THE DIRECT ANSWER
Give AI one clear job: draft, route, flag, or record. Keep a person in charge of choices that can hurt people or the business.
Give AI one clear job
“Use AI at work” is not a clear plan. It is too wide. No one knows what to do, what to check, or who owns the result.
I use four words: draft, route, flag, and record. These jobs can help a team move fast. They do not give the tool the last word.
Draft, then check the work
A draft can save time when a person can judge it fast. AI can sort notes, make a reply plan, list next steps, or build a check list from known facts.
The review is not a flaw. It is a guardrail. The person should know the source, the goal, and what can go wrong.
Route and flag the right work
Route means send an item to the right owner. Flag means show that owner what needs care. Both can cut wait time without letting AI make the last choice.
These jobs are a good place to start. The team can test the rules, see who gets each item, and check if the handoff got faster.
Record so the team can learn
A team can lose good work when key choices live in a chat or one mind. A clear record says what happened, why it happened, who owns the next step, and what came next.
The record must be easy to check. People should know what AI saw, what it guessed, and how to fix it.
Keep big choices with people
Some choices can hurt safety, money, jobs, trust, or private data. A named person should own those choices. The team also needs good facts and a clear way to ask for help.
This test is not a call to make all work automatic. It helps AI support the team while people keep the duty to act with care.
ORIGINAL WORKSHEET
The four-job AI work test
Pick one task the team does more than once. Name the AI job, the facts it can use, and the person who owns the result.
- 01 · DraftMake a first draft for a person to check.Use it for notes, replies, lists, and plans that need a review.
- 02 · RouteSend work to the right person.Use it when the rules are clear and a person still owns the next step.
- 03 · FlagShow a risk, miss, or item that needs help.Use it when finding a problem matters more than giving the last word.
- 04 · RecordSave what happened in a clear form.Use it for choices, handoffs, results, and notes the team may need.
Source note: This is Tim Yslava’s own four-job AI work test. It is a tool for making choices, not a product or result claim.
Four takeaways
- Give AI one job: draft, route, flag, or record.
- Name the facts, owner, and good result.
- Keep a person on big or risky choices.
- Track if the work got better, not if the team used AI.