Why Top Performing Teams Use AI Workflow Automation and How You Can Do the Same

“When you construct it, they may come” labored properly in “Discipline of Goals.” However, like a number of entrepreneurs, I took a extra cautious (but nonetheless curious) strategy towards AI integration.

When ChatGPT first hit the scene, it was thrilling to see all the thrill nevertheless it left me hungry for extra:

• What’s AI truly good for?
• How does it work in a enterprise atmosphere?
• And might it save me time, or am I going to rewrite completely every part it produces?

Effectively, like 75% of entrepreneurs, I imagine AI will become a workplace staple within the subsequent couple of years. And that can have so much to do with how AI-powered instruments assist us automate our every day work.

Let’s discover the thought of AI workflow automation and the way entrepreneurs stand to achieve their time and lives again from repetition.

Desk of Contents

What’s AI workflow automation?

AI workflow automation entails utilizing synthetic intelligence instruments and sources to make work processes simpler and extra environment friendly by dealing with repetitive duties, informing selections, and letting groups give attention to higher-impact duties.

One thing to contemplate in workflow automation is what varieties of AI can work inside your pipeline. Many of the on-line chatter has targeted on generative AI (instruments like ChatGPT or Claude).

We’re now seeing agentic AI emerge as a dialogue level in firm boardrooms. As a substitute of making one thing as generative AI does, agentic AI accomplishes particular duties autonomously.

You’ll see these subtypes as you discover workflow automation. Every has its makes use of, they usually sometimes work collectively to automate workflows. However know that they’re designed for barely completely different use circumstances and concentrate on it in your planning.

Why use AI workflow automation?

AI is poised to assist entrepreneurs automate important chunks of their workflows. And entrepreneurs are beginning to embrace it: Our analysis exhibits that 64% of marketers use AI in some type at work. But, solely 21% have built-in AI extensively into their workflows. There’s room for progress.

So, why do I believe you need to be a part of the highest 21% of AI-powered entrepreneurs?

Saved Time

Our analysis lately discovered that marketers using AI save a mean of 12.5 hours per week. That’s practically 26 working days per yr. What might your crew do with an additional month?

Timesaving advantages differ relying on the place you incorporate AI into your processes. As an example, utilizing AI to automate components of content material manufacturing can prevent time drafting and modifying — typically essentially the most time-consuming items of the method.

I’ll focus on setting targets and goals of AI workflow automation later, however know that it’s vital to establish time-consuming duties earlier than you combine AI considerably into your course of.

Efficient Information-Pushed Choices

Information is drowning entrepreneurs. Amid oceans of data, what information issues to your crew? And how are you going to use it to plan your subsequent strikes?

I believe a key to conducting effective marketing is to search out which information is most related to your wants and perceive the way to deploy it. AI is particularly attuned to ingest information from the numerous sources in your group’s workflow, analyze it for patterns, and ship actionable insights to make issues occur.

Concentrating on and buyer expertise personalization are ripe fields for AI disruption.

Think about AI dealing with person information assortment, course of, and perception era. You obtain an inventory of “right here’s what to do subsequent” and might develop and execute campaigns to match.

Actual-world instance: Yum Manufacturers (which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, amongst different fast-food stops) is seeing double-digit increases in consumer engagement and extra purchases with AI-driven advertising and marketing selections.

Scalability

Calls for on entrepreneurs’ time and power are hovering — I do know I really feel it, and I’m positive you do too. Current surveys discovered that over 60% of marketers feel overwhelmed by what their jobs ask of them.

Entrepreneurs might at all times use an additional pair of fingers — and that’s now began to incorporate AI fingers.

Entrepreneurs can use AI to automate repetitive or predictable duties like information assortment and evaluation or social media publish drafting. Or, AI can use all that information it analyzes to robotically personalize outbound messages, serving to you attain individuals extra successfully with out guide effort.

AI doesn’t substitute the human marketer (I’ll add extra on that later), nevertheless it does assist us do extra — even when your marketing budget is stagnating.

What You Have to Begin AI Workflow Automations

So, the place do you start? I like to recommend you give the next factors some thought as you propose your AI workflow automation.

All through my exploration of AI workflow automation, you’ll hear from fractional CMO Tim Hickle. He’s invested considerably in understanding AI’s function in advertising and marketing for corporations of many sizes and buildings, and he shared a number of nice perception with me.

Crew Wants and Ache Factors

What’s truly bogging down your crew? What duties frustrate them or suck away their time from the higher-level, strategic work you want carried out?

