Building the Business Case for AI

Making the Case

Leadership doesn't care about AI. They care about outcomes. Your job is to translate AI capabilities into business language: time saved, costs reduced, revenue increased, risks mitigated.

The Framework

Start with the problem, not the technology. Don't say "we should use AI." Say "we're spending 200 hours per month on manual data entry, and here's how we can cut that by 80%."

Building Your Case

Step 1: Audit current processes Map out where your team spends time. Identify repetitive, manual, or time-intensive tasks. Step 2: Quantify the cost Hours per week × hourly cost × 52 weeks = annual cost of the current process. Step 3: Identify the AI solution Be specific about which tool and how it would work. Not "AI could help" but "Claude for Business at $30/user/month would allow the team to draft reports in 20% of the current time." Step 4: Calculate the ROI Cost of tool vs. time saved. Include implementation time as a cost. Most AI tools pay for themselves within 1-2 months. Step 5: Address risks proactively Data privacy, accuracy, change management. Show you've thought about what could go wrong.

The One-Pager

Put it all in a single page:
• •Problem (2 sentences)
• •Current cost (1 number)
• •Proposed solution (2 sentences)
• •Expected savings (1 number)
• •Investment required (1 number)
• •Timeline (1 sentence)
• •Risks and mitigation (3 bullets)