What Should Your Business Automate First?
*Updated 16 September 2026*
Automation is becoming easier to access.
AI can analyse information, workflow tools can trigger actions and integrations can move data between systems without employees repeatedly copying and re-entering it.
The difficult question is no longer whether automation is possible.
It is where automation will actually create value.
That distinction matters as AI adoption accelerates. The Office for National Statistics reported in July 2026 that around 35% of UK businesses with ten or more employees were using at least one AI technology, up from around 12% in late 2023. Improving business operations was the most common use of AI, reported by around three-fifths of businesses.
Yet adoption does not necessarily mean processes have changed.
The UK Business Data Survey 2026 found that 41% of businesses handling digitised data were using AI, but only 21% of those AI users had integrated it with existing business systems.
The opportunity is therefore not to automate everything.
It is to find the repetitive, disconnected and high-effort processes where automation can turn friction into flow.
What Is Business Process Automation?
The short answer
Business process automation uses technology to complete, coordinate or support repeatable activities that would otherwise require manual employee effort.
That could include:
- Categorising incoming requests
- Routing work to the correct team
- Updating business systems
- Sending customer notifications
- Gathering information
- Triggering approvals
- Creating tasks
- Analysing communications
- Escalating urgent issues
- Producing summaries
- Moving information between applications
Modern automation increasingly combines AI, workflow technology, data and system integration rather than relying solely on traditional robotic process automation.
The objective should be to improve the complete process rather than automate one isolated task.
Why Should Businesses Automate Processes?
The most valuable outcome is not simply saving a few minutes.
Automation can change how work moves through an organisation.
Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index, based on 20,000 AI users across ten countries, found that 66% said AI allowed them to spend more time on higher-value work.
Used appropriately, automation can help organisations:
- Reduce repetitive administration
- Improve response times
- Remove unnecessary handovers
- Reduce manual errors
- Increase consistency
- Make better use of existing data
- Improve visibility across workflows
- Prioritise urgent activity
- Give employees more time for judgement and complex work
- Scale processes without increasing administration at the same rate
The important phrase is used appropriately.
Automating the wrong process can simply make inefficiency happen faster.
Where Should Businesses Look For Automation Opportunities?
One of the most useful places to look is where employees and customers already communicate.
Emails, calls, messages, forms and contact centre interactions often expose problems elsewhere in the organisation.
A customer chasing an update may reveal a disconnected workflow.
Ten emails about the same request may reveal unclear ownership.
Repeated calls may show that information is not moving between systems.
A large number of manual transfers may highlight weak routing.
This is why Britannic approaches automation as part of a wider digital transformation and systems integration strategy, connecting people, processes, data and technology rather than adding isolated automation tools.
Communications can become signals for what needs to happen next.
What Makes A Good Process To Automate?
Not every activity should be automated.
A strong candidate will usually have several of these characteristics:
| Signal | What To Look For |
| Volume | The activity happens frequently |
| Repetition | Employees repeat similar steps each time |
| Rules | The next action can often be determined consistently |
| Friction | The process creates delays, handovers or unnecessary effort |
| Data | The information required is available digitally |
| Value | Improving the process produces a measurable outcome |
High volume alone is not enough.
A frequent process involving significant judgement, empathy or unusual exceptions may still require substantial human involvement.
The strongest opportunities often combine automation with human decision-making rather than attempting to remove people completely.
Why Should A Process Be Simplified Before It Is Automated?
A complicated manual process does not automatically become a good automated process.
Imagine an enquiry that currently:
- Arrives by email
- Is manually categorised
- Is forwarded to another department
- Is copied into another system
- Requires an approval
- Generates another email
- Is manually checked for progress
- Requires someone to update the customer
Automating each existing step could reduce some effort.
A better question is whether all eight steps are necessary.
Some could potentially be removed, combined or redesigned before technology is applied.
That is why Britannic's Digital Transformation proposition includes process and workflow analysis, systems integration, AI and automation rather than treating automation as an independent technology purchase.
The Britannic Friction-To-Flow Framework
Find
Identify where work is slow, repetitive or unnecessarily manual.
Look at:
- High-volume processes
- Repeat customer contacts
- Long resolution times
- Employee workarounds
- Manual data entry
- Email-heavy workflows
- Repeated transfers
- Approval bottlenecks
Simplify
Challenge the process before automating it.
Ask which steps can be removed, combined or redesigned.
Connect
Integrate the systems, communications and data needed to complete the process.
Automation becomes considerably more valuable when information can move between applications rather than creating another isolated tool.
Automate
Apply the appropriate technology.
This could involve rules-based workflow, AI, communications automation or a combination of them.
Keep human approval where judgement, risk or sensitivity requires it.
Measure
Compare performance with the original problem.
Measure time, effort, cost, quality, customer experience or another relevant business outcome.
Find → Simplify → Connect → Automate → Measure
The sequence matters.
Starting directly with Automate can result in organisations investing in technology before understanding what should actually change.
What Can AI Add To Business Process Automation?
Traditional automation works particularly well when predefined rules can determine what happens next.
