Not sure where to start with AI? You’re not alone.
Most SMEs feel overwhelmed — and it’s not because they lack tools. It’s because they don’t know where their best AI automation opportunity is hiding.
Here’s the good news: you don’t need to be technical or tear up your workflows. You just need a smart way to score, prioritise, and act on the right task.
Let’s walk through a practical system to do exactly that.
Step 1: Map Out Where You’re Wasting Time
Start by listing everyday tasks in your business — especially ones that feel repetitive, high-volume, or cause delays.
Common culprits:
- Repeating the same replies in customer service
- Manually updating CRMs or spreadsheets
- Chasing applicants or clients with follow-up messages
- Filling in web forms or booking systems by hand
If you can describe it in a sentence like “We spend too much time doing [X],” it’s a candidate.
Step 2: Use the Value Matrix
Now assess each task using this two-by-two matrix:
| Low Effort | High Effort | |
|---|---|---|
| High Impact | ✅ Quick Win | ⚠️ Worth planning |
| Low Impact | 👌 Ignore or delay | ❌ Avoid entirely |
You’re looking for high impact, low effort tasks. For example:
- WhatsApp chatbot to answer FAQs = ✅ Quick Win
- AI-powered resume screening = ⚠️ Worth planning
- Automating LinkedIn DMs to cold leads = 👌 Maybe later
Step 3: Score It with Heat Mapping
At We Are Gabba, we use a five-factor heat map to pinpoint the best AI automation opportunity:
1. Volume Score (1–5): How often is this task done?
2. Pain Score (1–5): How frustrating is it for staff or customers?
3. Speed Score (1–5): How fast can it be automated?
4. Data Score (1–5): Is the data clean and ready to use?
5. Digital Readiness (1–5): Are your tools already in the cloud or connected?
Any task scoring 15 or more is a prime candidate. Most clients find 2–3 clear winners this way within 30 minutes.
Example: Recruitment Firm
A temp recruiter we worked with was spending hours pre-screening candidates manually. Here’s how it scored:
- Volume: 5 (hundreds of apps weekly)
- Pain: 4 (staff overwhelmed)
- Speed: 5 (chatbot live in 10 days)
- Data: 3 (basic job criteria ready)
- Digital: 4 (Recruso CRM connected)
Total: 21 — a perfect automation opportunity.
We deployed a WhatsApp chatbot that now pre-qualifies candidates 24/7, logging the data into their CRM — saving 15+ hours/week.
Ready to Find Yours?
We run half-day workshops to help UK businesses score their processes, identify automation wins, and launch pilot projects fast — often in under 30 days.
Start with a free 15-minute consult or learn more on our AI Consultancy Services page
