Should This Task Be Done by AI, a Person, or Both?

Use five practical factors to decide where automation helps, where people should lead, and where a hybrid workflow is the safer choice.

Assess one task

Choose the level that best describes the work today. You can reassess after simplifying the process or adding safeguards.

Repeatability

Does the task follow the same pattern each time?

Rule clarity

Can the rules, inputs, and outcomes be written down clearly?

Verifiability

Can the output be checked against a clear standard?

Human trust need

Does the task rely on empathy, relationship context, or a person being accountable?

Error impact

Would an incorrect outcome be costly, sensitive, or hard to reverse?

Planning matrix

Common tasks: a starting point, not a substitute for review.

Use this matrix to form a first hypothesis, then use the five-factor assessment above for the actual workflow. The same task can move between AI, human, and hybrid depending on its rules, verification, and consequences.

Task	Starting point	Operational rationale	Risk or exception handling
Inbox triage	AI	Labels, routing rules, and escalation criteria can be documented and sampled.	Send unfamiliar, sensitive, or conflicting messages to a named owner.
Meeting scheduling	AI	Availability, meeting types, and approval rules are usually structured.	Escalate priority guests, conflicts, and schedule changes outside the rules.
Calendar rescheduling	Hybrid	Automation can suggest slots and prepare notices while a person judges tradeoffs.	Keep executives, customer commitments, and policy exceptions with an owner.
Reminder drafting	AI	The trigger, audience, and approved message pattern can be defined.	Review reminders involving sensitive deadlines or relationship context.
Contact data cleanup	AI	Formatting and completeness checks are repeatable against known fields.	Flag ambiguous identity matches instead of merging records automatically.
CRM updates	AI	Record fields and validation checks can be consistently applied.	Route missing source data and changes with commercial impact for review.
Duplicate record review	Hybrid	Automation can surface likely duplicates; people resolve uncertain matches.	Do not merge records where ownership, consent, or history conflicts.
Document naming	AI	A naming convention and source fields can be written as rules.	Ask an owner when the document type or retention category is unclear.
Document filing	Hybrid	Automation can propose a destination from metadata and established folders.	Require review for confidential, legal, or unfamiliar materials.
Invoice data extraction	Hybrid	Systems can capture repeated fields while a reviewer checks source accuracy.	Hold unreadable documents, tax differences, and unusual terms for review.
Expense categorization	Hybrid	Known categories and policies support suggestions and consistency checks.	Escalate missing receipts, policy exceptions, and unclear business purpose.
Report assembly	AI	Approved sources and a repeatable format make preparation structured.	Have an owner validate inputs and interpretation before sharing externally.
FAQ response drafts	AI	Approved knowledge can be retrieved and put into a standard response shape.	Hand off account-specific, sensitive, or unsupported questions.
Routine support triage	Hybrid	Automation can classify requests and suggest approved next steps.	Escalate unclear requests, complaints, and cases needing discretion.
Refund requests	Human	Eligibility and customer context often require accountable judgment.	Automation may collect evidence, but an owner approves the outcome.
Billing disputes	Human	The decision can affect customer trust and financial obligations.	Use automation for retrieval only; keep resolution and communication reviewed.
Complaint escalation	Human	Empathy, context, and accountable handling are central to the response.	Tools can flag urgency, but a person owns the escalation and follow-up.
Knowledge-base updates	Hybrid	Automation can identify gaps and draft changes from approved sources.	A subject owner verifies accuracy, scope, and publication readiness.
Support sentiment flagging	Hybrid	Patterns can help prioritize messages for a human queue.	Do not treat a flag as a decision; review context before acting.
Support quality review	Human	Quality standards need contextual judgment and accountable coaching.	Automation can prepare samples, but people assess outcomes and feedback.
Lead qualification	Hybrid	Automation can collect and organize information while people own exceptions and final decisions.	Review missing context, sensitive requests, and nonstandard fit criteria.
Lead routing	AI	Territory, product, and availability rules can be made explicit.	Escalate conflicts, strategic accounts, and unknown routing values.
Sales follow-up drafts	AI	Approved messages and event triggers support repeatable first drafts.	A person reviews high-value, sensitive, or relationship-specific outreach.
Opportunity scoring	Hybrid	Defined signals can prioritize review without replacing sales judgment.	Keep final prioritization with an owner when signals conflict or are incomplete.
Sales call scheduling	AI	Meeting rules, calendars, and confirmations are structured.	Route special accommodations and executive scheduling to a person.
Proposal drafting	Hybrid	Automation can assemble approved sections and requirements for review.	An accountable owner validates commitments, scope, and client-specific terms.
