How to run an AI agent pilot on one business function

What a pilot is for

A demo shows what an agent can do. A pilot shows what it does in your business, in ordinary weeks, with your people approving its work. The purpose is a decision, and a pilot that ends without one has failed even if everyone enjoyed it. Decide at the outset who will make that call and on what date.

Set the terms before day one

Five things belong on a single page before the pilot begins.

• The function and the tasks. One function, three recurring tasks, written down.
• The length. Long enough to see several ordinary weeks. Four is a workable default.
• The people. One owner, one approver and a backup for each.
• The measures. Two or three, chosen now, with today's figures recorded beside them.
• The limits. What the agent may not do during the pilot, such as spend money or change prices.

A four-week shape

The plan below is an illustration. Adjust the pace to the function.

• Week 1, supervised. Approve everything by hand and keep a note of every edit you make.
• Week 2, routine. Fix a daily review time. Note whether the corrections from week one still come up.
• Week 3, wider. Add one task from your list, or let a second team member direct the agent.
• Week 4, verdict. Compare the measures with the starting figures and hold the decision meeting.

Three possible verdicts

Keep. The tasks were done, approvals took little time and the measures held or improved. Carry on, and consider what to add.

Narrow. The agent did some tasks well and others poorly. Keep it on the first group and take the rest back.

Stop. The work needed so much correction that you saved nothing, or the function was the wrong choice. Stopping on evidence after four weeks is a good outcome compared with drifting for a year.

Mistakes that spoil a pilot

Most spoiled pilots share one of four faults.

• Too many functions. Two functions at once means two sets of people and no clear reading on either.
• No starting figures. Without them, week four turns into a debate about impressions.
• Moving the measures. If you change what counts halfway through, start the clock again.
• An absent approver. Drafts that wait three days make the agent look slow when the delay is yours.

Where Link AI fits

For a pilot of the marketing and social media function, our pick is Link AI by Linkme. Its published flow suits the supervised first week, because posts and replies arrive as drafts and a Meta ad waits at 'Needs review'. Linkme's page also shows a draft made by one team member and left for review, which is the arrangement week three calls for. Analytics and the owner's report supply figures for the verdict.

The pilot can only be a marketing one, since that is the single function Link AI covers. We have no information on a pilot period at Linkme, or on the terms of one. Ask when you book a demo to try Link AI, and have your one-page terms with you. How to measure an agent at work covers the measures.

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