15 business processes your company can automate with artificial intelligence
The question we hear most when a company starts thinking about artificial intelligence is: “what can we actually automate?”. The answer is almost always in the tasks the team repeats every day and nobody enjoys doing.
We’ve gathered 15 processes that companies in different industries automate with AI today, grouped by area, with what the AI does in each case and what to keep in mind. If you’d like the big picture first, start with the guide to artificial intelligence in business processes.
Admin and finance
1. Entering supplier invoices
Invoices arrive by email as PDFs, each supplier with its own format. The AI reads the document, extracts the tax ID, number, date, amounts, VAT and due date, checks the data against the purchase order and posts it to the management system. If something doesn’t match, it alerts a person instead of posting it.
2. Bank and payment reconciliation
It matches bank transactions against issued invoices, works out which customer each transfer belongs to even when the reference is incomplete, and flags differences for review.
3. Accounts receivable management
It spots overdue or soon-to-be-due invoices and sends personalised reminders by email or WhatsApp based on each customer’s history. It logs the replies (“I’ll pay on Friday”) and schedules the follow-up.
4. Periodic reports
It builds weekly or monthly reports from different sources and writes a summary of the points to watch, ready to send to management.
Sales and commercial
5. Lead qualification and capture
Every enquiry coming in through the website, email, WhatsApp or social media is logged in the CRM with the relevant details, classified by potential and assigned to the right salesperson.
6. Quote follow-up
After a quote is sent, the system follows up automatically with personalised messages and alerts the salesperson when the customer replies or shows interest.
7. Answering sales enquiries
Prices, availability, payment terms and delivery times are answered instantly with up-to-date company information, even out of hours. It’s especially useful on WhatsApp: see WhatsApp chatbot for SMBs.
Customer service
8. FAQs on WhatsApp, web and email
An AI assistant answers repetitive questions using only the information the company provides (policies, catalogue, opening hours), and hands the cases it can’t solve to a person, with the full conversation context.
9. Ticket classification and routing
The AI reads every complaint or enquiry, identifies the topic and urgency, and sends it to the right team. No more emails bouncing from one department to another.
10. After-sales follow-up
It sends satisfaction surveys and maintenance or renewal reminders, and spots unhappy customers so someone can get in touch.
Operations and logistics
11. Order intake
Orders arriving by email, WhatsApp or customer spreadsheets are interpreted and entered into the system, checking stock and prices. The person just confirms.
12. Stock and reorder alerts
It monitors stock levels, estimates when each product will run out based on the sales pace and prepares the reorder for approval.
13. Coordinating appointments, deliveries and schedules
It coordinates appointments or deliveries with customers over WhatsApp, confirms, reschedules and sends reminders to cut no-shows.
Human resources
14. Candidate screening
It reads incoming CVs, compares them against the job requirements and builds a justified shortlist. The final decision always stays with a person.
15. Internal questions and onboarding
An internal assistant answers questions about leave, payslips, procedures and policies using the company’s documents, and guides new employees through their first days.
How to decide where to start
From this list, choose the process that best meets these conditions:
- High volume: it repeats many times a week.
- Clear rules: a new person could learn it in a few days.
- Low or manageable risk: a mistake can be detected and corrected.
- Measurable result: hours, response time, errors or sales.
With that first process running and measured, the next one is much easier to justify. In how to implement AI in a small business, step by step we explain the full plan.
FAQ
Which processes aren’t worth automating with AI?
Ones that happen rarely, ones that change constantly and ones that need expert judgement every time. Also those where a mistake is very costly and there’s no way to validate it before it runs.
Do I need an ERP or CRM to automate processes?
No. Many automations work with Google Sheets or Excel, email and WhatsApp. If the company has a management system, the automation integrates with it.
Can processes that are still on paper be automated?
Yes, as long as the documents can be scanned or photographed. AI can read scanned documents and extract the data, though it’s worth checking image quality.
Want to know which of your processes are worth automating first?
We run a free 30-minute assessment and tell you where to start. Request it here or see how we work.