AI can extend automation into information that previously required a person to interpret it.
For example, AI could analyse an incoming email and determine:
- What the customer needs
- Whether it requires action
- Which service it relates to
- Whether it appears urgent
- Which team should receive it
- What information should be extracted
- Whether an automated response is appropriate
Britannic's AI Engine applies AI and analytics to unstructured information such as customer communications, identifying sentiment, themes and actionable information that can then feed CRM systems and workflows.
The difference is important.
AI produces greater operational value when the insight becomes the trigger for the next action, rather than simply generating another dashboard for someone to review manually.
What Does Business Process Automation Look Like In Practice?
The exercise revealed that most customer queries required more than ten emails to resolve.
One department averaged 32 emails per resolution involving three different parties.
That is exactly the type of process where simply automating email responses would miss the real problem.
Britannic used the analysis to identify why so many interactions were required, redesign email handling, improve recognition of actionable requests and begin automating customer updates around work-order status.
The objective was not send emails faster.
It was reduce how many emails were necessary in the first place.
That is a much stronger definition of automation.
How Can Communications Trigger Automated Workflows?
Incoming communications can increasingly become part of the automated process.
Britannic's INBOX Enterprise can bring email and digital interactions into managed workflows rather than leaving them disconnected inside individual inboxes.
A communication could potentially:
Arrive → Be understood → Be categorised → Trigger a workflow → Update a system → Route to an employee → Generate a response
This becomes particularly powerful when connected with customer service, CRM, contact centre and operational platforms.
The same principle can apply to voice.
VoiceAI can answer calls, understand intent, collect information and resolve or route requests with relevant context.
Automation is therefore extending beyond back-office scripts into the communication layer connecting customers, employees and business processes.
Should Every Customer Interaction Be Automated?
No.
Automation works well for predictable, repetitive and information-heavy activity.
Human involvement becomes more important when an interaction requires:
- Judgement
- Negotiation
- Empathy
- Complex problem-solving
- Accountability
- Sensitive decisions
- Unusual exceptions
The objective should not be the highest possible automation percentage.
It should be the right division of work between technology and people.
Automation can gather information, complete repetitive steps and provide context so the employee begins the interaction further ahead.
That can improve both productivity and the customer experience.
Why Does Integration Matter For Automation?
Disconnected automation can create another technology silo.
The UK Business Data Survey finding that only 21% of AI-using businesses had integrated their AI tools with existing systems demonstrates that this is still a significant gap.
To automate a process effectively, organisations may need information from:
- CRM
- ERP
- Finance platforms
- Contact centres
- Messaging
- Customer portals
- Workflow systems
- Communications platforms
- Data repositories
Britannic therefore focuses on systems integration alongside automation.
In some cases, organisations may not need another core business platform at all.
Connecting and automating around technology that already works can provide a faster and more commercially sensible route to improvement.
How Should Automation Success Be Measured?
Automation should have a defined outcome before implementation.
Depending on the process, measures could include:
- Processing time
- Number of manual steps
- Emails per resolution
- Customer contacts per case
- Error rates
- First-contact resolution
- Employee handling time
- SLA performance
- Customer satisfaction
- Cost to serve
- Percentage of work requiring manual intervention
- Time employees spend on higher-value activity
Usage is not enough.
A workflow triggering 10,000 times does not prove it created value.
Britannic's Customer Success Programme establishes objectives and success criteria before technology is fully implemented, validates solutions against real operational scenarios and continues to review performance after deployment.
Business Process Automation Checklist
Before automating a process, organisations should ask:
- What problem is the process meant to solve?
- How frequently does it occur?
- How much employee time does it consume?
- Which steps are repetitive?
- Which steps genuinely require human judgement?
- Where are the delays?
- How many teams or systems are involved?
- Are employees repeatedly entering the same information?
- Does the process generate unnecessary emails or calls?
- Can any steps be removed before automation?
- Is the required data available and reliable?
- Which systems need to integrate?
- Could AI interpret information that is currently reviewed manually?
- What should happen when the automation cannot make a decision?
- How will exceptions be handled?
- What security and governance controls are required?
- What measurable outcome will show that the automation worked?
If the organisation cannot describe the current process clearly, it is usually too early to automate it.
Automation Should Remove Work, Not Move It
The best automation is often almost invisible.
It removes unnecessary steps, connects information and makes the next action happen without requiring another employee to copy, chase, transfer or re-enter something.
That is why the next stage of business process automation is about more than RPA.
AI can understand information. Workflow technology can coordinate activities. Integration can move data between systems. Communications can trigger actions. Employees can concentrate on decisions and situations where their expertise matters.
The goal is not to automate the business.
It is to remove the friction that stops the business working effectively.
Britannic combines strategic consultancy, process analysis, systems integration, AI and automation to help organisations identify high-value opportunities and build technology around measurable operational outcomes rather than automation for its own sake.
Organisations that know manual processes are consuming time but are unsure where to start can book a complimentary meeting with Britannic to identify and prioritise automation opportunities around measurable business value.
