AI offers really good potential to streamline day-to-day tasks, improve accuracy, and deliver insights for faster, smarter decision-making.
As discussed in the above webinar video, here are a few recommend tools:
Operations:
Project Management and task automation
- In areas like project management and task automation, AI can be really effective. Many agencies already use tools for project management, but platforms like Monday.com and Asana have integrated AI features that help on the automation side. For example, AI can assist in prioritising tasks, tracking time, automated reminders. If you’re managing a large campaign, these small automations can really help keep everything running smoothly. Monday.com, in particular, has been investing a lot in integrating AI to make workflows easier.
Resource allocation and forecasting
- On the resource allocation and forecasting side, this is an area where a lot of agencies struggle, but AI can add real value. A good example is Forecast App - it’s a tool that helps agencies optimise team schedules and predict project timelines. If AI detects an upcoming busy season, it might suggest reallocating resources or hiring extra staff, helping to avoid bottlenecks.
Client communication and reporting
- Then there’s client communication. Crystal, for example, is a useful tool analyses a client’s comms style and suggests ways to tailor messages or presentations to be more effective.
- Lots of these on the ops and finance side are tools that didn’t that didn’t start out as an AI solution, more so just productivity solutions, but they’ve added AI features to improve productivity and efficiency.
Finance:
Expense tracking and budgeting
- AI is strong in areas like budget management and expense tracking. Divvi is a good example of a tool that sends real-time budget alerts if you’re approaching your spending limits, so you don’t have to double-check every transaction. That’s naturally going to help keep projects within budget.
Invoicing and payments
- On the invoicing and payment side, Tipalti is a pretty useful tool for automating these processes, especially if you have multiple clients with different billing requirements.
Financial forecasting and scenario planning
- In terms of financial forecasting and scenario planning, while at Milestone we don’t use many forecasting tools directly as we believe that when you have someone experienced in corporate finance who’s skilled in Excel, working alongside a strong management team with a clear vision, you’re set up to create highly accurate and reliable forecast models. But someone like Anaplan is good for scenario planning. So, instead of having to duplicate everything in Excel and tweak all the variables and make sure it all lines up, Anaplan lets you do detailed scenario planning at speed. I would say it’s probably best suited for larger businesses with complex models.
To discuss this topic in more detail over a Zoom call or coffee, please connect with Tom Blah @ tom.blah@milestoneadvisory.co.uk
