Resources on AI agents in operations: guides, tools, glossary

Tool

AI ROI calculator

Hours, net saving and payback for one workflow, with your own assumptions.

Tool

Workflow check

Ten questions, three lenses, one recommendation for a specific process.

Tool

AI Act check

First classification of a workflow under the AI Act, with obligations and dates.

Workflow guide · 9 min read

8D report with AI: template, disciplines and who decides

An AI agent can prepare the gathering work in an 8D report: the problem description from complaint data, the evidence pack, similar past cases, deadline tracking and the customer letter. Containment, root cause and corrective action remain decisions for your quality engineers and the 8D team.

Workflow guide · 9 min read

Complaint management process: steps, ISO 9001 duties and KPIs

Nine steps from intake to closure, the ISO 9001 clauses that apply, six KPIs with definitions, and a clear line between what an AI agent prepares and what people decide.

Workflow guide · 9 min read

The quoting process in manufacturing: steps, KPIs and AI agents

The quoting process in manufacturing has eight steps from request to follow-up. An AI agent takes over reading, matching and checking, while engineering and sales decide on feasibility, price and release.

Workflow guide · 9 min read

Order entry automation: from emailed purchase order to sales order

Purchase orders arrive as emails, PDFs, spreadsheets and portal downloads even where the largest customers use EDI. An AI agent reads and checks them and creates the sales order in the ERP, while inside sales decides every exception.

Workflow guide · 10 min read

AI ticket triage for technical service: schema, thresholds, controls

How an AI agent classifies incoming service requests by type, urgency, asset, contract and language, attaches context from the CRM and ERP, and hands uncertain cases to a person with that context in place.

AI agents · 9 min read

AI agents in manufacturing: ten examples from service, quality and procurement

An AI agent in a manufacturing company takes over steps in the ERP, CRM and QM system, with a named owner and clear release points. The strongest first candidates sit in service, quoting, quality, procurement and order entry, not in machine control.

AI agents · 9 min read

AI agent vs chatbot: the difference between answering and acting

A chatbot answers; an AI agent acts in your systems. Which design fits which process depends on trigger, write rights and release, and the simpler option is often the right one.

AI agents · 9 min read

RPA vs AI agents: when bots are enough and when you need an agent

RPA follows rules on screens; an AI agent reads and judges input that rules cannot capture. In most processes the two work together, with deterministic checks in between and people releasing.

Business case · 9 min read

AI agent cost: what you pay for the build, operation and model usage

An AI agent costs as much as the workflow it works in. Once you know the cost blocks from integration to operation and have measured the value per case, you can set a build budget that holds up.

Industry guide · 11 min read

AI for utilities: four workflows for AI agents in the back office

Where AI agents take work off European utilities and grid operators, which systems they touch, where a person decides, and what NIS2, GDPR, works councils and the EU AI Act require. The examples use German rules, where many deadlines are written into statute.

Governance · 9 min read

AI Act timeline after the Omnibus: what applies when

The amended AI Act has applied since 27 July 2026. Transparency duties already apply; high-risk obligations under Annex III follow on 2 December 2027. Every date with its legal reference, and what it means for workflows with AI agents. Status: 11 October 2026.

Governance · 10 min read

Human in the loop AI: levels, release points and the EU AI Act

What human in the loop means for AI agents in operations, when human on the loop is enough, and how to widen release rights per case category on evidence from shadow mode. With a template and the rules from the EU AI Act, GDPR and German works council law.

Governance · 10 min read

AI policy template: rules for staff and for AI agents

Whether a company AI policy is a legal requirement, which eight sections it needs and which extra rules apply to AI agents that write to your systems. With sample wording to adapt.

6 min read

Why AI pilots don't reach production

Pilots rarely fail on the model. They fail on five things nobody scoped: write access, an owner, a control set, a baseline, and a rule for what happens when the agent is unsure.

7 min read

Who owns the agent? An operating model for AI in operations

An agent in production needs six decisions made and written down: who owns the output, who may change it, who watches it, who decides when it is unsure, who signs off risk, and who pays.

6 min read

Governance you can ship: controls inside the workflow

A governance policy tells people what is allowed. A control set makes the agent do it. What a control set contains, and how it maps to the EU AI Act and GDPR without a parallel compliance project.

PDF

Executive briefing: The first workflow

A short briefing for leadership teams: how to choose the first agentic workflow, what a control set contains, and what the first quarter should produce.

Glossary

Glossary: AI agents and workflows

The terms that appear in proposals, control sets and the EU AI Act, explained briefly and precisely.