This is the definitive checklist. Every operational task in your agency that AI can handle today. Go through it. Check off what you're still doing manually. That's your automation roadmap.
Email & Communication (7 Automations)
- - Email reply drafting — AI reads incoming emails and drafts replies in your voice
- - Email categorization — AI sorts emails by type: client, team, vendor, scheduling, urgent
- - Email routing — Forward emails to the right team member automatically
- - Slack message summarization — AI summarizes long threads into key points
- - Slack message routing — Route urgent Slack messages to the right person
- - Auto-responses to common questions — AI answers FAQs from your SOPs
- - Client status updates — Automated weekly updates sent to clients
Project & Task Management (7 Automations)
- - Task creation from emails — AI reads emails and creates ClickUp tasks
- - Task creation from meetings — AI transcribes calls and extracts action items
- - Automatic status updates — Tasks move through statuses based on triggers
- - Smart task assignment — AI assigns based on capacity, skills, and deadlines
- - Overdue task reminders — AI sends follow-ups on missed deadlines
- - Weekly progress summaries — AI generates project progress reports per client
- - Workload balancing — AI monitors team utilization and recommends rebalancing
Client Management (5 Automations)
- - Client onboarding — New client triggers project setup, task creation, welcome email, kickoff scheduling
- - Client feedback collection — Automated surveys at project milestones
- - Client communication logging — All interactions logged in CRM automatically
- - Client health scoring — AI monitors engagement signals and flags at-risk clients
- - Contract renewal reminders — AI alerts you 30/60/90 days before renewal
Reporting & Analytics (4 Automations)
- - Automated client reports — AI pulls data from your tools and generates polished reports
- - Internal dashboards — Real-time visibility into agency KPIs
- - Campaign performance alerts — AI flags metrics that drop below thresholds
- - Time tracking reports — AI generates utilization and profitability reports per project
Financial Operations (3 Automations)
- - Invoice generation — AI creates invoices on milestones or recurring dates
- - Payment follow-up — Automated reminders for overdue payments
- - Expense categorization — AI categorizes expenses and flags anomalies
Sales & Pipeline (4 Automations)
- - Lead intake qualification — AI qualifies inquiries and routes to the right person
- - Discovery call prep — AI generates pre-call briefs with prospect research
- - Proposal follow-up — Timed follow-up sequences until you get a yes or no
- - Pipeline health monitoring — AI flags stale deals and reminds for follow-ups
How to Use This Checklist
Step 1: Audit Go through the list. Mark everything you're currently doing manually. Count the items.
Step 2: Prioritize Rank by impact. Which manual tasks eat the most time? Which ones cause the most problems when they're done inconsistently or forgotten?
High impact automations (start here): - Email reply drafting (saves 3+ hrs/day) - Task management automation (saves 1-2 hrs/day) - Client onboarding (saves hours per new client) - Reporting (saves hours per week)
Medium impact (phase 2): - AI OBM / project monitoring - Meeting notes to tasks - Invoice automation - Slack management
Lower impact but nice to have (phase 3): - Social media automation - Client health scoring - New hire onboarding - Expense categorization
Step 3: Implement Don't try to automate everything at once. Start with 3-5 high-impact automations. Get them running smoothly. Then add more.
Typical timeline: - Week 1-2: Email + ClickUp automation - Week 3-4: Client onboarding + reporting - Month 2: AI OBM + meeting automation + invoicing - Month 3: Everything else
Step 4: Measure Track hours saved per week. Before automation and after. The numbers will justify continued investment and help you identify what to automate next.
The Math
If you automate just the top 10 items on this checklist, the typical agency saves 16-27 hours per week. That's 1-3 extra team members worth of output without a single hire.
The Bottom Line
You don't need to automate everything. You need to automate the things that eat the most time and cause the most problems when done manually.
Start with the top of this list. Work your way down. Every automation you implement gives you time back that never comes back out.
Print this checklist. Stick it on your wall. Check things off as you automate them. That's your roadmap to an agency that runs itself.