Why Prime Performing Groups Use AI Workflow Automation and How You Can Do the Similar

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

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

• What’s AI really good for?
• How does it work in a enterprise setting?
• And may it save me time, or am I going to rewrite completely every little thing it produces?

Nicely, like 75% of entrepreneurs, I imagine AI will grow to be a office staple within the subsequent couple of years. And that may have loads to do with how AI-powered instruments assist us automate our each day work.

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

Desk of Contents

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 usually work collectively to automate workflows. However know that they’re designed for barely totally different use circumstances and concentrate on it in your planning.

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

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

Saved Time

Our analysis lately discovered that entrepreneurs utilizing AI save a mean of 12.5 hours per week. That’s practically 26 working days per yr. What may your group do with an additional month?

Timesaving advantages range relying on the place you incorporate AI into your processes. For example, utilizing AI to automate elements of content material manufacturing can prevent time drafting and enhancing — usually 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 essential to determine 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 knowledge issues to your group? And how will you use it to plan your subsequent strikes?

I believe a key to conducting efficient advertising and marketing is to seek out which knowledge is most related to your wants and perceive how you can deploy it. AI is particularly attuned to ingest knowledge from the numerous sources in your group’s workflow, analyze it for patterns, and ship actionable insights to make issues occur.

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

Think about AI dealing with consumer knowledge assortment, course of, and perception technology. 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 will increase in shopper engagement and extra purchases with AI-driven advertising and marketing selections.

Scalability

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

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

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

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

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

Staff Wants and Ache Factors

What’s really bogging down your group? What duties frustrate them or suck away their time from the higher-level, strategic work you want achieved?

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

For example, after we first explored AI integration, I sat with my content material group to listen to about their struggles. Every had their very own curiosity, want, and want for AI, however objects like repurposing our long-form work for social media distribution felt time-consuming and irritating. We may then type a speculation that AI integration may assist us automate that course of.

Professional tip: It’s additionally good to provide your self just a few numbers to assist — particularly for those who want government buy-in. Have your individuals time-block their calendars or observe utilizing a particular hours-tracking instrument (venture administration instruments like Monday have these options built-in). See if their emotions match their precise time spent. You possibly can then quantify the affect AI instruments may need in your group’s time and productiveness.

Your Tech Infrastructure

Earlier than you commit {dollars} to new AI instruments, perceive what techniques you’re operating now. You might want to understand how your present choice of digital techniques and instruments (aka, your tech stack) can assist AI integration.

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

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

• Buyer relationship administration (CRM) platforms (e.g., Salesforce or HubSpot)
• Content material administration techniques (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 techniques, you may need entry to a bunch of inner AI instruments and assets already. Both approach, examine your tech stack for capabilities and integration factors.

Funds

Many AI instruments are priced moderately to satisfy the wants of small or medium-sized companies. Smaller advertising and marketing groups would possibly get away with just a few lower-cost AI instruments with out raiding the funds.

Profitable AI workflow automation ought to finally scale — inside and outdoors your group. It’s possible you’ll not want a major funds now, however profitable integration will seemingly value you far more down the highway. That’s not a foul 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 group’s ache factors. Profitable pilots and knowledge will assist equip you to advocate for bigger budgetary wants.

Inner Data Structure

Whereas choosing the right instruments to your group definitely issues, after I talked to Hickle he raised an fascinating level about making ready your info 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 flawed query. They’re obsessing over which LLM to decide on — Claude, ChatGPT, or Jasper — when they need to be laser-focused on constructing their inner information structure,” says Hickle.

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

Professional tip: Amid planning to unravel your group’s wants, overview the way you’re storing info. The place does your helpful knowledge reside, and might your AI instruments entry and use it to assist your group?

Information Administration Technique

Together with the way you architect your info, Hickle additionally notes you want a powerful plan about managing the precise 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 knowledge administration technique,” he says. “Advertising groups want to consider their inner knowledge like Lego blocks: discrete, well-organized databases of high-quality info that can be utilized to coach narrowly-focused AI fashions. With out this basis, you are constructing on sand.”

