How to Write an AI Use Case Brief

One of the most common ways AI projects go sideways is jumping into tools before anyone has clearly defined what success looks like. A simple one-page brief prevents most of those problems.

Here’s the template I use with clients.

The AI Use Case Brief

Problem statement (2-3 sentences): Describe the specific pain you’re trying to solve. What is currently happening that you want to change? What’s the cost of the current state?

Example: Our front desk spends approximately 2 hours per day sending appointment reminders, handling rescheduling requests by phone, and following up with no-shows. We have a 22% no-show rate on weekday mornings, which represents roughly $1,800/week in lost revenue.

Desired outcome (1 sentence): What does success look like, in measurable terms?

Example: Reduce no-show rate to under 10% and reclaim at least 8 staff hours per week currently spent on manual reminder calls.

Trigger: What event starts the automation?

Example: Appointment booked in our scheduling system.

Actions (list): What should happen automatically after the trigger?

Example: Confirmation text at booking, reminder text 48 hours before, reminder text 2 hours before, follow-up text 15 minutes after missed appointment.

Exceptions: What cases should a human handle instead?

Example: Patients who reply to a reminder with a question or who request a call back.

Measurement: How will you know if it’s working after 30 days?

Example: Track no-show rate week over week. Track staff time on reminder-related calls.

Why This Works

This brief forces clarity before you spend any money. It also makes it much easier to evaluate vendors, because you can hand them this document and ask: “Can your system do this? What would it cost?”

If you want help filling this out for your specific workflow, reach out. It usually takes one short conversation to get it right.