Answering these questions takes quantitative and qualitative information. Sit down and ask your crew what they really feel eats at their time. Their responses received’t be precisely the identical, however you’re prone to see patterns emerge. From these patterns, you possibly can outline the workflow steps prepared for automation.

As an example, once we first explored AI integration, I sat with my content material crew to listen to about their struggles. Every had their very own curiosity, need, and wish for AI, however gadgets like repurposing our long-form work for social media distribution felt time-consuming and irritating. We might then type a speculation that AI integration might assist us automate that course of.

Professional tip: It’s additionally good to present your self a number of numbers to assist — particularly when you want government buy-in. Have your individuals time-block their calendars or monitor utilizing a selected hours-tracking device (undertaking administration instruments like Monday have these options built-in). See if their emotions match their precise time spent. You’ll be able to then quantify the influence AI instruments might need in your crew’s time and productiveness.

Your Tech Infrastructure

Earlier than you commit {dollars} to new AI instruments, perceive what programs you’re working now. That you must understand how your present number of digital programs and instruments (aka, your tech stack) can assist AI integration.

For instance, like many entrepreneurs, I cope with a number of unstructured data in my workday. Emails, cellphone calls, conferences, social media feedback, that random Powerpoint my coworker despatched me a month in the past — it’s all data I must do my job, nevertheless it’s scattered throughout a number of platforms. For me to profit from automated workflows, I need to perceive which of those instruments have an effect on my challenges essentially the most.

Relying in your crew’s wants, examine your present instruments like:

• Buyer relationship administration (CRM) platforms (e.g., Salesforce or HubSpot)
• Content material administration programs (CMS) like WordPress or Notion
• Advert and analytics platforms like GA4 or Tableau

Professional tip: I’ll share extra about our AI instruments later, however relying on the extent to which you’ve built-in HubSpot into your programs, you might need entry to a bunch of inside AI instruments and sources already. Both means, examine your tech stack for capabilities and integration factors.

Finances

Many AI instruments are priced fairly to fulfill the wants of small or medium-sized companies. Smaller advertising and marketing groups may get away with a number of lower-cost AI instruments with out raiding the finances.

Profitable AI workflow automation ought to ultimately scale — inside and outdoors your crew. You might not want a major finances now, however profitable integration will possible price you rather more down the highway. That’s not a nasty factor — it means you discovered one thing helpful.

Professional tip: I’ll speak later about pilot testing, however begin small and low-cost whereas focusing extra on measuring return on funding and enchancment to your crew’s ache factors. Profitable pilots and information will assist equip you to advocate for bigger budgetary wants.

Inside Data Structure

Whereas choosing the right instruments on your crew actually issues, once I talked to Hickle he raised an fascinating level about getting ready your data for AI integration, and the way that may make or break your workflow automation makes an attempt.

“Most advertising and marketing leaders are asking the improper query. They’re obsessing over which LLM to decide on — Claude, ChatGPT, or Jasper — when they need to be laser-focused on constructing their inside data structure,” says Hickle.

“The selection between AI fashions may prevent 10% of your time, however a well-structured data administration system can 10x your outputs. The true aggressive benefit isn‘t during which AI you employ — it’s in the way you set up and leverage your organization’s distinctive mental capital.”

Professional tip: Amid planning to unravel your crew’s wants, evaluate the way you’re storing data. The place does your helpful information stay, and might your AI instruments entry and use it to assist your crew?

Information Administration Technique

Together with the way you architect your data, Hickle additionally notes you want a powerful plan about managing the particular items of knowledge you propose to make use of in AI integration.

“The inspiration of efficient AI automation isn‘t the LLMs — it’s your information administration technique,” he says. “Advertising groups want to consider their inside information like Lego blocks: discrete, well-organized databases of high-quality data that can be utilized to coach narrowly-focused AI fashions. With out this basis, you are constructing on sand.”

You may’ve run into the thought of data hygiene earlier than. Basically, it’s cleansing up rubbish information out of your data system and guaranteeing AI will get the good things wanted to make sensible selections.

Professional ideas:

• Run an information audit to wash outdated, outdated information earlier than you embody AI in your course of.
• Develop SOPs and procedures so individuals know what to make use of AI for — and what information not to present it. Like greater than three-quarters of employees, entrepreneurs are nonetheless considerably confused about utilizing AI at work.
• Create a construction, rationalization, and approval course of to present your individuals extra assist of their decision-making.

