An AI copilot layered on top of a broken handoff just automates the confusion faster. I have watched teams ship assistive features expecting them to compensate for process gaps that predate the AI entirely.
Fix the seam first
Before adding intelligence to a workflow, trace where information actually breaks between teams — sales to onboarding, support to product. That seam is usually a spreadsheet, a Slack thread, or a person's memory.
Automation can't patch a process gap — it just moves the gap somewhere less visible.
Close the seam structurally first. Then AI has something solid to build on.