Your first automation probably isn’t the one you think.
Start with the work your people repeat every week. A practical guide to finding a useful first project.
Read articleIdeas & insights
Ahead of the curve.
Grounded in real work.
Practical thinking on AI, automation and what comes next for Australian businesses, plus the best stories we’ve found from other publishers.
Beyond the chatbot: AI that helps move work forward.
What changes when AI becomes part of a workflow, and why people still need a clear role.
Read articleNot ready for AI? You can still get ready for what’s next.
Why clearer processes, useful information and conversations with your team are a good place to begin.
Read articleWorth reading
What others are
doing with AI.
Stories and explainers we think are worth your time. Links open the original article on the publisher’s site.
Businesses using AI
Four small business owners on what AI does for them, day to day (opens in a new tab)
Owners of a coffee roaster and other small businesses use AI for food costing, rosters and admin. Their advice: start with one real problem and keep a person checking the output.
Australian
Australian legal-tech startup Sprintlaw halves staff with help of AI (opens in a new tab)
A voice agent takes client enquiries and briefs the firm’s lawyers. Client numbers doubled while lawyers still sign off on the work.
Australian
How artificial intelligence is changing business interaction with customers (opens in a new tab)
A law firm uses AI for document review and redaction, and Compare Club uses an assistant to match customers to policies.
Australian
How Me&u became an AI-first startup (opens in a new tab)
A small team rebuilt its reservations platform with AI coding tools and added a voice assistant that answers restaurant booking calls.
Australian
AI just made your bathroom remodel faster and cheaper (opens in a new tab)
A renovation company works out pricing, permits, stock and installer scheduling within about 30 seconds of a customer choosing a design.
What 1,000 small business owners taught us about AI (opens in a new tab)
A painting contractor uses AI to read blueprints and prepare bids, and a trucking compliance firm cut filing errors from 7% to zero.
Vendor story
Small businesses are getting more done with ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)
A family seed farm digitised decades of handwritten records and now logs loads by voice from the field.
Vendor story
Solo founders are using AI to do the work of entire teams (opens in a new tab)
One-person businesses running on AI agents, including where the agents fell short and a person had to step back in.
What AI can do today
Building effective AI agents (opens in a new tab)
The go-to explainer on the difference between workflows and agents, and why the simplest setup that works is usually best.
What is agentic AI, and how will it change work? (opens in a new tab)
A short, plain-English introduction to AI that plans and carries out multi-step tasks. May require a free HBR account.
Introducing the Model Context Protocol (opens in a new tab)
The open standard that lets AI assistants connect to business tools and data, and the basis for linking AI to your own systems.
Claude can now create and edit files (opens in a new tab)
AI turning raw data and instructions into finished spreadsheets, slide decks and documents.
Vibe working: Introducing Agent Mode and Office Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot (opens in a new tab)
Multi-step work inside Excel and Word, and first drafts of decks and documents from a conversation.
Piloting Claude in Chrome (opens in a new tab)
A browser agent that clicks and fills in websites for you, with a frank section on the security risks and safeguards.
Getting started safely
New guidance helps Australian businesses adopt AI safely and responsibly (opens in a new tab)
Six practices from the National AI Centre, plus free templates such as an AI policy and an AI register.
Australian
CSIRO releases playbook for smarter AI investment decisions (opens in a new tab)
How to decide which AI projects are worth the money, weighing return, risk, data readiness and rollout effort.
Australian
Unlock the power of AI for your business (opens in a new tab)
Points to the national tracker that shows how businesses like yours are using AI, by industry, size and location.
Australian
Are we ready to hand AI agents the keys? (opens in a new tab)
A balanced look at what can go wrong when agents act on their own, and why oversight matters.
Vendor stories are published by the AI company about its own customers.