The Human Contact

Central to wholesome AI deployment is the human you’re serving to. There’s nonetheless so much we’re studying about AI and the way it suits into advertising and marketing workflows. Groups can’t depart behind the individuals facet.

Whereas AI affords a lot potential, don’t rely too closely on it. HubSpot’s newest State of AI report discovered that 62% of entrepreneurs agree that they need to use AI — however not use it an excessive amount of.

How a lot is an excessive amount of? I’d say that reply will depend on what workflows you’re automating.

As an example, when you’re automating content material creation, it’s oh-so-tempting to let the bot fill within the blinking cursor amid a bout of author’s block. However, the writing course of helps refine your model voice, establish concepts to research additional, and share your distinctive stance with the world. That, and also you don’t wish to let AI hallucinations slip via your content material evaluate unseen.

Hickle has seen that firsthand together with his advertising and marketing shoppers.

“The true energy of AI in advertising and marketing isn‘t in changing human creativity — it’s in amplifying it via structured suggestions loops,” he mentioned. “By coaching AI fashions on fastidiously curated buyer interactions and advertising and marketing outcomes, we‘ve remodeled every bit of content material into a chance for automated focus teams. This isn’t about amount over high quality; it is about utilizing AI as a top quality multiplier whereas sustaining human oversight for strategic course.”

Professional tip: Stock how your crew makes use of their time and spot the most important mismatches between effort and reward. Possibly there’s excessive worth in writing long-form content material your self, however reworking it into snippets for 5 social media platforms bogs down your individuals. AI ought to assist your individuals, not substitute them.

Tips on how to Implement AI Workflow Automation for Your Crew

1. Set your AI workflow automation targets and goals.
2. Analysis AI instruments.
3. Prepare your crew.
4. Construct a focused pilot undertaking.
5. Combine AI into every day workflows.
6. Measure success standards.

1. Set your AI workflow automation targets and goals.

Use your crew’s wants and ache factors to determine what you wish to automate and the way you’ll get it carried out. Body your targets like another enterprise purpose (I just like the SMART format) and be extra particular about answering questions like:

• Which duties are too repetitive and eat too many sources?
• The place are we getting caught in execution?
• What selections might use a lift from AI?

Additionally, set particular standards for achievement, together with measurement requirements. Are you making an attempt to save lots of hours spent on these duties? The variety of occasions you contact that job manually? What bigger enterprise goals or priorities can this course of assist? Set benchmark information primarily based on the place you at the moment are — that’ll do wonders on your future.

You may not have each element at this stage, however higher particulars result in higher outcomes. From there, you possibly can establish the repeatable processes prepared for AI integration.

2. Analysis AI instruments.

I’ve included choices afterward, however your targets and goals ought to drive your search. You’ve additionally reviewed your tech stack and know what integrations work with them. So, it’s a matter of discovering the fitting instruments to fulfill your wants and enterprise actuality.

After I’m AI instruments, I evaluate factors past integrating with my tech stack, together with:

• Information administration insurance policies. How is the seller defending me and my firm’s information? Are they compliant with rules like GDPR or SOC 2?
• Ease of use. How shortly can I rise up to hurry utilizing the product? Does the person expertise make sense to me? And might I shortly prepare one other particular person to make use of it, too?
• Help. Have they got a stable data base for fast questions? Does the assist system rely solely on chatbots, or can I get to a human? Does that price me further?
• Stability. Many AI distributors have solely lately entered the market. I’ll select the device that finest helps my wants, nevertheless it’s good to know if the seller has legs underneath them. I test Crunchbase for funding profiles and seek for case research and feedback on locations like G2 or Reddit.

Professional tip: Run a number of free trials or evaluate product demos to visualise the way you’ll use every device. A full workflow automation may require 3-5 separate AI instruments, relying in your wants, tech stack, and data structure. Examine how a lot it’ll price to run all these instruments — and see if these new instruments play good with each other.

3. Prepare your crew.

A device is just pretty much as good because the particular person wielding it. And roughly two-thirds of entrepreneurs say {that a} lack of education and training is the biggest barrier to AI adoption. Ideally, your AI instruments embody coaching supplies, product walkthroughs, and demo movies. Share these along with your crew and stroll via an important components collectively.

It’s additionally good to incorporate smaller coaching tidbits all through your common crew conferences. A part of AI integration is making it really feel proper, like this device has been wanted all alongside. A complicated or misplaced AI useful resource will throw that feeling out of stability.

