AI Assistant Launch Checklist

Before you begin

An AI assistant is a process change, not just a tool. Decide what problem it should solve, such as answering routine questions outside office hours or collecting details before a call, and how you will know it is working. If you cannot describe the job in one sentence, it is too early to launch.

1. Define scope

• List the questions and tasks the assistant may handle.
• List what it must never do, for example give legal advice, quote unpublished prices, promise outcomes or process refunds.
• Choose channels: website chat, text, social messaging or voice.

2. Prepare the knowledge base

• Gather approved answers on services, opening hours, pricing (where public), policies and frequently asked questions.
• Write in plain, unambiguous language and remove outdated content.
• Assign someone to keep it current, and note the date of the last review.

3. Set the assistant's behaviour

• Give it a name and tone consistent with your brand.
• State clearly that it is an automated assistant.
• Instruct it to say when it does not know, rather than guess.
• Keep instructions short and specific, and test them.

4. Design the handoff

• Define triggers for handoff: complaint, request for a person, sensitive topic, repeated confusion.
• Ensure the human sees the full transcript.
• Set out-of-hours behaviour, such as taking details and promising a reply time you can keep.

5. Handle data and privacy

• Decide what personal data the assistant may request and store.
• Check how your provider processes conversation data and whether it is used for model training.
• Update your privacy notice and ensure consent is captured where required.
• Set retention and deletion rules.

6. Test thoroughly

• Twenty realistic questions answered acceptably.
• Awkward and hostile messages handled safely.
• Out-of-scope requests declined politely.
• Booking and CRM updates verified.
• Handoff tested on desktop and mobile.
• Accessibility considered, including keyboard use and screen readers.

7. Launch gradually

Start with limited hours, one channel or a subset of visitors. Tell your team what is happening and how to help when a handoff arrives.

8. Review and improve

• Read a sample of transcripts every week for the first month.
• Track resolved-without-handoff rate, handoff quality, customer feedback and errors.
• Update the knowledge base for every wrong answer found.
• Decide at 90 days whether to expand, adjust or stop.

Related reading

For safeguards in more depth, read responsible AI use in customer communication and the wider guide to AI and business automation.

Keep learning

• AI & Business AutomationLearn what AI chat, voice assistants and agents can and cannot do, and how to use them responsibly.
• Conversations & CommunicationLearn how email, text, phone, chat and social messages can be managed as one conversation per customer.
• Reputation & ReviewsLearn how to request, monitor and respond to reviews and feedback in an honest, consistent way.