Do you need a person, automation, or something in between?

Use a virtual assistant when

• The task changes from case to case
• It requires judgment or context
• The systems are messy and not worth integrating yet
• The volume is too low to justify a build

Use automation when

• The trigger is clear
• The steps repeat
• Rules are stable
• The cost of a miss is manageable
• The systems can reliably exchange the needed information

Use both when

Automation can prepare the routine pieces and a person can handle the exceptions. That is often a better design than forcing the entire process into one camp.

Do not hire a person just to be middleware

If the job is mostly copying data from System A to System B all day, fix the handoff before adding headcount.