Professional tip: Ask for normal suggestions from crew members and hear fastidiously to their responses. Whereas individuals are normally keen to present it a go, continued frustration with AI instruments will stop you from getting the adoption it is advisable scale your automations.

4. Construct a focused pilot undertaking.

Begin your AI journey with a tightly managed pilot. At this stage, draw a map displaying every step in part of a workflow you wish to automate. Put together for achievement, however get able to be taught from failure.

As an example, when ChatGPT launched its public fashions in late 2022, my content material crew noticed nice potential in incorporating the device into our workflow. Particularly, we wished to make use of GPT 3.5 to repurpose our long-form content material into shorter items we might share with shoppers to make use of on their social media platforms.

We mapped the steps on this course of:

We executed this course of for 2-3 months. It failed spectacularly.

Why?

1. On the time, GPT’s output wasn’t exceptional, and our shoppers demanded exceptional. We hadn’t correctly assessed the necessity.
2. We spent far an excessive amount of effort and time tinkering with the output; it could’ve been a lot quicker to repurpose the content material ourselves. We noticed no time profit.

So, our pilot failed.

However, GPT did assist us brainstorm higher concepts on the bounce and prep for consumer interviews. We discovered and tailored to make use of the instruments the place we really wanted them. Deliver that mindset into pilot testing.

5. Combine AI into every day workflows.

It might take a number of small pilot assessments earlier than you discover the fitting mixture of workflow steps, instruments, sources, and coaching to make it work. When you do get it, doc it.

Professional tip: Draw a diagram or map of the steps in your workflow so you possibly can see how automation flows and the way every step relates again to your targets and goals. From there, encourage your crew to constantly interact your chosen AI instruments. Observe will breed habits, and it’ll enable you to iron out any nagging challenges or hiccups.

Be a supply of consistency along with your crew as they be taught to make use of AI daily. That’s why you took time to create SOPs, insurance policies, and data architectures.

6. Measure success standards.

Continued success with AI workflow automation comes with measurement. Bear in mind once you set your targets and goals? Examine your benchmarks to the place you find yourself. Often monitor numerical information over time, akin to hours saved or content material items produced per week.

You’ll wish to preserve refining your processes, too. Information can let you know the place a device isn’t performing properly or the place eddies are swirling round within the workflow river.

Professional tip: Pay shut consideration to your information and your crew’s suggestions throughout this tinkering stage (normally 3-6 months after every day implementation). You’ll see traits emerge and know the way to deal with them as you’re employed towards full scalability.

5 Greatest AI Instruments to Automate Workflows

Now then, which instruments do you have to use in AI workflow automation? The variety of choices grows every day. And there are many nice instruments not on this checklist. However, every of those instruments additionally adhere to the sooner standards I set for myself and my groups.

And, when you can automate many workflows, most entrepreneurs are targeted on utilizing AI to create, optimize, and distribute content. These instruments might help you try this (and different issues) at scale.

1. HubSpot Breeze AI

Breeze is designed to function throughout the total HubSpot suite. When you’re working your complete buyer expertise via HubSpot instruments, you possibly can take full benefit of Breeze and amplify its effectiveness.

Breeze affords the same old chatbot-style AI assistant, utilizing your HubSpot information to generate insights. You additionally get agentic AI (in beta) to robotically deal with prospecting, content material era, social media, and customer support.

What I like: The combination into the programs I’m already utilizing. Having AI proper at my fingertips with out leaving the HubSpot platform makes it a lot simpler to persuade crew members to make use of AI every day.

Greatest for: Firms utilizing HubSpot to run and automate some or all of their buyer journeys.

Pricing: HubSpot features a primary degree of Breeze AI, together with Breeze Copilot, at no cost throughout the HubSpot platform. Varied superior AI options, like our beta brokers, unlock with completely different paid plans.

2. Descript

Video is an extremely highly effective advertising and marketing device. However boy, does it take a lot effort and time to organize. Small advertising and marketing groups may really feel particularly pressured to “do video” with, let’s consider, “restricted time and finances.”

With Descript, you need to use AI to:

• Mechanically transcribe audio and video recordings.
• Take away background noise and enhance recording high quality.
• Take away filler phrases like “um.”
• Insert AI voices educated on a bunch of voice information.
• Appropriate misspoken phrases with an AI-generated overdub.
• Write episode titles and present notes.
• Select and prep social clips.

Basically, it’s an AI video editor in a field.

