Digital Planning’s Agentic AI Pilot Fund is offering 10 businesses up to £5,000 each of fully-funded AI support.
To apply, you must meet all of the following requirements:
- £1 million+ turnover or 25+ employees
- A clearly defined workflow that needs fixing – where the right AI intervention can realistically save £50,000+ pa
- A reasonable view of what the current process costs in time and money
- Access to the systems and data on which the workflow runs.
Identifying the right problem
Not every inefficiency qualifies. Digital Planning is looking for one clearly defined operational problem, that is slowing business down.
Start by talking to managers across the business and putting a list together of repeated workflows. They’re closest to the day-to-day work and usually know which task slows the team down or gets complained about most.
For each item on the list, ask:
- How often does this task happen?
- How many people are involved each time?
- Roughly how many hours does it take?
- What would happen if the volume doubled tomorrow?
The strongest workflows for the fund are ones that repeat often and absorb hours of staff time each month, enough that fixing them would meaningfully free up capacity.
Digital Planning estimates the strongest candidates could save £50,000 a year or more once the process is fixed.
How places are awarded
The fund is aimed at professional and financial services, legal, accountancy and manufacturing firms, where manual processes are common and costly.
Businesses outside these sectors can still apply if they meet the turnover, headcount and savings criteria, however applications won’t be judged on the sector alone.
Digital Planning is not taking applications on a first-come, first served basis.
Places will be awarded based on potential business impact, meaning the businesses that can demonstrate the clearest, most costly problem with data stand the best chance of selection.
Co-founder James Ferraby said: “We’re not looking for businesses that want AI in general. We’re looking for one specific, costly problem we can actually fix.
“The businesses that get the most out of this fund are the ones that can point to a process and say exactly why it’s frustrating and how much it’s costing them.”
Businesses should be ready to describe the process in specific terms: how often it happens, how many people are involved, and roughly how much staff time it consumes each month. The clearer the case, the stronger the application
Applications for Round 1 at the end of September. Check eligibility and apply via Digital Planning’s Agentic AI Fund page.
