Find the repeat, not the novelty
Look for a task you repeat often and can describe clearly. Preparing a draft, organizing incoming requests, or assembling a weekly summary may be better starting points than a complicated end-to-end system.
Record what comes in, what a good result looks like, and what can go wrong. If the process is unclear to a person, adding automation usually makes that confusion faster.
Keep a human checkpoint
Start with drafts and suggestions rather than automatic sending, purchasing, or deleting. Make it easy to review the result before it affects a customer or changes important records.
Use the minimum access the task needs. Keep a way to pause the workflow, and test what happens when the input is missing, duplicated, or unexpected.
Check whether it actually helps
Compare the time saved with the time spent checking and correcting the output. A small automation that reliably removes friction is more useful than an impressive demo that needs constant supervision.
Once the narrow version works, decide whether expanding it is worth the extra complexity. Keeping the scope small is a design decision, not a limitation.
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