Workflow catalogue

10 practical AI workflows for Australian SMEs.

Each workflow starts with a clear business problem, approved systems, a risk level and a human approval point. Run the scorecard to check which one fits your business first.

Medium risk

Lead Response Assistant

Problem: Leads arrive by email/form/phone but response is slow, inconsistent or missed.

Before: Staff manually check CRM, write replies from scratch, forget follow-ups.

After: AI reads new enquiry, checks CRM context, drafts a personalised reply, queues for staff approval, creates follow-up task.

Systems: CRM (HubSpot/Pipedrive/Salesforce), email, lead forms

Access: Draft-only — AI prepares, staff approve before send

Setup: $15,000–$30,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: High-stakes sales requiring complex negotiation; regulated financial product advice

Check lead workflow fit
Medium risk

Inbox Triage Assistant

Problem: High-volume inbox with mixed email types — enquiries, orders, support, spam. Staff spend hours sorting.

Before: Staff manually read and sort every email, miss urgent items, respond slowly.

After: AI classifies every inbound email by intent and urgency, drafts routing suggestions, flags priorities.

Systems: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, email

Access: Read-only for classification, draft-only for responses

Setup: $12,500–$20,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: Inboxes with highly sensitive personal data without data classification first

Check inbox workflow fit
Low risk

Internal Knowledge Assistant

Problem: Staff waste time searching PDFs, procedures, policies and scattered documentation.

Before: Questions go to senior staff or sit unanswered. SOPs sit unread.

After: Staff ask questions, AI searches approved documents only, answers with source references, escalates when unsure.

Systems: SharePoint, Google Drive, Notion, intranet, document stores

Access: Read-only — search approved documents only

Setup: $12,500–$20,000 + GST

Monthly: Maintain — $750–$1,500/month + GST

Not suitable for: Businesses without documented procedures; legal or medical advice

Check knowledge-base fit
Medium risk

Document Processing Assistant

Problem: Invoices, forms, contracts and PDFs arrive constantly. Staff manually extract and enter data.

Before: Staff open each document, copy key fields, type into other systems, miss details.

After: Documents arrive → AI extracts key fields → flags missing info → prepares structured record → waits for human check before system updates.

Systems: Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, SharePoint, email, document stores

Access: Draft-only — AI extracts, staff verify before updates

Setup: $15,000–$30,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: Legal documents requiring professional interpretation; handwritten documents without OCR prep

Check document workflow fit
Medium risk

Quote Drafting Assistant

Problem: Quote requests arrive but drafting is slow, inconsistent and pulls staff away from billable work.

Before: Staff manually pull product data, calculate pricing, format quotes, wait for approval.

After: Quote request received → AI pulls product/service data, pricing rules and customer context → drafts quote → queues staff approval before sending.

Systems: CRM, product catalogue, pricing sheets, Xero/MYOB

Access: Draft-only — AI drafts, staff approve before sending

Setup: $15,000–$25,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: Highly customised quotes with complex negotiation; regulated financial quotes

Check quote workflow fit
Medium risk

CRM Follow-up Assistant

Problem: Sales pipeline decays because follow-ups are missed, leads go cold, next steps get lost.

Before: Sales reps manually review pipeline, forget stale leads, lose track of next actions.

After: AI reviews CRM pipeline daily → drafts follow-up actions for stale leads → prepares next-step summaries → queues for sales rep approval.

Systems: Pipedrive, HubSpot, Salesforce, email

Access: Draft-only — AI suggests, sales rep approves

Setup: $15,000–$25,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: Businesses without a CRM; enterprise sales with complex multi-stakeholder deals

Check CRM workflow fit
Low risk

Review Response Assistant

Problem: Google, Facebook and industry reviews need timely, brand-safe responses but nobody has time.

Before: Reviews sit unanswered, or staff write inconsistent responses under pressure.

After: New review detected → AI drafts brand-safe response → queues for owner approval → posts only after human sign-off.

Systems: Google Business Profile, Facebook, industry review platforms

Access: Draft-only — AI drafts, owner approves before posting

Setup: $7,500–$15,000 + GST

Monthly: Maintain — $750–$1,500/month + GST

Not suitable for: High-risk industries where review responses have regulatory implications

Check review workflow fit
Low risk

Meeting-to-Actions Assistant

Problem: Meetings end without clear owners, tasks and deadlines. Action items get forgotten.

Before: Notes sit in notebooks or unread documents. Nobody follows up.

After: Meeting transcript/notes provided → AI extracts owners, tasks, deadlines → drafts action list → queues for manager review.

Systems: Microsoft Teams, Zoom transcripts, Google Docs, Notion

Access: Read-only — AI reads meeting notes, drafts action items

Setup: $7,500–$15,000 + GST

Monthly: Maintain — $750–$1,500/month + GST

Not suitable for: Confidential board or executive meetings without data classification

Check meeting workflow fit
Medium risk

Missed-Call Recovery Workflow

Problem: Missed calls from customers and prospects go unrecovered — lost revenue and poor experience.

Before: Missed call logged if you're lucky. No follow-up. Customer goes to competitor.

After: Missed call detected → AI checks CRM context → drafts follow-up message → creates task → notifies owner.

Systems: Phone system (Twilio, JustCall), CRM, email/SMS

Access: Draft-only — AI drafts follow-up, staff review before send

Setup: $15,000–$25,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: Emergency or critical service lines where delays could cause harm

Check missed-call workflow fit
Medium risk

Monthly Reporting Assistant

Problem: Monthly reporting takes days of manual data pulling, spreadsheet work and formatting.

Before: Staff export data from multiple systems, manually compile, format, write commentary, check for errors.

After: AI pulls data from approved systems → generates structured monthly report → drafts commentary → queues for manager review.

Systems: Xero, MYOB, CRM, spreadsheets, analytics dashboards

Access: Read-only — AI reads data, drafts report, never writes back

Setup: $12,500–$25,000 + GST

Monthly: Managed AI Ops from $2,500/month

Not suitable for: Statutory financial reporting; ASX or regulatory filings

Check reporting workflow fit

Find the workflow worth building first.

Run the AI Readiness Scorecard to check which workflow fits your systems, data and readiness level.

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