Tools second

In a sales meeting, a VP was being asked to choose between four AI tools before anyone had interviewed the team about the problem they needed to solve.

Comparing tools is an appealing place to start. You can watch demos, compare features, and build a shortlist. It feels like progress.

The harder question is whether any of them fit the work your team needs to do.

Start with one task #

Pick a process and walk through it with the people responsible for it. What starts the work? Which systems do they use? Where do they copy information, wait for an answer, or make a judgment the procedure does not explain?

Include the awkward cases. A demo may handle an ordinary invoice well while struggling with the exception that takes your team an hour every Friday.

You now have something specific to test against. The shortlist should reflect those requirements, including the integrations, review work, and support needed after purchase.

Ask the vendor to use your examples #

A feature comparison can tell you what a product offers. A test with representative inputs can tell you whether the result is useful to your team.

Agree on what you will measure before the test. Include the time needed to prepare inputs and correct outputs. Then compare the proposed process with the one you have today.

Sometimes a new tool will help. Sometimes you can get further by changing the process or using a system you already own. Understanding the task gives you a basis for making that decision.