Article
Alberta businesses aren't afraid of AI, at least not based on the conversations I'm having. They're afraid of bad implementation. Fair enough.
New SaaS applications seem to pop up every other day. Then you try to log in, something doesn't work, and there are bugs. A new label doesn't make an unstable application any more useful. The login still has one job.
I'm not saying software never had bugs before AI. It did. I'm also not saying a vibe coder can't build a bug-free app. They can.
The concern is that a lot of people are jumping into this space without the depth of experience needed to make things safe and stable. That can leave business owners with software that is neither.
Go back to the workflow
Before adding AI, look at the workflow itself. What can you simplify?
Sometimes the cheapest improvement is removing a step, a handoff, or a piece of the process that no longer needs to exist. You don't need a smarter system for work that shouldn't be happening in the first place.
This is basic operations work. A simpler workflow gives you less to build, less to maintain, and less to review.
Try the boring automation next
Once the workflow is simpler, look at what conventional automation can handle.
Conventional automation may be less exciting than AI, but the job is to make the workflow work. If a straightforward automation can handle the task, use it.
If conventional automation can handle a task, you don't need AI for that part. The AI work gets smaller.
Add AI on a smaller scale
If AI still makes sense after those first two steps, start smaller.
A smaller implementation keeps the blast radius small. There is less surface area to manage, and the work is easier to implement and review. You can pay attention to whether it is safe and stable without tying the whole workflow to a new system at once.
The sequence is straightforward:
- Simplify the workflow.
- Automate what you can with conventional tools.
- Add AI to the smaller piece that remains.
Use AI for the smaller piece that remains. That keeps the blast radius small and makes the work easier to implement and review.