Automations should be focused on internal processes, not customer facing processes.
The point of automation is to eliminate non-value adding work, not work that requires human skills and knowledge, or opportunities to interact in meaningful ways.
When we remove friction and frustration from processes and workflows, we should do so to enable prioritizing and focusing on the highest value-adding applications of our tacit knowledge and skills.
To this point, what could be more important than our customers? Are our customers not also humans who have skills and knowledge that they are applying to solving problems of their own?
How are we making it easier for our customers to solve their problems? It’s definitely not by forcing them into rigid automations intended to make our lives easier or our processes cheaper to operate.
So instead of throwing time and money at automation for the sake of automation, why not take a minute to think about ways to automate the boring, repetitive stuff that pulls us away from what’s important, instead of just trying to make it cheaper or easier for you to do business?
Why don’t we automate the stuff taking up people’s time, so they can focus their human skills on the things that really matter?
Things like spending time with other humans, understanding their needs, and then applying our gray matter to solving real problems that create real value?
And then learning from the experience and getting better at it?
How about we focus our automation superpowers on that goal?