Pricing exceptions	Human	Exceptions require commercial judgment and authorized approval.	Automation may surface policy context but must not approve a variance.
Negotiation or sensitive client decisions	Human	Relationship context, empathy, judgment, and accountable approval drive the work.	Use tools for preparation only and keep the decision with the responsible person.
Contract approval	Human	Commitments and risk allocation require authorized, qualified review.	Automation can organize clauses but cannot replace the approval process.
Account handoff	Hybrid	Automation can compile history and next steps for an owner to confirm.	Review promises, relationship context, and unresolved issues before transfer.
Content brief creation	AI	A documented audience, goal, and format can structure an initial brief.	A content owner checks strategic fit, brand direction, and source requirements.
First-draft copy	Hybrid	Automation can accelerate a draft from approved inputs and constraints.	A person reviews claims, brand voice, and factual support before publication.
Publishing checklist	AI	Required fields, links, and approvals can be checked against a list.	Hold items with broken references or unclear approval status for review.
Campaign reporting	AI	Approved data sources and recurring formats support consistent assembly.	An owner validates data quality and interpretation before decisions are made.
Brand-sensitive messaging	Human	Nuance, reputation, and audience context require accountable judgment.	Automation may prepare options, but a brand owner selects and approves.
Paid campaign budget changes	Human	Spending changes require authorized judgment and current business context.	Use automation for monitoring and suggestions, not unsupervised changes.
Social reply triage	Hybrid	Patterns can identify routing and suggested responses from approved guidance.	Escalate complaints, safety concerns, and uncertain public statements.
SOP checklist execution	AI	Stable, documented steps and inputs support repeatable execution.	Stop and hand off when a step is missing, changed, or produces an unexpected result.
Vendor onboarding	Hybrid	Automation can collect documents and track steps while owners assess fit.	Keep due diligence, access decisions, and exception approval with accountable staff.
Purchase approvals	Human	Spending authority and business context require accountable approval.	Automation may prepare requests and policy checks, not authorize payment.
Inventory alerts	Hybrid	Thresholds can trigger alerts while people assess demand and operational context.	Review unusual demand, supplier changes, and stockout decisions.
Project status aggregation	AI	Structured updates can be consolidated into a repeatable status view.	Project owners confirm blockers, dependencies, and commitments.
Capacity planning	Hybrid	Automation can summarize workloads and scenarios for human planning.	A leader reviews assumptions, priorities, and people impacts before acting.
Candidate screening	Human	Employment decisions require careful, accountable, context-aware evaluation.	Tools may organize applicant materials; people make and review decisions.
Performance reviews	Human	Feedback and employment decisions depend on context, fairness, and accountability.	Automation can prepare records, but a manager owns evaluation and discussion.
Internal knowledge retrieval	Hybrid	Systems can find relevant approved materials for a person to assess.	Verify access rights and source currency before relying on an answer.
Access request preparation	Hybrid	Automation can collect role and system details against a defined workflow.	An authorized owner approves access and handles unusual privilege requests.
Permission changes	Human	Access changes can create security and operational consequences.	Use automation for request tracking; keep authorization and execution controlled.
Data retention classification	Hybrid	Automation can surface documented retention categories from known metadata for an owner to check.	Escalate unclear records, legal holds, and policy conflicts to the relevant qualified process.
Security incident triage	Human	Potential harm and incomplete information demand accountable, qualified response.	Automation can surface signals, but follow the incident process with human ownership.
Legal or compliance review	Human	Regulated obligations and interpretation require the relevant qualified process.	Automation may organize evidence, never substitute for required review.
Financial reconciliation	Hybrid	Systems can match known entries and flag variance for review.	A qualified owner resolves discrepancies and approves adjustments.
Payment release	Human	Releasing funds needs authorized control and verification.	Automation can prepare payment data but must not bypass approval controls.
Quality assurance sampling	Hybrid	Automation can select representative work and surface known checks.	A reviewer evaluates context, severity, and corrective action.
Incident status updates	Hybrid	Approved facts can be assembled into a consistent update format.	An incident owner verifies accuracy and timing before distribution.

Guardrail: keep a named owner and a human route for exceptions. For legal, compliance, financial, safety, or other high-consequence work, use the relevant qualified review process before automation.