Budget for the Recovery, Not Just the Automation

Before automating a service task, map what happens when the agent gets stuck—not only when it succeeds.

Try a recovery-path rehearsal on a small pilot. Choose a realistic case where a tool fails or the result is uncertain. Decide what the agent should stop doing, what work must be preserved, who can take over, and how service continues while the issue is resolved. Keep human approval in place for consequential actions until the team has evidence that the checks are dependable.

Then count the recovery work as part of the workflow’s ongoing cost: review, escalation, correction and maintenance all need an owner and available capacity. If the fallback quietly depends on someone already stretched thin, the automation may have moved the burden rather than reduced it. A useful pilot protects the service people rely on while testing whether the new method is worth keeping.