AI Opportunity Inventory
This worksheet gives you one place to list every process you're considering for automation, alongside its volume, time, cost, and how much real evidence you already have about it. Filling it in before you fund anything turns a list of hunches into a comparable, prioritized set of candidates.
Download the CSV, list each candidate process in its own row with owner, annual volume (items per year, which is what the AI ROI calculator expects), time per item, loaded cost, pain points, an estimated automation share, whether you have real evidence or data for it, and a 1-5 priority score. Sort by priority to see which candidates are worth scoping first.
On this page
At a glance
- One worksheet, every candidate workflow in one place, so you compare options instead of chasing whichever one was pitched most recently.
- Forces the same five facts for every candidate: owner, volume, cost, evidence, and a priority score — nothing gets funded on vibes alone.
- A blank editable CSV, not a filled-in report: every number in the example row is illustrative, not a benchmark.
Who this is for
This is for anyone who has more automation ideas than certainty about which one to fund first: an operations lead building a shortlist, an executive comparing pitches from different teams, or a consultant scoping engagement priorities with a client.
It's a starting worksheet, not a scoring algorithm. Once you've narrowed to a short list, size the strongest candidates with the AI ROI calculator, or bring the whole inventory to a 360° AI Blueprint for a ranked, organization-wide pass.
What's inside
One row per candidate process. The columns:
| Process / Workflow | Owner | Annual volume | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXAMPLE: Invoice exception review | AP Team Lead | 14400 | 4 |
The full download also has loaded cost per hour, a free-text pain-points column, a yes/no for whether you have real evidence or historical data on the process, and a notes column. It's a CSV, so it opens directly in Excel, Sheets, or Numbers — no macros, nothing to enable.
Download the AI opportunity inventory (CSV)Do I need every column filled in to get value from this?
No. Even just process name, owner, and volume across your candidates is usually enough to see which ones are worth a closer look.
Is the example row a typical result?
No — it's a plausible, made-up example to show the format. Every number is yours to set.
Can I add my own columns?
Yes, it's a plain CSV you fully control. Add or remove columns to match how your organization already tracks this kind of work.
Next step
Once you've ranked your list, the next step is sizing the strongest candidate with real numbers, or getting a second opinion on the ranking itself.
Related: model the strongest candidate with the AI ROI calculator, or pair this worksheet with the AI project business case template once you've picked one to fund.