The Automation Audit: How to Identify, Define, and Govern the Workflows AI Should Own

Published on June 15, 2026 by Jason Hersh

Most organizations pick automation targets based on enthusiasm, not criteria. A disciplined organization uses a strict, repeatable Four-Gate Test.

📊 The Diagnostic: The Automation Lottery

Most organizations pick automation targets based on enthusiasm, not criteria. Leaders see a new AI capability and immediately look for somewhere to plug it in. They target complex, highly variable processes with dirty data and undefined exception paths. The result is predictable: they end up automating broken processes at scale.

This is not an AI failure. This is an operational failure.

Do you have a written definition of what