Volume before novelty
Prioritise repetitive work where time, error rate and response delay can be measured. A small automation used every day often beats an impressive demo used once.
Design the escape hatch
Define confidence thresholds, logging and human escalation before launch. Automation is reliable when uncertainty has somewhere safe to go.
Measure cost per resolved task
Track the cost of a completed task before and after automation. Include review time, rework, missed handoffs and customer delay. ROI lives in the full workflow, not the tool invoice.