Operations
AI for SOPs and process documentation
Record an expert explaining or doing the task, or interview them for 20–30 minutes. Transcribe it and ask AI to turn it into a standard operating procedure with purpose, scope, safety notes, numbered steps and checks. The expert reviews and corrects it, and someone new follows it once. Store the approved version in one place with an owner and a review date.
Effort:
Low
Time saved:
Often 40–60% less writing time per SOP; measure it in a pilot
The problem today
Know-how sits in the heads of a few experienced people. When they are on leave or retire, production slows down, new staff learn by watching, and quality varies between shifts.
How it works, in plain words
Imagine an interviewer who hears your most experienced person explain a task, then writes a clear manual for the next new hire.
What goes in: a recorded walkthrough, screen recording or interview with the person who knows the task, plus your SOP template.
What the AI does: it turns the messy transcript into a structured draft: purpose, scope, roles, materials, safety notes, numbered steps, checks and what to do when things go wrong.
What a person checks: the expert reviews every line, and the responsible person signs off safety, quality and legal steps. Then someone less experienced follows it once.
What comes out: an approved SOP in one place, with an owner and review date.
It can add plausible steps nobody mentioned. It also cannot capture know-how the expert never says out loud, so good interview questions matter.
How it could work for businesses like yours
Illustrative examples, not client case studies.
A 35-person packaged snacks producer in Serres
Two senior operators know how to set up the packing line for each product, and other shifts call them when something goes wrong. The company would record each operator explaining one changeover, have AI draft the SOP, and get the production manager to sign off safety steps. They would track changeover errors and calls to the senior operators.
A 5-person social media agency in Xanthi
Only the founder knows the full steps for onboarding a new client and scheduling their first month of posts. The agency would record a screen walkthrough, turn it into a checklist-style SOP and ask a new junior to follow it once. A realistic first target could be a new hire onboarding a client with no more than a few questions.
A 16-person e-shop warehouse in Aspropyrgos
Picking, packing and returns are taught by shadowing, and quality varies between morning and evening shifts. The team would interview the warehouse lead, draft SOPs for the three most common tasks and post short versions at each station. They would measure packing errors and returns caused by wrong items over the next quarter.
How to do it, step by step
Pick 3–5 processes that cause the most questions, errors or training time. Start with one that matters but is not safety-critical.
Capture the knowledge: a recorded walkthrough on the shop floor, a screen recording, or an interview with prepared questions. Ask explicitly about exceptions and common mistakes.
Transcribe it and ask AI for a draft in a fixed template: purpose, scope, roles, tools and materials, safety notes, numbered steps, quality checks and what to do when something goes wrong.
The expert reviews the draft line by line. Safety, quality and legal steps need sign-off from the responsible person, whatever the AI wrote.
Test it: a less experienced colleague follows the SOP without help while the expert watches. Fix every point where they hesitate.
Publish it in one shared place with version, owner and next review date. Ask AI for a one-page checklist and, if needed, an English version that a fluent speaker checks.
Tools to consider
ChatGPT or Claude: strong at turning messy transcripts into structured, readable procedures. Caveat: they can add plausible steps nobody said, so the expert must check every line.
Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word and Teams: drafts procedures from meeting transcripts and existing files. Caveat: transcription must be switched on and files reasonably organised.
Notion AI: drafts and maintains procedures in a wiki the team can search. Caveat: it only helps if people actually open Notion at the workstation or desk.
Loom: records screen walkthroughs and generates summaries and written steps. Caveat: best for software tasks and less useful for physical work on machines.
Data protection and GDPR
Recordings of experts at work include their voice and image, so tell them how the recordings will be used and stored, and delete raw footage once the SOP is approved. Avoid filming other workers or customers in the background. Do not reuse these recordings to assess anyone's performance; that is a different purpose and needs its own legal check. Keep confidential recipes, settings and process details in business tools with a data processing agreement. An AI draft never replaces your occupational health and safety duties, so involve your safety officer in any safety procedure.
Mistakes to avoid
Publishing AI drafts without the expert's line-by-line review.
Writing SOPs that nobody can find, or that are never updated after the process changes.
Starting with a safety-critical process before the method is proven.