AI Setup Checklist

From Repeat Questions to Instant Answers in 5 Hours

Use this checklist to build the AI system that handles your repeat work so you don't have to.

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Founder at a night-time desk answering quick questions on her phone

Your Future

What changes

Founder buried in paper, inboxes and follow-ups

Before AI:

You answer 50+ repeat questions per week
Your team waits for you to respond
Onboarding new hires takes 40 hours
You're the bottleneck

Founder at a calm glass workspace with an AI assistant handling the schedule

After AI:

AI answers 80% of repeat questions instantly
Your team gets unblocked 24/7
Onboarding new hires takes 5 hours
You focus on the 20% that needs you

05 phases · 12 steps · 54 checks

The AI Setup Checklist

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Phase 1 · Hour 1-2

Capture the Knowledge

0 / 12

Identify Your Repeat Questions

Step 01

Open your Slack/email/DMs from the past 2 weeks
List every question you answered more than once
Group them into categories (operations, sales, support, marketing, etc.)
Highlight the top 10 most frequent questions

Example categories:

"Where is the [doc/link/process]?"
"How do I handle [customer situation]?"
"What do I say when [objection/scenario]?"
"What's the status of [project/task]?"

Phase 1 · Hour 1-20 / 4

Document Your SOPs

Step 02

Create a simple Google Doc titled "AI Playbook"
For each repeat question, write:
- The question
- Your exact answer (copy-paste from past responses)
- Context needed (when does this apply?)
- Examples (real scenarios where you used this)
Format:QuestionAnswerExample
Target: 10-20 Q&As minimum

Phase 1 · Hour 1-20 / 4

Add Your Brand Voice

Step 03

Copy 5-10 of your best email/message responses
Note patterns: Do you use first names? Emojis? Bullet points?
Write 2-3 sentences describing your tone: formal/casual, brief/detailed, friendly/direct
Add this to your AI Playbook as "Voice Guidelines"

Phase 1 · Hour 1-20 / 4

Phase 2 · Hour 3

Choose Your AI Tool

0 / 9

Select Your Platform

Step 04

Pick ONE to start:

ChatGPT Custom GPT (best for internal team Q&A)
Zapier + OpenAI API (best for automated workflows)
Intercom/Drift AI Agent (best for customer support)
Notion AI (best for searchable knowledge base)
Claude Projects (best for document-heavy workflows)

Decision guide:

Budget under $100/monthChatGPT Custom GPT ($20/mo)

Need CRM integrationZapier + OpenAI

Customer-facing onlyIntercom/Drift

Internal team wikiNotion AI

Phase 2 · Hour 30 / 5

Set Up Your AI Instance

Step 05

Create account and workspace
Upload your AI Playbook (the Q&A doc from Step 2)
Configure basic settings (temperature, response length, tone)
Test with 3 sample questions from your list

Phase 2 · Hour 30 / 4

Phase 3 · Hour 4

Train the System

0 / 7

Feed Real Examples

Step 06

Input 10 real past conversations (anonymize if needed)
Show the AI what "good" looks like:
- Question received
- Your actual response
- Outcome/result
Add edge cases: "When X happens, do Y instead"
Include "escalation triggers": "If customer says Z, alert human immediately"

Phase 3 · Hour 40 / 4

Define Boundaries

Step 07

List what AI should NEVER do:
- Make pricing promises
- Confirm legal/compliance details
- Handle refunds over $X
- Approve contracts
Add these as hard rules in your system prompt
Set up human handoff triggers

Phase 3 · Hour 40 / 3

Phase 4 · Hour 5

Test and Refine

0 / 11

Run Live Tests

Step 08

Send 5 real questions to the AI
Compare AI answers to your past answers
Score each response: Accurate? On-brand? Complete?
Adjust playbook where AI missed the mark

Phase 4 · Hour 50 / 4

Set Up Access

Step 09

Invite your team to the AI system
Create a simple guide: "Ask [AI Name] before Slacking [Your Name]"
Set expectation: AI handles 80%, you handle the 20% edge cases

Phase 4 · Hour 50 / 3

Monitor and Improve

Step 10

Review AI conversations weekly (first month)
Add new Q&As as they come up
Track time saved: "Questions answered without you"
Refine voice, accuracy, speed based on feedback

Phase 4 · Hour 50 / 4

Phase 5 · Week 2+

Scale

0 / 9

Expand Use Cases

Step 11

Once your first AI works, add:

Phase 5 · Week 2+0 / 5

Automate Handoffs

Step 12

Connect AI to Slack/email/CRM
Set up auto-responses for common questions
Route complex questions to the right human automatically
Track metrics: response time, resolution rate, satisfaction

Phase 5 · Week 2+0 / 4

Quick Start

If You Only Have 1 Hour Today

Done. You just bought back 10 hours per week.

Open your messages from the past week
Copy-paste your 10 most common answers into a Google Doc
Sign up for ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo)
Create a Custom GPT and upload your doc
Test it with 3 questions
Send the link to your team

The Real Comparison (Reminder)

Metric	Traditional	AI System
Training time	40 hours	5 hours
Cost per hire	$3,000	$500
Response time	Variable	Instant
Consistency	Depends on person	100%
Scalability	Limited by headcount	Scales per channel
Your availability	Always required	Approve once, run forever

Inside the guide

AI Setup Checklist

From Repeat Questions to Instant Answers in 5 Hours

Phase 1: Capture the Knowledge (Hour 1-2)
Phase 2: Choose Your AI Tool (Hour 3)
Phase 3: Train the System (Hour 4)
Phase 4: Test and Refine (Hour 5)
Phase 5: Scale (Week 2+)
Quick Start, Resources, The Real Comparison (Reminder)

Download the full guidePDF, 6 pages

Resources

Recommended Tools:

Next Steps:

Bottom line

You don't need more people. You need a system that answers the same questions instantly, consistently, and at scale. This checklist is that system.

Want help building yours?

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