AI Agent Planning Template: Client Intake Worksheet

1. 1People and workflow
2. 2Systems and evidence
3. 3Constraints and unknowns

An honest unknown is a useful input. Bring sanitized examples and name the questions still open.

This AI agent planning template is a short intake worksheet you can send to anyone with an AI idea. They share plain-language context; Instant Chat then asks the follow-ups.

Use this with a friend, coworker, client, or anyone else you want to build a Canvas for — someone who has an AI idea but hasn't shaped it into an Agentic AI Canvas yet. It is intentionally short: they should share plain-language context, then Instant Chat can ask follow-up questions and guide the normal Canvas creation flow.

Download the fillable Word worksheet

What to send the client

Ask the client to complete the downloadable worksheet before the discovery call or workshop. Tell them:

• Short bullets are better than polished answers.
• Write unknown when they are not sure.
• Bring sanitized examples to the discovery discussion: process notes, policies or sample inputs can be useful. This worksheet does not imply an in-app uploader for every attachment type.
• The worksheet is not the final Canvas. It is starter context for Instant Chat.

The few questions that matter most

Answer these first. Everything else on this worksheet is optional extra context — Instant Chat can ask for it later if it turns out to matter.

1. What you want to improve

• What process, decision, workflow, or repeated activity should AI help with?
• Why is this important now?

2. How it works today

• Who starts the process, and what steps happen today?
• Where do delays, rework, errors, or bottlenecks happen?

3. Desired outcome

• What should be better after the first version exists?
• What metrics, volume, time, cost, error, or quality signals do you already track?

4. Smallest useful first version

• Which users, regions, products, cases, or workflow steps should be included first?
• What should be intentionally out of scope?

Optional extra context

Fill in whatever you already know. Leave the rest blank or write unknown — Instant Chat will ask for it if it's needed.

Organization and team

• Organization name, primary contact, team or department, industry, location, and best follow-up contact.

People and approvals

• Who would use the solution?
• Who owns the current process?
• Who approves changes?
• Who needs to review, monitor, or be informed?
• Who could slow adoption if they are not included early?

Systems, data, and documents

• What systems, documents, spreadsheets, tickets, emails, websites, dashboards, or knowledge sources are involved?
• Is any information sensitive, regulated, confidential, customer-specific, or personally identifiable?

AI behavior and guardrails

• What should AI help do: summarize, classify, search, draft, recommend, decide, route work, monitor exceptions, or coordinate steps?
• What should AI never do without human review?
• What examples of good or bad outputs can you share?

Risks and constraints

• What could go wrong if AI gives a poor answer or takes the wrong action?
• What legal, compliance, privacy, security, budget, timeline, staffing, vendor, or technical constraints should be considered?

Helpful attachments or links

• Process notes, SOPs, policies, sample inputs and outputs, reports, dashboards, workflow diagrams, system maps, screenshots, prior AI experiments, or relevant websites.

Using answers in Instant Chat

Start Instant Chat with the client's own words from the worksheet. Let Instant Chat ask the next best follow-up question, then continue until the opportunity is clear enough to create a Canvas.

A simple starter message is:

I have client intake notes for an AI opportunity. Help me clarify the strongest first use case, ask
only the next highest-priority follow-up question, and help me decide when there is enough context
for a first Canvas draft. Keep missing workflow, people, systems and risk information explicit.

[Paste the completed worksheet here]

Ready to create the Canvas?

Before moving from Instant Chat into Canvas creation, review what you know about these six questions and which answers are still missing:

1. What specific workflow or decision is being improved?
2. Who uses, owns, approves, and is affected by the workflow?
3. What data, knowledge, systems, and integrations are involved?
4. What outcome and success measures matter most?
5. What risks, constraints, and human-review requirements shape the solution?
6. What is the smallest useful first version?

If an answer is still missing, keep it visible as an open question instead of inventing it. The Canvas can be created with gaps as long as those gaps are clear and reviewed.

If you are not sure the idea is worth a Canvas yet, read choosing the right agentic AI use case and run the agentic AI readiness checklist. The implementation plan shows where the answers end up, and how the app works walks through the rest.

Frequently asked questions

What is the client intake worksheet for?

It gathers plain-language context from someone who has an AI idea but has not yet shaped it into a Canvas. They fill it in before a discovery call or workshop, and you then use their answers to start Instant Chat.

How should the client fill it in?

Short bullets are better than polished answers, and they should write "unknown" when they are not sure. Sanitized examples such as process notes, policies or sample inputs are useful to bring to the discussion.

Is the worksheet the finished Canvas?

No. It is starter context for Instant Chat, which asks the next follow-up question and guides the normal Canvas creation flow.

What if some answers are missing?

Keep them visible as open questions instead of inventing them. The Canvas can be created with gaps as long as those gaps are clear and reviewed.

What should an AI project intake form include?

The change you want, how the work happens today, the outcome you want and the smallest useful first version. Those four are enough to start. Everything else, such as people, systems and constraints, is optional and can be filled in later.

Is the worksheet a Word file?

Yes. It is a downloadable, fillable Word worksheet. Fill it in before the call and use the answers to start Instant Chat.

Next: Canvas guide.