AI That Earns Its Keep

AI in one sitting

What AI is, what it does well, where it goes wrong, and how to ask for what you need, in one evening and with one email you can test.

Your time audit

Find out where your week goes, price an hour of it in pounds, and mark which tasks a machine could touch, in one afternoon and with a worked sheet to copy.

Pick your three jobs

Out of everything you do, choose the three jobs to start with, using one scoring grid, two strike-out rules and a red-lines table, and write them on a one-page brief with a named checker for each.

Choosing a tool you half-own

Find out what your current software already includes, read what each plan lets the vendor do with your text, and run a 30-minute check before you pay for anything new.

What it really costs

The all-in cost of a first year with AI, line by line, with the sums written out, the VAT and tax questions to ask, and when it pays for itself.

Prompts that work

How to ask so the answer is usable first time: a five-part brief, five before-and-after pairs, one long session worked turn by turn, and ten prompt cards for the jobs you do every week.

Your data and UK GDPR

What you can paste into AI, what you must tell people, and what to do in the first 72 hours if it goes wrong, with the forms filled in.

The other rules that bite

Which rules beyond data protection apply when AI writes your copy, screens your applicants, answers your clients or reaches into the EU, and what to ask an adviser about each.

Checking the work, managing the risk

Four checks that catch what AI gets wrong, a routine that scales with the risk, and a 12-row risk register you can edit in half an hour.

The staff AI policy

A two-page policy your people can follow, the 45-minute briefing that makes it stick, and what to do when someone breaks it.

Your first 90 days

What to do in week one, week six and week twelve, with one online shop followed through all 13 weeks, the three gates that stop you starting too early, and a launch checklist you can finish in 30 minutes.

Measure it, then decide

A one-page scorecard, thresholds that turn it into scale, hold or stop, and a four-rung ladder for the day you want something of your own.

When it goes wrong: fixes and FAQs

What to do in the first hour, the first day and the first 72 hours after a mistake, a 25-row fix-it table, and nineteen short answers.