Sep 9, 2025
How to Know if You’re Ready for AI Powered Automation?
Automation isn’t just for big tech firms or enterprises. It can be a game-changer for anyone: less time on repetitive tasks, fewer mistakes, and more time for the things you actually enjoy. If you want to free your focus to concentrate on your zone of expertise, AI powered automation is for you.
But, if you jump in too early, without the right foundations, automation could frustrate you instead of freeing you. So how do you know if you’re really ready?
At doFlo, we encourage users to think about the 4 Ps framework - Problem, Process, People, and Platform: adapted from common approaches in digital transformation strategy.
1. Problem: Do you know what you want to fix?
Start with one clear, specific need.
Is it something you do regularly (not just once in a blue moon)?
Is it a task that eats up time and headspace?
Would solving it actually make a difference to your day?
💡 Example: “I spend 3 hours a week chasing invoices” is a better automation problem than “I want to make finance easier.”
2. Process: Can you explain the steps?
Here’s where most non-technical folks stumble. They haven’t defined the workflow*, let alone the steps* where decisions or actions happen.
(*A workflow = the step-by-step way a task gets done. A step = the point where something happens - like you making a choice, ticking something off, or passing it on.
Unsure of the technical terms? With doFlo, if you can describe it, you can build it, but to get to grips with the essentials, take a look at our glossary for non-techies here.
In agentic systems, each step can do more than just execute. It can decide, adjust, or hand off based on logic. But if you can’t describe what’s meant to happen (and when), then you’re not quite ready for automation yet.
You’re working on assumptions, not flows.
💡 Example: If your “client onboarding” lives partly in your inbox, partly in your head, and partly on scraps of paper… automation won’t fix that. First, map it clearly. You can even go analogue - grab a pen and paper and sketch it out.
3. People: Are you ready to let go (a little)?
Yes, automation saves time. But it also means trusting a system to take over something you normally do. That can feel big.
Ask yourself:
Am I willing to let this task go?
Will this actually make life easier for me?
Do I need to prepare anyone else (like a VA, team member, or client) for the change?
💡 Example: If you send payment reminders one by one, would automation free you to focus on client work - or would it just add another tool to check?
4. Platform: Where does the work happen?
You don’t need an IT department or fancy infrastructure. Here’s something many people don’t realise: automation doesn’t mean abandoning the tools you already use.
At doFlo, we think of it like this:
Your apps (email, CRM, project tools, finance software) = where the work happens
doFlo = where you map, manage, and optimise the workflow across all those apps
That means you don’t need to learn an entirely new system or move your business into one tool. Automation should meet you where you’re at and where you already spend your time - in the apps you’re familiar with.
💡 Example: If you use Gmail and Stripe, automation can remind clients about payments directly in Gmail, triggered by Stripe, but you’ll see the full workflow mapped and managed in doFlo.
The platform doesn’t replace your tools. It makes them work together, so you can see the big picture.
The bottom line
Being “automation ready” isn’t about being tech-savvy. It’s about:
Picking one clear problem
Making sure the process is mapped (with steps and decisions)
Being ready to let go
Using a platform like doFlo to see the whole workflow, while your automations run in the apps you already use
Start small, get a win, and build from there. Because the future of AI and automation isn’t about complexity, it’s about clarity. With doFlo, you don’t need a technical background to get started. Just bring your imagination, map your workflow, and free your focus for what matters most.
💡 At doFlo, we design agentic automation for humans first. If you’re curious, start by mapping one workflow you already do today. Ask: where are the decision points? Those are your first automation steps.