Introducing AI in your company: five questions before you start

Many companies start an AI project by choosing a tool. That is understandable, but it often leads to solutions nobody really needs. Answering five questions first gets you faster to a result that helps in everyday work.

1. Which task should AI take on?

Start with a concrete task that takes a lot of time today. Work that comes up often, involves a lot of text and produces results that are easy to check is well suited. Examples include comparing quotes, reviewing contracts or answering recurring requests.

The more precisely the task is described, the easier it is to judge later whether AI handles it better.

2. Which data do you need?

AI delivers results only as good as the data it works with. Clarify early where the required information is, what quality it has and who may use it.

This is often where it becomes clear that the data needs to be put in order first. That work pays off, with or without AI.

3. What applies to data protection?

In Switzerland, the Federal Act on Data Protection applies. If you have customers in the EU, you must also comply with the GDPR. Decide which information may be entered into which tool. Also check where the provider processes the data and whether it uses it to train its models.

Clear rules protect not only personal data but also trade secrets.

4. Who is responsible?

An AI project needs a person who owns it and is given time for it. Business units and IT should work together from the start. Training employees is just as important, because they need to be able to interpret and check the results.

Responsibility for a decision stays with people, even when AI prepares it.

5. How do you measure success?

Define before the start how you will recognise the benefit. It could be time saved per task, a lower error rate or a shorter processing time. A pilot over a few weeks shows whether expectations are realistic.

You then decide on a clear basis whether to expand, adjust or end the project.

Start small, expand deliberately

The five questions do not replace a strategy. But they keep the first project manageable and quickly show what AI can do in your own company. Scale Network supports companies from the first idea to implementation.