AI Readiness: How to Integrate AI Into Your Workflow and What to Know Before You Start

AI is popping up in more tools, teams, and conversations. Because of this, many feel pressured to immediately jump in. However, diving in without a plan leaves teams spinning their wheels. Before you add AI into the mix, it’s worth taking a step back. Below, we’ll walk you through how to start and what to figure out before making any changes. 

Where to Begin with AI: Audit, Assess, and Align

Many teams say they want to use AI. However, they often get stuck figuring out what that “something” should be. The best place to start is by looking at what your team already does each day.

Begin with a quick audit of your regular tasks. Look for repeatable steps that take time but don’t require deep thinking. These are good places to try out AI. Once you find a few, consider how they tie into your bigger goals. Use that to decide which tools or changes make the most sense. 

Operational Maturity: The Groundwork for AI Success

Before AI can do anything for you and your team, the basics need to be in place. If your workflows are inconsistent or unclear, AI will only make things more disorganized. It can’t clean things up. It will just follow what’s already there and do it faster. 

That’s why standardization is essential. If your team has a clear path from start to finish, AI tools can fit in more organically. They’ll be easier to apply, test, and improve over time. This is where your groundwork pays off. Think of it less as preparing for AI and more as ensuring your current setup works.

Creating a ChatGPT Prompt Library Tied to Workflows 

Once you’ve found tasks AI can do, the next step is to build out prompts matching those tasks. This keeps things transparent and consistent across your team. 

For example, if your team creates content briefs or tags metadata, you can write prompts that guide ChatGPT to handle those steps. Save these in a shared library so anyone can use them. Over time, this collection will grow and help generate new ideas for how AI fits into your everyday work. 

AI isn’t a Magic Wand

It’s tempting to expect too much from AI. While it can complete some tasks, it doesn’t mean your team’s workload disappears. You still need people in the loop to make decisions, guide projects, and catch things AI may miss. 

It’s also worth noting that tools like ChatGPT make mistakes, so it’s helpful to have a clear plan before you begin using them. Want to ensure your team is set up for success? An AI audit is a great place to start. 

Ready to explore how AI fits into your team’s work? Watch our recent webinar on how to integrate AI workflows into your Paid Search strategies and operations or schedule an AI Readiness Audit to get a baseline of how well your brand is positioned to capitalize on AI driven search.