needs judgment.

Write those decisions into the process first.

Map the whole handoff

Use these six questions as your starter checklist:

• Trigger: What starts a new run?
• Inputs: What information must be present?
• Rules: Which steps have a clear, repeatable answer?
• Judgment: Which decisions need a person to review them?
• Destination: Where does the approved result go?
• Failure: What pauses the process, and who needs to know?

Give the workflow a real example

Imagine turning an approved content brief into a draft. The trigger is the brief’s approval. The required inputs are the audience, angle, sources, and format. AI prepares the draft. A person checks the claims and decides when it is ready to publish.

If the sources are missing, the process pauses for a complete brief. If the same brief is submitted twice, the process flags the duplicate before creating another draft. These are proposed rules you can test before building an integration.

Choose where AI earns a role

Sorting dates or checking whether a field is empty can follow a fixed rule. Interpreting source notes needs a way to handle ambiguity and review the result. Name that review step in the checklist.

Walk it through before you wire it up

Try one complete brief, one incomplete brief, and one duplicate. Record where the checklist leaves you guessing. Resolve those gaps, then automate a small part of the process.

Your next move: Write the six answers for one repetitive task. Find the decision you have been making in your head and add it to the checklist.