You would possibly’ve run into the concept of knowledge hygiene earlier than. Primarily, it’s cleansing up rubbish knowledge out of your info system and guaranteeing AI will get the great things wanted to make sensible selections.

Professional suggestions:

• Run an information audit to scrub outdated, outdated knowledge 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 knowledge not to provide it. Like greater than three-quarters of workers, entrepreneurs are nonetheless considerably confused about utilizing AI at work.
• Create a construction, rationalization, and approval course of to provide 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 loads we’re studying about AI and the way it matches into advertising and marketing workflows. Groups can’t depart behind the individuals side.

Whereas AI presents 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.

For example, for those who’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, determine concepts to analyze additional, and share your distinctive stance with the world. That, and also you don’t need to let AI hallucinations slip via your content material overview unseen.

Hickle has seen that firsthand along with his advertising and marketing purchasers.

“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 stated. “By coaching AI fashions on fastidiously curated buyer interactions and advertising and marketing outcomes, we‘ve reworked each piece 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 route.”

Professional tip: Stock how your group 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 remodeling it into snippets for 5 social media platforms bogs down your individuals. AI ought to assist your individuals, not exchange them.

Use your group’s wants and ache factors to determine what you need to automate and the way you’ll get it achieved. Body your targets like some other 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 assets?
• The place are we getting caught in execution?
• What selections may use a lift from AI?

Additionally, set particular standards for fulfillment, together with measurement requirements. Are you making an attempt to avoid wasting 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 knowledge primarily based on the place you at the moment are — that’ll do wonders to your future.

You may not have each element at this stage, however higher particulars result in higher outcomes. From there, you’ll be able to determine the repeatable processes prepared for AI integration.

2. Analysis AI instruments.

I’ve included choices in a while, 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 satisfy your wants and enterprise actuality.

Once I’m taking a look at AI instruments, I overview factors past integrating with my tech stack, together with:

• Information administration insurance policies. How is the seller defending me and my firm’s knowledge? Are they compliant with laws like GDPR or SOC 2?
• Ease of use. How rapidly can I rise up to hurry utilizing the product? Does the consumer expertise make sense to me? And may I rapidly practice one other individual to make use of it, too?
• Help. Have they got a strong information base for fast questions? Does the assist system rely solely on chatbots, or can I get to a human? Does that value me additional?
• Stability. Many AI distributors have solely lately entered the market. I’ll select the instrument that greatest helps my wants, nevertheless it’s good to know if the seller has legs underneath them. I verify Crunchbase for funding profiles and seek for case research and feedback on locations like G2 or Reddit.

Professional tip: Run just a few free trials or overview product demos to visualise the way you’ll use every instrument. A full workflow automation would possibly require 3-5 separate AI instruments, relying in your wants, tech stack, and information structure. Test how a lot it’ll value to run all these instruments — and see if these new instruments play good with each other.

3. Practice your group.

A instrument is just nearly as good because the individual wielding it. And roughly two-thirds of entrepreneurs say {that a} lack of schooling and coaching is the biggest barrier to AI adoption. Ideally, your AI instruments embody coaching supplies, product walkthroughs, and demo movies. Share these together with your group and stroll via crucial elements collectively.

It’s additionally good to incorporate smaller coaching tidbits all through your common group conferences. A part of AI integration is making it really feel proper, like this instrument 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 group members and pay attention fastidiously to their responses. Whereas individuals are normally keen to provide it a go, continued frustration with AI instruments will stop you from getting the adoption that you must scale your automations.

4. Construct a focused pilot venture.

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

For example, when ChatGPT launched its public fashions in late 2022, my content material group noticed nice potential in incorporating the instrument into our workflow. Particularly, we needed to make use of GPT 3.5 to repurpose our long-form content material into shorter items we may share with purchasers 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 purchasers 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 will’ve been a lot sooner 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 soar and prep for shopper interviews. We discovered and tailored to make use of the instruments the place we actually wanted them. Convey that mindset into pilot testing.

