finnOpinion · 7 min read
We absolutely must NOT pace the frontier
Finn’s case against pacing the AI frontier: continued innovation, stronger defenses, wider access, and accountable development.
The Finn blog
Good ideas. Useful work.
Perspectives on the future of work. Practical ideas for putting AI to work today.
Perspective · 4 min read
A good AI pilot should make the next one easier.
Turn an AI pilot into reusable company capability: approved sources, clear ownership, tested examples, and a practical plan for the next workflow.
Perspective · 4 min read
The best model depends on the job.
Choose AI models by task quality, speed, cost, and data requirements. Compare real workflows and understand where model routing and approvals fit.
Perspective · 4 min read
Small accounts deserve more than an automated reply.
Use AI to give smaller inbound accounts useful answers, relevant next steps, and thoughtful handoffs while measuring the economics of sales coverage.
How-to · 5 min read
How to run a two-week AI pilot.
Plan a focused AI pilot in ten working days with a scope worksheet, data-access checklist, test cases, team responsibilities, and a go-live decision.
How-to · 5 min read
How to measure the real cost of an AI workflow.
Calculate the full cost of an AI workflow, including setup, usage, retries, human review, and maintenance, with a worked example and cost worksheet.
How-to · 5 min read
Turn customer conversations into a weekly action plan.
Build a weekly customer-feedback report from support conversations: define the sample, identify themes, link evidence, and assign actions to owners.
How-to · 5 min read
Turn contracts into a renewal calendar.
Turn supplier contracts into a reviewed renewal register with source references, owners, notice dates, and recurring reminders that lead to decisions.
Use cases · 4 min read
From new lead to booked meeting: an AI sales workflow.
See an AI inbound sales journey from a prospect’s first question to qualification, calendar booking, CRM updates, and a useful handoff to your team.
Use cases · 4 min read
An order is delayed. Here’s the work AI can take off your team.
Follow a delayed order from customer message to verified shipment information, warehouse follow-up, approved remedies, and a clear resolution record.
Use cases · 4 min read
Fill a canceled appointment from your waitlist.
Use AI to coordinate appointment cancellations and waitlists: match service requirements, manage offers, recheck availability, and confirm the booking.
Use cases · 4 min read
Coordinate late checkout across the front desk and housekeeping.
Coordinate hotel late-checkout requests with current room plans, housekeeping capacity, approved fees, guest confirmation, and recorded staff handoffs.
Use cases · 4 min read
From catering inquiry to confirmed order.
Follow a catering inquiry through headcount, menu choices, kitchen capacity, quote approval, deposit checks, and a clear handoff to the production team.
Use cases · 4 min read
Resolve an invoice mismatch with AI and a clear review.
Compare invoices, purchase orders, and delivery records with AI. Gather missing evidence, prepare a reviewed correction, and verify the final state.
Editorial · 7 min read
Inside the collection: writing briefs, sources, and editorial checks.
Explore the six writing briefs, primary sources, and overlap checks behind Finn’s collection of thirteen articles about putting AI to work in business.
Explainer · 2 min read
What is agentic automation? A plain-English guide.
Understand the difference between an answer, a fixed automation, and an agent that can take permitted actions.
Explainer · 2 min read
AI agent, chatbot, or Task: what does your business need?
Choose the right kind of automation for a question, a one-time request, or a recurring job.
How-to · 2 min read
How to build a company knowledge base your AI can use.
Turn websites, documents, SOPs, and policies into maintained guidance for everyday work.
How-to · 2 min read
How to set AI permissions and approvals without slowing everything down.
Define what an agent may read, prepare, change, and send—and which decisions stay with people.
How-to · 2 min read
How to coordinate employee onboarding with AI.
Connect the people, information, and approved actions behind a new employee’s first day.
How-to · 2 min read
How to introduce AI into IT support.
Start with a small set of support requests and make the path to a person clear.
How-to · 2 min read
How to test an AI workflow before publishing it.
Build a small test set that checks business results, permissions, and recovery—not just the wording of a reply.
Use cases · 2 min read
Five AI use cases for everyday finance operations.
Practical ways to reduce administrative work around invoices, accounts, and reporting while preserving financial authority.
Use cases · 2 min read
From inquiry to approved quote: an AI workflow for wholesale teams.
Connect a customer request to current pricing, employee review, and a quote the business can stand behind.
Use cases · 2 min read
An AI appointment follow-up journey that respects the customer.
Connect reminders, replies, and booking updates without confusing a message sent with an appointment confirmed.
Use cases · 2 min read
From tenant message to resolved repair: an AI use case.
Make the request, approvals, contractor coordination, and final outcome visible in one business journey.
Use cases · 2 min read
Five useful ways employees can work with AI today.
A practical starting point for research, drafts, analysis, and recurring reviews inside the business.
Perspective · 3 min read
The interface should fit the job.
A conversation is a good way to ask. It is not always the best way to review, decide, or act.
Perspective · 2 min read
The conversation ended. The job didn’t.
Useful business AI needs to follow the work through waiting, change, and completion.
Perspective · 2 min read
Your best operating knowledge isn’t in a manual.
The judgment your team uses every day deserves a better home than scattered conversations and someone’s memory.
Perspective · 2 min read
Who owns your AI on Monday morning?
Launching an agent is a milestone. Running it well is an operating responsibility.
Perspective · 2 min read
Your company doesn’t need AI that knows everything.
Useful business intelligence depends on knowing which information matters, which source to trust, and when to ask.
Perspective · 2 min read
A faster employee doesn’t always make a faster company.
Individual productivity gains matter. The next opportunity is the time work spends between people.
Perspective · 2 min read
Don’t make your customer start over.
A handoff should move the problem toward resolution, carrying the useful context with it.
Perspective · 3 min read
Your next workspace starts with a conversation.
Business software taught us where to click. The next workspace should understand what we are trying to do.
Perspective · 3 min read
What would your business do with more capacity?
The most interesting AI business case may be the useful work your company cannot afford to do today.
Perspective · 3 min read
Let every team use AI. Give the company one set of controls.
Teams need room to improve their work. IT needs a supported way to manage access, data, and spending across connected AI applications.
Customer operations · 2 min read
The work starts after the answer.
A helpful reply is a beginning. Here’s how to design the work that comes next, across customers, teams, and company software.
Getting started · 2 min read
Pick one job. Make it work.
How to choose a first AI Task that has a clear purpose, manageable scope, and a result your team can trust.
Business outcomes · 2 min read
Measure the finished job.
Replies, clicks, and activity tell part of the story. Measure what changed for the customer and the team.
Knowledge and AI · 2 min read
Give good answers somewhere to go.
Connect approved knowledge to current business records, useful drafts, and actions your team can review.