Where to find AI ROI in a services business
A simple way to find the highest-ROI AI build in your business in 30 minutes, without consultants.
You can find your highest-ROI AI build in 30 minutes with a spreadsheet, a calendar, and one honest conversation with your office manager. Here's the exercise.
Step 1: list the recurring tasks
List every recurring task in your business that takes more than 15 minutes and happens more than 5 times a week. Don't include client work. Just the running of the business.
Step 2: score each one
For each task, score 1–5 on three things.
- Hours per week consumed.
- How standardised the task is (is it the same every time, or does every case feel different?).
- How much it would matter if it got better (is this the difference between 'fine' and 'great' — or is it just admin nobody notices?).
Step 3: multiply
Hours × standardisation × impact = your ROI score. The task with the highest score is the build to do first. It's almost never the most exciting one. It's almost always boring.
AI ROI lives in the boring tasks. The exciting ones get pitched at conferences. The boring ones move money.
What we'd usually find
We've now run this exercise on 60+ businesses. The top-scoring task is almost always one of: missed-call recovery, quote follow-up, intake triage, note-writing, or billing chase. In that order, depending on your industry. There are surprises occasionally — but rarely.