A team should read a task as an end-to-end handoff, not as a single request to an AI tool. Before shortlisting an add-on, the team should identify what starts the work, which inputs are available, what the AI step must do, what output is required, and which later action must use that output.
A candidate’s ability to perform the central AI step does not by itself establish workflow fit. The surrounding inputs and handoffs determine whether the result can be used in the actual task.
Two documented examples illustrate this distinction. In the first, a prompt is added as an action in a flow. In the second, fields and tables extracted by a model can be used in later flow actions. These examples establish workflow relationships, but they do not establish pricing, service terms, expected results for a particular team, or suitability for a specific process.
Build a task-to-workflow map
The team should rewrite the task in neutral, testable language rather than reducing it to a broad job description.
| Task element | What the team should specify | Evidence to seek for each candidate |
|---|---|---|
| Starting condition | The event, record, document, or user action that begins the task | The documented trigger and its scope |
| Required inputs | The text, files, fields, instructions, and access needed | Supported inputs and documented access requirements |
| AI-assisted work | The prompt, extraction, interpretation, or other operation the task requires | A documented capability that matches the operation rather than a similar label |
| Required output | The exact information or content needed after the AI step | Expected fields, structure, and format |
| Downstream use | The person, process, or later action that must consume the output | A documented way to pass the output into that action |
| Exceptions | What happens when input is missing, ambiguous, conflicting, or outside scope | Documented handling and clearly assigned human review |
The distinction between output and downstream use is especially important. An answer may appear understandable to a person but still be unsuitable for later processing if its fields, structure, or meaning do not match what the next action expects.
Compare the whole path
Each candidate should be assessed against the same task path:
- Input continuity: Can the required information reach the AI step through a documented route?
- Task alignment: Can the candidate perform the specific operation the task requires?
- Output suitability: Does the output contain what the next action needs, in a usable form?
- Handoff continuity: Can that output be passed to the later action as intended?
- Exception ownership: Is it clear what happens when the input is incomplete or the expected output cannot be produced?
A shortlisting record should keep unresolved items visible. “Not confirmed” is more useful than an assumption, especially when a broad capability statement is the only available evidence.
What the team must still confirm
The two workflow examples do not settle candidate-specific operational or commercial questions. Before approval, the team should separately verify:
- Compatibility with the team’s existing workflow, required setup, permissions, and connected systems.
- Supported input and output types, including any limits on structure, size, or field usage.
- Handling of incomplete, ambiguous, or unsuccessful results, including where human review belongs.
- Data handling, storage, retention, security, and applicable contractual or regulatory requirements.
- Any fee, billing period, trial boundary, renewal condition, cancellation term, or refund policy. Such terms should be checked against the current terms presented for the candidate; none are established by the cited workflow examples.
- Performance against the team’s own acceptance criteria using representative, approved examples. A demonstration may provide evidence, but it is not a guarantee of future results.
The shortlisting decision should therefore follow one rule: an add-on moves forward only when the path from required input, through the AI step, to the downstream action is documented. Anything outside that path—including exceptions, data requirements, and commercial terms—remains a separate confirmation item.