5. Combine AI into each day workflows.

It may take just a few small pilot assessments earlier than you discover the fitting mixture of workflow steps, instruments, assets, 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’ll be able to see how automation flows and the way every step relates again to your targets and goals. From there, encourage your group to constantly interact your chosen AI instruments. Follow will breed habits, and it’ll assist you to iron out any nagging challenges or hiccups.

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

6. Measure success standards.

Continued success with AI workflow automation comes with measurement. Keep in mind if you set your targets and goals? Examine your benchmarks to the place you find yourself. Frequently observe numerical knowledge over time, equivalent to hours saved or content material items produced per week.

You’ll need to hold refining your processes, too. Information can inform you the place a instrument isn’t performing properly or the place eddies are swirling round within the workflow river.

Professional tip: Pay shut consideration to your knowledge and your group’s suggestions throughout this tinkering stage (normally 3-6 months after each day implementation). You’ll see developments emerge and know how you can tackle them as you’re employed towards full scalability.

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

1. HubSpot Breeze AI

Breeze is designed to function throughout the complete HubSpot suite. When you’re operating your complete buyer expertise via HubSpot instruments, you’ll be able to take full benefit of Breeze and amplify its effectiveness.

Breeze presents the standard chatbot-style AI assistant, utilizing your HubSpot knowledge to generate insights. You additionally get agentic AI (in beta) to routinely deal with prospecting, content material technology, social media, and customer support.

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

Greatest for: Corporations 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. Numerous superior AI options, like our beta brokers, unlock with totally different paid plans.

2. Descript

Video is an extremely highly effective advertising and marketing instrument. However boy, does it take a lot effort and time to arrange. Small advertising and marketing groups would possibly really feel particularly pressured to “do video” with, let’s assume, “restricted time and funds.”

With Descript, you should utilize 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 knowledge.
• Right misspoken phrases with an AI-generated overdub.
• Write episode titles and present notes.
• Select and prep social clips.

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

What I like: The text-to-video enhancing instrument. Particularly as somebody who doesn’t need to take heed to his personal voice all day, I like enhancing by way of the transcript. You possibly can lower, shift, and paste video similar to a Phrase doc.

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

Pricing: Simply soar to the Creator plan at $24/month (billed yearly). It’s chock stuffed with helpful assets at an inexpensive value.

3. These days AI

I train social media advertising and marketing, and I can inform you — it’s a jungle on the market. Standard platforms change their algorithms with out warning. Others battle to remain operational as of late (taking a look at you, TikTok). As such, it’s robust for entrepreneurs to maintain tempo with social media calls for.

These days AI reduces that demand by automating the social media content material technology and distribution processes. It’ll ingest your organization knowledge and content material (e.g., blogs, movies, podcasts) and produce good social posts. Automated calendaring features determine the fitting time and schedule content material for you. And, you get complete marketing campaign and submit analytics to find out the best methods.

Supply

What I like: The content material calendar automation element saves numerous time. The AI factors out impactful phrases from long-form content material that can assist 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 with no consideration.

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

Pricing: These days has a Starter bundle for people, however I might solely use These days for those who’re at a rising enterprise or company. Purchase the Progress bundle at $199/month (billed yearly). That’s the place you unlock AI-automated calendaring, voice mannequin enhancing, and efficiency analytics.

4. Notion

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

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

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

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

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

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 just a few years underneath its belt, most individuals have but to discover ways to construct efficient prompts and use ChatGPT’s full potential.

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

The Customized GPT pane allows you to tinker with directions, add knowledge sources, and activate capabilities to remodel knowledge. It’s also possible to add actions, which lets your GPT function exterior of ChatGPT (like Hickle’s chatbot idea). Plus, with the newly launched “duties” performance, GPT is transferring 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 assorted sizes trying to scale content material manufacturing and administration, deal with documentation and knowledge evaluation, or leverage AI insights to enhance their campaigns.

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