Inside an AI Automation Agency: What to Expect When You Partner Up

The Discovery Phase (Days 1‑10)

1. Listening tour. Consultants sit with frontline staff—yes, even the night‑shift inventory clerk—and collect pain points.

2. Process sketching. Every step of “how work really flows” is drawn on whiteboards or digital canvases.

3. Value hotspots. Tasks are ranked by impact (hours or dollars saved) and ease (tools already exist).

Accelent insight: In 9 out of 10 projects they uncover at least one hidden spreadsheet that controls a mission‑critical task. Shining light on invisible workflows often yields the fastest win.

The Pilot Sprint (Weeks 2‑6)

• Build small, ship fast. Aim for one workflow—say, approving supplier invoices—that can run end‑to‑end with minimal friction.

• Human‑in‑the‑loop. Early versions never auto‑pay bills. Instead they prepare drafts and wait for a single click. Confidence grows when people see “the bot gets it.”

• Success demo. Nothing beats a side‑by‑side: manual run took 18 minutes; automated run took 90 seconds.

The Rollout Roadmap (Months 2‑12)

• Expand sideways. If invoices are automated, purchase orders and expense claims share 70 % of the same logic—add them next.

• Integrate dashboards. Live metrics answer: “How many items processed today? How many flagged for review?”

• Governance guardrails. Single sign‑on, audit trails, data‑privacy checks—all baked in before scale.

Cost and Contract Basics

• Fixed‑price pilots are common; longer engagements often blend retainer and success fee.

• Tool licensing is separate—some clients prefer to own subscriptions; others let Accelent bundle everything.

Signs You Picked a Good Agency

1. They speak plain language first, acronyms second.

2. They prototype live, not just slide decks.

3. They teach, not hoard. Your team should understand enough to tweak flows later.

Subtle Takeaway

A great agency operates like a personal trainer: they design workouts, spot you on heavy sets, and cheer as you grow stronger—eventually, you lift on your own. Accelent’s best compliment is when a client says, “We barely need you anymore.”