[ AI automation · Full playbook ]
// 07 / 20The buyer's playbook.
The working reference behind AI Automation Cost & Implementation Guide 2026: what to ask, what to watch and how to run the first 90 days.
← Back to the guide[ RFP questions ]// 01
Questions that reveal real capability.
Ask for a relevant example, the decision made, the result or learning, and the person who would own the work.
- 01What portion is deterministic versus probabilistic?
- 02Map exceptions, approvals, retries and manual fallback.
- 03How are identity, secrets and least privilege handled?
- 04What logs reconstruct every decision?
- 05How are prompts, models and workflows versioned and tested?
- 06Define accuracy, latency, cost and failure thresholds.
- 07Who is paged when automation harms a customer or record?
- 08How can the organization exit and recover its data?
[ Risk ]// 02
Make failure visible before signature.
| Risk | Early warning | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Silent failure | Wrong data looks complete | Reconciliation, alerts and logs |
| Bad process amplified | Volume rises without value | Simplify before automating |
| Model drift | Quality changes after updates | Version and monitor |
| Run-cost surprise | API volume scales | Budgets and telemetry |
| No owner | Business and IT defer | Assign product ownership |
[ Value case ]// 03
Measure outcomes—not activity.
01Cost and cycle time per caseBaseline ________
90-day target ________
90-day target ________
02Straight-through processingBaseline ________
90-day target ________
90-day target ________
03Exception rateBaseline ________
90-day target ________
90-day target ________
04Accuracy and policy complianceBaseline ________
90-day target ________
90-day target ________
05Outcome qualityBaseline ________
90-day target ________
90-day target ________
06Monthly run costBaseline ________
90-day target ________
90-day target ________
[ First 90 days ]// 04
Move from evidence to operating rhythm.
01
Days 1–30
Process map, baseline, risk and acceptance criteria
Exit evidenceApproved baseline, owners, scope and risk log
02
Days 31–60
Build bounded pilot, integrations, controls and evaluation
Exit evidenceWorking outputs, QA evidence and decision record
03
Days 61–90
Production hardening, monitoring, training and scale decision
Exit evidenceMeasured result, learning backlog and operating owner
[ Reference desk ]// 05
Speak the same language.
| Term | Plain-language meaning |
|---|---|
| Orchestration | Coordinating steps across systems. |
| Idempotency | Safe repeated execution without duplicates. |
| Fallback | A safe alternate path after failure. |
| Observability | Logs and metrics exposing behaviour. |
| Guardrail | A control limiting unsafe action. |
| Exception rate | Cases requiring alternate handling. |
[ Playbook in hand? ]