KNOWLEDGE / 08
Small-business AI workflow knowledge map
Understand the operating concept before connecting the tool.
Each page answers one practical question, shows the limits, links the source context, and connects the concept to a guide or recipe. The map is organizational, not personal, and is published by Small Business Tech AI.
01
What is a bounded AI workflow for a small business?
Bounded AI workflow
A bounded AI workflow gives a model one narrow drafting or classification task with approved inputs, a defined output, a named reviewer, explicit stop conditions, and a manual fallback.Open concept02What data should a small business allow into an AI workflow?
Approved data boundary
Allow only the minimum information needed for the task after the business has classified it, removed prohibited detail, and verified the provider's current handling, access, retention, training, and deletion terms.Open concept03What makes an AI prompt source-grounded?
Source-grounded prompt
A source-grounded prompt tells the model which approved material it may use, requires it to separate supplied facts from assumptions, defines the output format, and marks uncertainty instead of filling gaps.Open concept04Where should a human checkpoint sit in an AI workflow?
Human checkpoint
Place an active human approval immediately before the workflow sends, publishes, pays, changes access, records a decision, makes a promise, or affects a person.Open concept05What should make a small-business AI workflow stop?
AI workflow stop condition
Stop the workflow when an input is prohibited or incomplete, authority is missing, the output breaks its required structure, a material claim lacks support, uncertainty exceeds the review rule, or the consequence falls outside the approved trial.Open concept06How should a small business test an AI workflow before routine use?
Small-business AI evaluation set
Use a small dated set of representative fictional or approved examples, define pass, revise, and reject criteria before running them, preserve failures, and compare one meaningful workflow version at a time.Open concept07What evidence should a small business keep from an AI workflow?
Business-owned workflow evidence
Keep the approved recipe version, source rule, reviewer criteria, representative test results, observed failures, approval record where required, final business record, owner, and next review trigger in systems the business controls.Open concept08What makes a small-business AI pilot reversible?