Many AI projects start with a tool and then hunt for a problem. This week, several CIO.com pieces argue for the opposite. For project managers, they add up to a simple plan: know the work, know the process, and know who is allowed to approve.
Start with the work
In a CIO.com column, a company CIO says the first question should not be where to add AI. It should be where better information or faster action would change the result. The advice is to map the workflow from start to finish, including decisions, handoffs, systems and exceptions. Then decide what to automate, what to assist and what a person should still decide.
That map is a great project kickoff task. It also gives you a baseline to measure success against.
Process is the real advantage
Another CIO.com piece says access to AI is no longer a competitive edge, because strong models are widely available. The author argues the winners will be the firms whose agents have rich, accurate information about how the business works, plus the right guardrails.
Good process documentation is not boring paperwork. It is the fuel that makes AI useful.
Whose authority does an agent use?
A third CIO.com article imagines a shared chat channel where a responder asks for a production rollback, and a director adds a thumbs-up. The AI agent has a service account that can do everything asked. The question is whose approval it is really using. The author says a conversation is not authority. An approval must cover the exact action and come from someone allowed to give it.
Add this to your project RACI chart: for each agent action, name the person who can approve it.
Keep customer trust
Finally, CIO.com reported that AI can give confident answers that are wrong, which can hurt customers who ask about money, insurance or health. A BlackLine CIO said an AI failure creates a major trust issue. Build checks and a human fallback into customer-facing AI before launch, not after.