Someone messaged me last week asking if I could build them a reminder agent. The idea was that when a certain type of request came in, the agent would schedule a reminder to close it out, based on info in the ticket.
AI agents are super cool and handy in so many ways. But I knew this one was overkill the second I got the message. But to be sure, I asked for more information.
Where does the request go? Their ticketing system.
How would the agent know that specific request was submitted? They'd send a chat to an agent asking it to remind them to close it out when it's time.
Can't you just put a reminder on the calendar? It's a notification for the whole team.
Do you have a Teams channel?
I was trying to lead this person to realize on their own that this could be handled a lot simpler than an AI agent. Quickest win: put a reminder on the calendar and invite the team. Or with about 5 minutes of work, build a quick workflow using the in-house workflow tool they already have.
What we found
In the end, the ticketing system already had a reminder workflow built in....as it should. Just one example of when AI isn't always the answer.
How I work
This is also a good look at how I work with clients. I want to understand the current workflow, any bottlenecks or issues, and what systems are already in place before I even think about adding AI to the mix. Sometimes the answer is an agent. Sometimes the answer is a feature they already had and just never turned on. Most of the time it is somewhere in between, automation with simple workflow tools.
If you're not sure which one your problem needs, that's usually the first thing worth figuring out.