❯ Question and answer
Which tasks in my business can be automated with AI?
The ones that repeat and involve reading or writing text: answering customers on WhatsApp, qualifying and routing leads, replying to emails, reactivating inactive customers and moving data between the CRM, spreadsheets and finance. McKinsey estimates generative AI could automate activities that take up 60% to 70% of employees’ time today.
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What are the numbers, with sources?
- In June 2023, McKinsey estimated that generative AI, together with other technologies, could automate work activities that take up 60% to 70% of employees’ time today. (Source: McKinsey, The economic potential of generative AI)
- In the same study, about 75% of generative AI’s value falls in 4 areas: customer operations, marketing and sales, software engineering and R&D, for US$2.6 to 4.4 trillion a year across 63 use cases. (Source: McKinsey, The economic potential of generative AI)
- OpenAI’s guide says to prioritize workflows with complex decision-making, hard-to-maintain rules and heavy reliance on unstructured data. (Source: OpenAI, A practical guide to building agents)
- Anthropic recommends starting with the simplest solution possible and only increasing complexity when needed. (Source: Anthropic, Building effective agents)
Which tasks are usually automated first?
| Area | Task | What AI does |
|---|---|---|
| Customer service | Answering questions on WhatsApp, email and Instagram | Understands the question, checks the system and replies |
| Sales | Qualifying and routing leads | Classifies the lead and writes it to the CRM |
| Marketing | Reactivating inactive customers | Segments them and writes each group’s message |
| Operations | Moving data between CRM, spreadsheets and finance | Extracts data from free text and fills in the fields |
| Scheduling | Booking and rescheduling meetings | Talks to the customer and writes to the calendar |
How do I choose where to start?
List the tasks that repeat every week and note how long each one takes. Start with the one that takes the most time and has a clear rule for when to hand over to a person.
What should not be automated with AI?
Decisions the company already has as fixed rules (price, discount, deadline) and tasks whose input is always the same. A flow without AI handles those at lower cost.
Common mistakes
- Starting with the most visible task instead of the one that eats the most team hours.
- Automating a process the team cannot describe: the automation inherits the mess.
- Putting AI where a fixed rule would do.
- Forgetting to define when the AI hands the conversation to a person.
What has Notkode already automated?
Notkode has delivered 50+ projects. In 2024 it moved Loss Prevention’s sales off spreadsheets and email, with leads flowing from the form to the CRM on their own. It built Ativa Clientes, which wins back inactive customers with AI. Notkode agents work on WhatsApp, email, Instagram DM, website chat and internal systems.
Frequently asked questions
Will AI replace my team?
AI takes repetitive tasks off the team. Decisions, exceptions and difficult conversations stay with people, who receive the case through handoff.
Do I need everything organized before automating?
Not everything, but the process being automated must be clear: who does what, with which data and in which system.
Which task pays back fastest?
Usually customer service and lead intake: they are frequent, take hours of team time and have a clear rule for when to bring in a person.
How long does the first automation take?
At Notkode, 2 to 3 weeks on a normal timeline, 1 to 2 weeks on a fast one and within 1 week when urgent.
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