The Automation Trap: When AI Solves the Wrong Problem

Every week I get requests from SMEs wanting to automate processes that shouldn't exist in the first place. It's like paving a cow path - technically possible, but completely wrong.

The real question isn't "how do we automate this?" but "why does this exist?". A Portuguese logistics company spent €15,000 on a chatbot to handle delivery delay complaints. Three months later, they still had the same volume of complaints. The problem wasn't the responses - it was the delays. When they finally automated proactive tracking, complaints dropped 60%.

AI isn't a magic eraser for broken processes. It's an accelerator. And accelerating in the wrong direction just gets you to disaster faster. Before automating, ask yourself: does this process create real value or just shuffle papers?

This week, try a simple exercise. Pick a process you want to automate and trace its real impact on the end customer. If you can't draw a clear line between that process and customer satisfaction, don't automate it - eliminate it. The best automation is often no automation at all.

What's the process in your company that everyone assumes is necessary, but nobody questions why? Maybe it's time for an honest conversation about that at challengingdawn.pt.