I am a business owner with zero coding experience, and my managers are pitching different custom AI tools to build internally. How do I evaluate whether these proposed AI projects are operationally feasible or just expensive science experiments?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You do not need to understand Python or machine learning models to manage this. Your job as the owner is to focus on the operational output and the return on investment.

When a manager pitches a custom AI tool, refuse to discuss the technology itself. Instead, ask them to show you the documented SOP that the AI will run. If they cannot hand you a clean, step-by-step process that a human can execute consistently, they are not ready to automate it.

Next, require them to frame the proposal as an operations-improvement project rather than an AI project. Have them define the exact bottleneck they are solving. Ask how many hours of low-value manual labor this will save per week, and what high-value tasks those employees will focus on instead.

Never build custom software from scratch if a simple API connection or an off-the-shelf tool can solve eighty percent of the problem. If they still insist on building a custom AI agent, make it a ninety-day Rock. Ensure the metric for success is a live, working prototype that runs a single, narrow process. If they cannot deliver a working model in ninety days, kill the project. This keeps your cash flow safe and prevents technology theater from draining your company resources.