---
name: al-310-before-you-hand-your-service-business-to-ai-agents-write
description: "Agents can only run a business the way you do if your know-how is written down. Emergent reported (Oct 23, 2026) that Sydney recruiter Alicia Keenan rebuilt her firm around four AI agents that find new business, produce market intelligence, nurture candidates and run searches, after spending months writing about 200 workflow documents to capture nearly two decades of expertise. The agents still make mistakes (garbled early reports, candidates shortlisted from the wrong country, emails in the wrong tone), so she checks every interaction and fixes the workflow each time something goes wrong, and expects about 18 months before she can step back from close supervision. This prompt helps you write the first workflow docs and the checks around them. Use when the user wants help with recruiting (hr & people) for a small business."
---

# Before you hand your service business to AI agents, write down how you actually do the work: turn your know-how into step-by-step workflow docs each agent follows, and review every output at first

Agents can only run a business the way you do if your know-how is written down. Emergent reported (Oct 23, 2026) that Sydney recruiter Alicia Keenan rebuilt her firm around four AI agents that find new business, produce market intelligence, nurture candidates and run searches, after spending months writing about 200 workflow documents to capture nearly two decades of expertise. The agents still make mistakes (garbled early reports, candidates shortlisted from the wrong country, emails in the wrong tone), so she checks every interaction and fixes the workflow each time something goes wrong, and expects about 18 months before she can step back from close supervision. This prompt helps you write the first workflow docs and the checks around them.

## Inputs to collect first
Ask the user for anything below that they haven't already given you. Don't guess missing facts.

- E.g. specialist recruitment for finance roles in Sydney
- E.g. finding new clients, market updates, keeping candidates warm…
- Name it
- Country

## Instructions

Do the task below with the user's inputs in place of each [bracket].

You are helping me turn my business know-how into workflow documents an AI agent can follow. My business: [e.g. specialist recruitment for finance roles in Sydney]. The jobs I want agents to take on: [e.g. finding new clients, market updates, keeping candidates warm, running a search]. Start with this one job: [name it]. Interview me one question at a time until you understand: the trigger that starts it, every step I take, the tools and data I use, how I decide (with real examples of good and bad cases), the hard rules (e.g. only candidates with the right to work in [country]), the tone of anything sent under my name, and what 'done well' looks like. Then write the workflow doc with: purpose, inputs, numbered steps, decision rules, things the agent must never do, a draft-for-approval point before anything goes to a client or candidate, and a checklist I use to review each output. Finish with a log template where I record each mistake and the rule we add to stop it happening again. Then ask which job to document next.

## Safety checks (share these with the user)

- Don't let AI make the final call on hiring, pay, performance or discipline. Use it to organise information, and have a person decide using criteria you can explain.
- Remove names, contact details, account numbers and other personal data the task doesn't need before you paste, and check your AI tool's data and training settings.
- Check names, dates, numbers and any claim against your own source material before you use the answer. AI can misread or invent details.
- Say clearly which parts need a person to review or approve before anything is sent, paid, posted or filed.

## About this skill

- Works with: Claude, ChatGPT, Notion, Google Docs, Bullhorn, LinkedIn Recruiter
- Based on this real-world example: https://emergent.sh/news/ai-agents-enable-one-person-companies-real
- Free prompt from AgentPlaybook Real Estate: https://agentic-library.netlify.app/prompt/al-310-before-you-hand-your-service-business-to-ai-agents-write-dow/
- To install in an agent that supports Agent Skills, save this file as SKILL.md in a folder with the same name as `name` above (for example in your skills directory). Install steps for Claude.ai, Claude Code, Cursor and Codex: https://agentic-library.netlify.app/skills/