🧠 “We Don’t Have the Budget” — But AI Fixed the Problem Anyway

Last week, I got a message from a friend who works in government.

“We keep losing documents between departments. No visibility, no accountability. I suggested software. They shut me down before I could finish the sentence ‘We don’t have the budget for that.’”

I’ve heard this before. And I get it.

Public sector teams are under pressure to do more with less. The instinct is to avoid anything that sounds like “new tech” because it’s assumed to be expensive, complicated, and slow to roll out.

But it doesn’t have to be.

Here’s what I suggested and why this setup can be rolled out in a weekend with no engineers, no big budgets, and no headaches:

🧩 What’s the real issue?

Paper trails get messy:

• Documents are physically passed from desk to desk

• Things get misplaced, delayed, or lost entirely

• There’s no single view of where anything is at any point in time

And the result? Frustration, wasted time, and angry managers.

⚙️ Here’s the AI-powered, budget-friendly fix I proposed:

🎯 Step 1: Turn the handoff into a smart form → I recommended using Tally.so or Typeform to digitise how documents are handed from one department to another.
You can make the form feel like a concierge capturing who it’s from, what it’s about, and who it should go to next.

💡 Bonus: AI form fields can auto-categorise urgency, department, and document type.

🛠 Tools: Tally, Typeform

🔁 Step 2: Automate the routing and log every move → I suggested connecting the form to Make.com to build a drag-and-drop workflow that:

• Sends the file to the correct person or team

• Alerts the next department via email or Slack

• Logs the handoff with a timestamp in a Google Sheet

🛠 Tools: Make.com, Zapier

📩 Step 3: Summarise weekly movement → Each Friday, use ChatGPT or Claude to summarise the document logs into a one-page report showing:

• What documents were submitted

• Who handled them

• What’s still outstanding

🛠 Tools: ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Klu.ai

💬 Step 4: Optional Voice-Based Handoff Notes → For verbal teams, I suggested trying Fireflies.ai to record short audio notes when a document is passed, then transcribe and summarise them automatically.

🛠 Tool: Fireflies.ai

📊 Result (without any new headcount):

✅ Clear chain of custody
✅ Zero lost docs
✅ No custom software needed
✅ Full visibility across departments

And the total monthly cost? Less than £40.

🛠️ Tools of the Day

Here are 5 low-cost tools I recommended (or used myself) to fix this exact issue:

• 🧾 Tally.so – Smart, customisable form builder with AI assistance: tally.so

• 🔁 Make.com – Drag-and-drop automation builder, perfect for no-code routing: make.com

• 📹 Descript – Turn meeting notes or voice handoffs into text summaries & docs: descript.com

• 🌐 Browse AI – Monitor websites or portals for changes (great for public docs): browse.ai

• 🧠 Klu.ai – Secure AI search across internal documents, forms, and logs: klu.ai

📰 Today’s AI News

🧠 Shopify CEO: “No New Hires Unless AI Can’t Do It”

In a bold move that signals where the future of work is headed, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke just issued a company-wide directive:

✅ Every employee must now use AI in their workflow
📊 AI usage will be evaluated in performance reviews
🚫 No new hires unless managers can prove AI can’t do the job

The message is clear: If a machine can do it, a new human won’t be hired to.

Lütke’s reasoning? AI isn't a threat it’s a multiplier. And Shopify plans to fully lean in.

Whether you're running a startup or managing a team, this is a clear sign of what top-tier tech leaders now expect.

👉 Full story via WSJ

💬 Prompt of the Day

“You are a civil service workflow lead. Design a low-code, low-cost system for tracking physical and digital document movement across 4 departments using AI tools.”

Try it in GPT-4o or Claude and see what solutions you get then test them.

👥 Work With Us

At TalkAI Global, we help public and private sector teams:

✅ Identify low-hanging wins with AI
✅ Set up no-code workflows that actually solve real pain
✅ Train your team to run it without external consultants

→ Book a free 30-minute strategy call

🧠 That’s your Tuesday Dose.
AI doesn’t have to be expensive it just has to be smart.

— Michael A Ramsay