# Check whether a task is appropriate for AI before I start

A go/no-go screen that says, step by step, whether AI should do the work, assist you, or stay out, and why.

- Topic: Working with AI
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Legal, Write, Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/check-whether-a-task-is-appropriate-for-ai-before-i-start

## Prompt

```text
Help me check whether a task is appropriate for AI, and how far AI should be involved, before I start.

**The task:** [WHAT I NEED TO DO and the main steps - e.g. "write the quarterly vendor review and recommend which contracts to renew"]
**Inputs involved:** [documents, data, systems - note anything confidential, personal, or regulated]
**Who sees or relies on the result:** [e.g. "my director", "a customer", "published externally"]
**What happens if it is wrong:** [CONSEQUENCES - e.g. "minor rework", "financial loss", "legal exposure"]
**AI tools I am allowed to use:** [APPROVED TOOLS, or "not sure"]

For each step of the task, assign one verdict:
- **AI does it** (I review the result)
- **AI assists** (I lead, AI drafts, checks, or suggests)
- **Keep it human** (judgment, relationships, accountability, or data that should not go into AI)

Judge each step on: how verifiable the output is, the cost of an error, data sensitivity, whether it needs context only I have, and whether it involves a decision about people, money, or commitments.

Return:
1. A table: Step | Verdict | Why | What I must check afterwards.
2. **Decisions that stay mine** - the calls I should make myself, even if AI prepares the options.
3. **Safe to delegate** - the work I can hand over with light review.
4. **Stop signs** - anything in the inputs that should not go into an AI tool, or that needs approval first.
5. A one-line overall verdict: go / go with conditions / do not use AI for this.

Be candid when AI is a poor fit or when the time saved is not worth the checking. Follow my organization's AI policy where it is stricter than your advice.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "my director", "a customer", "published externally"
- APPROVED TOOLS, or "not sure"

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.