Create a do-not-automate list

What this solves

Teams hesitate because AI feels too broad, or they move too fast because nobody has named which decisions, actions, and customer promises stay human-owned.

• People worry AI will touch sensitive decisions but cannot point to a clear boundary.
• The first automation idea includes pricing, discounts, refunds, promises, clinical or legal guidance, eligibility, safety, finance, complaints, or unusual exceptions.
• There is no shared list of tasks that are off limits, draft-only, or approved for automation.

What AI is good at here

• Identifying high-risk tasks from workflow descriptions and historical examples.
• Separating support tasks from authority tasks: gather, summarize, draft, classify, recommend, approve, send, update, or decide.
• Drafting a clear do-not-automate list with allowed AI support and required human owner for each item.

What AI should not own

• Humans define the final off-limits list and decide when a boundary can be revisited.
• AI should not override human judgment, policy, compliance, care, safety, financial authority, employment decisions, or relationship context.

Best first implementation

• List tasks that involve pricing, legal, clinical, safety, finance, complaints, eligibility, refunds, hiring, staff performance, or unusual exceptions.
• Mark each task as human only, AI may summarize, AI may draft, AI may recommend for review, or AI may automate under defined rules.
• Review the list before any workflow goes live and attach it to the workflow owner, not a generic AI policy.

What good looks like

• The team knows where AI is not allowed to act and where it can safely support humans.
• Safer use cases move faster because boundaries are explicit.
• Stakeholders trust the rollout more because high-risk authority remains visibly human-owned.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the off-limits list because it feels negative, then letting fear slow every safe use case.
• Writing vague boundaries that do not help people make real decisions under time pressure.