What I like: The text-to-video modifying device. Particularly as somebody who doesn’t wish to hearken to his personal voice all day, I like modifying through the transcript. You’ll be able to lower, shift, and paste video identical to a Phrase doc.

Greatest for: Small to medium-sized advertising and marketing groups who must deal with podcast and YouTube video modifying for his or her groups and management.

Pricing: Simply bounce to the Creator plan at $24/month (billed yearly). It’s chock filled with helpful sources at an inexpensive worth.

3. Lately AI

I educate social media advertising and marketing, and I can let you know — it’s a jungle on the market. Standard platforms change their algorithms with out warning. Others battle to remain operational lately ( you, TikTok). As such, it’s powerful for entrepreneurs to maintain tempo with social media calls for.

Recently AI reduces that demand by automating the social media content material era and distribution processes. It’ll ingest your organization information and content material (e.g., blogs, movies, podcasts) and produce good social posts. Automated calendaring capabilities establish the fitting time and schedule content material for you. And, you get complete marketing campaign and publish analytics to find out the simplest methods.

Source

What I like: The content material calendar automation part saves a number of time. The AI factors out impactful phrases from long-form content material that will help you create higher social posts and places them proper into the calendar. Plus, I like the way it appears. Don’t take aesthetics and good UI/UX without any consideration.

Greatest for: Companies and businesses managing heavy quantities of social media content material manufacturing and distribution.

Pricing: Recently has a Starter package deal for people, however I might solely use Recently when you’re at a rising enterprise or company. Purchase the Development package deal at $199/month (billed yearly). That’s the place you unlock AI-automated calendaring, voice mannequin modifying, and efficiency analytics.

4. Notion

I exploit Notion to deal with content material methods, plans, calendars, and content material itself. It’s additionally extremely helpful as a repository for firm data and information, as Hickle factors out.

“Personally, essentially the most invaluable device I’ve discovered for incorporating AI into automation is Notion,” he mentioned. “The open API makes it simple to drag information from and I can use ChatGPT to show any Notion database right into a helpful chatbot, purpose-built for what I want.”

Notion can also be nice for doc automation and crew collaboration. The file construction can take some follow to excellent. However, Notion comes with a ton of inside capabilities and exterior connectors to suit into any tech stack.

What I like: Notion’s built-in AI bot is particularly helpful once you feed it inside databases and content material. Whereas I wouldn’t name it the strongest AI author, it might summarize paperwork properly and develop insights utilizing a number of Notion pages, supplying you with insights personalised to your organization.

Greatest for: Content material entrepreneurs and advertising and marketing ops specialists who’re planning methods, executing ways, and analyzing information.

Pricing: You can begin a Notion house at no cost, however significant options actually solely come round at $10-15/seat/month (billed yearly). Notion AI is an additional $8/seat/month (billed yearly).

5. Customized GPTs with ChatGPT

Regardless of ChatGPT having a number of years underneath its belt, most individuals have but to discover ways to construct effective prompts and use ChatGPT’s full potential.

As Hickle famous, ChatGPT can ingest person information and construct helpful instruments like chatbots. I exploit the Customized GPT operate to construct consulting instruments, like a request-price-quote (RPQ) calculator primarily based on my firm’s capabilities and pricing information.

The Customized GPT pane allows you to tinker with directions, add information sources, and activate capabilities to rework information. You can too add actions, which lets your GPT function exterior of ChatGPT (like Hickle’s chatbot idea). Plus, with the newly released “tasks” performance, GPT is shifting into agentic AI with job scheduling capabilities.

What I like: The management over how my GPT operates. There’s a lot I can add, change, and modify to get it to work how I need it.

Greatest for: Advertising groups of varied sizes seeking to scale content material manufacturing and administration, deal with documentation and information evaluation, or leverage AI insights to enhance their campaigns.

Pricing: Discover the Crew possibility, which grants you entry to Customized GPTs and extra options. That’ll be $25-30/seat/month (billed yearly). Or, when you’re a crew of 1, get Plus for $20/month.

Higher Advertising By means of AI Workflow Automation

The one means you’ll begin making features with AI is to present it a go. Begin small with essentially the most painful points plaguing your crew’s workflow, and construct a pilot check with the fitting AI instruments to work your means towards an actual answer.

It doesn’t at all times work as you anticipate (as my crew’s early ChatGPT pilot check confirmed). However, enter the method with an open thoughts, and you could find alternatives to simplify and automate your advertising and marketing. Let your people do nice human work and depart the remainder to the machines.