How to Prioritize AI Use Cases (With a One-Line Formula) -

Too many AI ideas, too little time? Use this simple scoring method to rank use cases, launch the right pilots, and prove ROI in weeks—not months.

Table of Contents

Who This Guide Is For
The One-Line Formula
Scoring Guide (Be Consistent)
Scoring Worksheet (Copy into WordPress)
How to Run a 90-Minute Prioritization Workshop
Decision Rules (Make Them Visible)
Anti-Bias Tactics (So You Don’t Chase Shiny Objects)
Department Examples (Ready to Steal)
Quality & Risk Guardrails (Add to Every Pilot)
Implementation Checklist
30-Day Action Plan
KPIs Dashboard (Update Weekly)
FAQs
Internal Links (add them at the end)

Who This Guide Is For

Business leaders, product owners, ops and data teams who need a clear, defensible way to decide what to build first. You’ll get a one-line formula, a scoring worksheet, facilitation tips for workshops, example use cases by department, and a 30-day plan.

The One-Line Formula

Priority = (Impact × Viability) ÷ Complexity

Impact: Revenue, margin, or risk reduction if the use case works.
Viability: Data availability + permissions + basic tooling already in place.
Complexity: Integrations, change management, and security/compliance effort.

Scoring Guide (Be Consistent)

Score each dimension from 1 (low) to 5 (high) based on the criteria below:

Impact
1 = cosmetic improvement • 3 = saves hours or nudges a KPI • 5 = moves revenue/margin or cuts material risk

Viability
1 = data missing or blocked • 3 = data exists but needs cleanup/limited permissions • 5 = clean, permitted, accessible

Complexity (inverse)
1 = plug-and-play, no approvals • 3 = one core integration, light approvals • 5 = multiple systems, heavy security/legal

Scoring Worksheet (Copy into WordPress)

Use Case	Impact (1–5)	Viability (1–5)	Complexity (1–5)	Priority = (I×V)÷C	Primary KPI	Owner
Auto-draft proposals from CRM	4	4	2	8.0	Cycle time; Win rate	Sales Ops
RAG bot for policy/FAQ	3	4	2	6.0	Deflection; CSAT	CX
One-click management pack	4	5	3	6.7	Hours to report	FP&A
Personalised SDR outreach	3	4	3	4.0	Reply rate; Meetings	SDR Lead
Demand/cash forecasting	4	3	3	4.0	MAPE; Variance vs plan	FP&A

How to Run a 90-Minute Prioritization Workshop

Collect candidates (15’): Each team brings 2–3 use cases with a one-sentence “job to be done”.
Define the KPI (10’): One measurable outcome per idea (e.g., deflection %, cycle time, forecast error).
Score together (30’): Use the guide above; disagree in the open. Write down assumptions.
Sort & select (10’): Pick top 2–3 by Priority score.
Plan pilots (15’): Success criteria, guardrails (security, quality), and owners.
Park the rest (10’): Document why and what must change to reconsider.

Decision Rules (Make Them Visible)

Priority ≥ 6: Pilot now (time-box to 30 days).
Priority 4–5.9: Limited pilot or unblockers first (e.g., data cleanup, one integration).
Priority < 4: Park and revisit after dependencies or strategy change.

Anti-Bias Tactics (So You Don’t Chase Shiny Objects)

Blind scoring: Score before debating vendors.
Evidence or it didn’t happen: Attach sample data and a mock output/template.
Security first: If SSO/MFA/DLP is a blocker, it counts toward Complexity.
Smallest viable scope: Start with one segment or team to reduce complexity.

Department Examples (Ready to Steal)

Marketing & Sales

Creative A/B generation → Impact 3–4, Viability 4, Complexity 2 → fast test.
Meeting intelligence → Impact 3, Viability 5, Complexity 2 → quick win on follow-ups.
Lead scoring with ML → Impact 4, Viability 3, Complexity 3–4 → run after data hygiene.

Customer Support & CX

RAG bot on docs → Impact 3–4, Viability 4, Complexity 2 → deflection in weeks.
Triage + suggested replies → Impact 3–4, Viability 4, Complexity 2 → speed & consistency.
Sentiment/themes → Impact 3, Viability 4, Complexity 3 → product loop.

Finance & Operations

Transaction categorization → Impact 4, Viability 4, Complexity 2 → saves hours.
One-click reporting → Impact 4, Viability 5, Complexity 3 → consistent packs.
Inventory exception scanner → Impact 4, Viability 3, Complexity 3–4 → margin recovery.

Quality & Risk Guardrails (Add to Every Pilot)

Template first: Define what “good” looks like (sections, tone, banned claims).
Confidence thresholds: Route low-confidence outputs to human review.
Logging: Keep prompt/output logs with user and data source.
Permissions: Respect ACLs; enable SSO/MFA; set retention.
Golden prompts: A small test set to spot regressions.

Implementation Checklist

One owner per use case (business) + one tech lead (data/integrations).
KPI baseline + sample outputs before starting.
Security controls on (SSO/MFA/DLP) and logging enabled.
Clear “stop/go” criteria for day 30.
Comms plan: who sees progress, how often.

30-Day Action Plan

Week 1 — Align & Baseline: Collect ideas, set KPIs, run the workshop, pick top 2–3, gather baseline data.
Week 2 — Design for Quality: Templates, guardrails, access/permissions, measurement plan.
Week 3 — Build & Iterate: Minimum integrations; daily feedback; reduce scope if blocked.
Week 4 — Prove & Decide: Publish a one-pager (before/after). Decide: scale, adjust, or park.

KPIs Dashboard (Update Weekly)

Pilot adoption (active users)
Output quality (acceptance rate, edits needed)
Primary KPI delta (e.g., cycle time, deflection %, MAPE)
Security health (SSO/MFA coverage, DLP events, log completeness)

FAQs

What if stakeholders disagree on scores?
Capture both numbers and average, but write assumptions. You can re-score after week 2 with better evidence.

Isn’t “Complexity” subjective?
Anchor it to integrations, approvals, and team change. If security is off, Complexity rises.

How many pilots at once?
Two in parallel: one fast operational win + one strategic/FP&A win.

When do we scale?
When the primary KPI improves and quality/safety guardrails hold for two consecutive weeks.