The quote you have written fifty times

Every business has a task like this. The same quote, the same invoice reminder, the same "here are our hours" email, written so many times you could do it half asleep. It feels like work, because it is work. It just is not the kind that grows the business.

In the same 2026 Chamber and Ipsos survey, most AI users said they used it for personal productivity, such as drafting and summarising. Only a small share said they used it for recurring work or to automate workflows. The recurring work is still largely done by hand, and that is where the opportunity sits.

A simple way to find your first candidate is to score each Required or Waste task from 1 to 3 on three questions:

• How many hours does it take each week? (Under one hour scores 1; three or more hours scores 3.)
• How often does it look the same? (Different every time scores 1; basically identical scores 3.)
• Could you explain it as a checklist? (Needs judgement scores 1; yes, easily scores 3.)

Anything that scores high on all three is probably the best first candidate. Start with the top three, not ten.

For a quote, the checklist might include the job type, the materials, your standard rates and the terms you always include. A first draft built from those notes is repeatable. Checking the price and sending it is judgement, and that part stays with you. Keep a person checking anything before it reaches a customer, at least for the first few weeks. The aim is a faster draft, not an unchecked one.

Which task have you written, or answered, more times than you can count, and what would it be worth to you to stop doing it by hand?