---
title: Does my process need an AI agent? A free one-minute check
description: Answer five questions about one process. Find out whether it needs an AI agent, a workflow with AI, a simple automation or nothing yet.
url: https://www.streamlight.ai/tools/ai-agent-check/
updated: 2026-10-29
---

# Does my process need an AI agent?

Answer five questions about one process. The check gives you an honest answer: an AI agent, something simpler or not yet.

-   About a minute
-   No sign-up
-   Stays in your browser

## What you get

You get one of four answers, with the reasons from what you told the check:

-   **An AI agent** decides its next step case by case, for work that changes every time.
-   **A workflow with AI** follows steps set in advance, with AI reading or drafting at a few of them.
-   **A simple automation** follows steps set in advance with no AI, the kind of thing Zapier or Make runs.
-   **Not yet** means the process takes too few hours a week to be worth automating today.

The result also shows what the process costs your team each month today, at $40 an hour. Choose your kind of business under the result to read an example from a business like yours. The example links to our demo console, where you can watch it run.

## How it works

1.  **Think of one process,** ideally the one that takes your team the most time.
2.  **Answer five questions.** The questions ask about these things:
    -   every way the work arrives, such as a form, email or phone calls;
    -   whether the steps change from case to case;
    -   how many hours the process takes a week;
    -   how many tools the work passes through;
    -   what happens when something goes wrong.
3.  **Read your answer,** with the reasons and an example from a business like yours.

## Questions

### What’s the difference between an AI agent and a workflow with AI?

An AI agent decides its next step case by case, using your tools, until the work is done. For example, a customer asks to move Tuesday’s visit. The agent checks the calendar, rebooks the visit for Thursday and replies. A workflow with AI follows the same steps every time, with AI doing a few of them. For example, the workflow reads each supplier invoice, pulls out the figures and enters them into your books.

### When does a process need an AI agent?

A process needs an AI agent when the work arrives in many forms and the next step depends on the case. A person still approves anything that matters, such as a refund over your limit.

### When is a simple automation enough?

A simple automation is enough when the work arrives in a set format and follows the same steps every time. A booking form that adds an event to your calendar and sends a confirmation is a simple automation.

### What does “not yet” mean?

Not yet means the process takes under two hours a week, too little to pay for building anything beyond a simple automation. Write the steps down instead: writing them down often shows a quick fix, and the process can join a bigger one later.

## Next

Not sure which process to check first? [Find out with Where to start](https://www.streamlight.ai/tools/where-to-start/).

[All free tools ›](https://www.streamlight.ai/tools/)

## If your answer is an AI agent or a workflow with AI, you can see it running before you decide.

After a 30-minute call, we build a clickable prototype of your process in two to four days. The prototype runs on sample data, so nothing touches your real systems. If your answer is a simple automation or not yet, you probably don’t need us, and that’s a fine answer too.

[Book a call](https://www.streamlight.ai/book/) [Ask our AI assistant](https://www.streamlight.ai/#agent)