What Business Processes Should You Automate with AI?

You’ve probably heard the term “AI automation” by now. But what does it actually mean? And more importantly—how can it help you in your daily work or business operations?

In this article, I’ll walk you through what AI automation really is, how it works, and how you can identify processes in your business that can be significantly sped up or improved using this technology.

What Is AI Automation and What Does It Look Like?

Business process automation isn't new—companies have been optimizing workflows for years using custom software or scripts. The goal is to make things faster and smoother by reducing manual tasks.

But here’s the catch: traditional automation often hits a wall when decision-making or contextual analysis is required. That’s where AI comes flying in like a superhero and says: “Hey, I’ve got this!”

With AI, the sky’s the limit. You’re only restricted by your creativity. Below, I’ll show you some real-world use cases and how AI can be your digital teammate.

The Connector: Automating Tool Integration

These days, we juggle multiple tools—Excel, CRMs, emails—you name it. And many businesses still copy-paste data between them daily. That’s fine… if you do it once a month. But doing it every day? That’s a productivity killer.

Imagine paying a university graduate to manually update campaign results in Excel every morning. Why not let a script do that for you? Now, automation isn’t just about transferring data—it’s about making decisions with it. And that’s where AI takes the lead.

The Analyst: Smart Decision-Making

Let’s say you're running ad campaigns for a client. With AI, you could:

• Automatically analyze performance every day
• Summarize key results
• And email a simple, clear report directly to your client

Another use case? You're scouting for IT companies to partner with. A lead fills out a form on your website. Your AI-powered automation grabs data from their links, evaluates if they meet your criteria, and sends a response tailored to the outcome. No manual vetting required.

The Researcher: Smarter Lead Prospecting

Let’s say you're freelancing and spending 4 hours a day on Upwork, scanning job posts. When you find something relevant, you craft a personalized proposal using a specific format.

Now imagine cutting that to just 30 minutes.

How?

By using a browser extension that scans all your saved job searches, filters relevant offers, and opens matching jobs in a new tab. On top of that, it pre-fills your proposal template—ready for final tweaks.

Now you spend less time hunting, and more time closing.

So, Should You Automate or Not?

Some people work hard… and a bit clueless. Others work hard—but smart.

Know the difference? The smart ones get twice as much done, and still have time for their spouse and kids. The others? They burn out trying to keep up.

So—what kind of worker do you want to be? The choice is yours.