An AI feature should have a useful customer job, a realistic quality standard, and a workable response when it is wrong.
Describe the job without the technology.
Replace “add an AI assistant” with the task a person needs to complete. For example: identify the relevant contract clause, draft a first response from approved knowledge, or compare a shortlist against stated requirements.
Then describe the current alternative. Sometimes search, a template, clearer content, or a deterministic rule solves the problem with less cost and uncertainty.
Assess the consequence of a mistake.
A weak brainstorming suggestion and an incorrect payment instruction have different consequences. Decide whether the output is advisory, editable, or allowed to trigger an action. Define where a human review is needed and make that review practical.
Build an evaluation set.
Collect approved examples representing typical requests, difficult cases, missing context, and situations where the system should decline or ask a question. Write what a useful result must include and what would be unacceptable.
Evaluate the whole workflow: the input, output, sources, review step, and resulting action. A fluent answer alone does not establish product quality.
Compare value with the full cost.
- Time saved after checking and correcting the output
- Implementation and maintenance effort
- Latency, usage, and infrastructure costs
- Customer training and support needs
- Security, permissions, and data requirements
These inputs support a decision; they do not need to be collapsed into a falsely precise universal score.
Run a bounded pilot.
Choose a specific user group, a defined task, and a clear success measure. Record the baseline and the effort required to review AI output. Track failures and corrections alongside adoption. Decide in advance who can pause the pilot.
A useful product brief says: who it helps, what they can do, when it should not act, how quality is checked, and what evidence would justify expanding it.
Let the evidence change the roadmap.
Keep, simplify, delay, or remove the feature based on what the pilot teaches you. An AI capability is valuable when it improves the customer's experience under real operating conditions.
Put this into practice.
Start with the free worksheet or talk with Ashley about your specific challenge.