Most teams don’t need “more AI.” They need one reliable AI worker that handles the same repeatable tasks every day—instantly, consistently, and without being asked twice.
This post shows you how to set up a practical “24/7 AI employee” in about 20 minutes: an always-available assistant that can answer common questions, draft outputs in your style, follow checklists, and escalate when it’s unsure.
No hype—just a simple setup you can actually use.
What a “24/7 AI Employee” Really Means
Let’s be clear: it’s not a human replacement. It’s a workflow assistant that’s great at:
-
answering FAQs based on your docs and policies
-
drafting emails, posts, replies, job ads, summaries
-
converting messy notes into clean structured formats
-
producing checklists, templates, and standard operating steps
-
triaging requests and routing complex issues to humans
The key is to give it boundaries, a role, and source material.
The 20-Minute Setup (Step-by-Step)
Minute 0–3: Pick ONE job (don’t overbuild)
Choose a single, high-frequency task. Great starting options:
-
“Turn notes into a publish-ready post”
-
“Answer customer FAQs”
-
“Summarize documents + extract action items”
-
“Create job ads from role details”
-
“Draft and polish internal emails”
Rule: If humans do it 10+ times a week, it’s perfect.
Minute 3–7: Create the “Employee Card” (its rules + voice)
Paste this and customize the brackets:
AI Employee Card (copy/paste):
-
Role: You are my [Content Ops Assistant / Support Triage Assistant / HR Drafting Assistant].
-
Goal: Produce outputs that are accurate, consistent, and on-brand.
-
Tone: [professional / friendly / newsroom / simple].
-
Constraints:
-
If unsure, ask up to 3 clarifying questions.
-
Never invent facts. If a fact is missing, say “Not provided.”
-
Follow the checklist exactly.
-
For anything sensitive, escalate to a human.
-
This becomes your assistant’s “job description.”
Minute 7–12: Add a checklist (the “SOP”)
AI performs best with a repeatable checklist.
Example SOP for content drafting:
-
Ask: target audience + platform + goal
-
Create 3 title options
-
Write outline (H2/H3)
-
Draft the post
-
Add examples
-
Tighten and simplify
-
Provide final copy + 5 key takeaways
Example SOP for customer support:
-
Restate the issue in one sentence
-
Check policy summary (provided below)
-
Give steps to resolve
-
Offer escalation path if needed
-
End with a short confirmation question
Minute 12–16: Give it “company knowledge” (minimal, but real)
You don’t need 100 pages. Start with a one-page knowledge base.
Include:
-
what your company does (2–3 lines)
-
your products/services
-
your policies (refunds, response time, escalation)
-
your preferred style/tone rules
-
examples of “good outputs”
The trick: Include 3–5 examples of your best work. AI learns your standard quickly.
Minute 16–18: Create templates it can fill
Templates remove ambiguity and save time.
Template: Email reply
-
Subject:
-
Greeting:
-
Summary of request:
-
Answer / steps:
-
What I need from you:
-
Next action + timeline:
-
Sign-off:
Template: Job ad
-
Title:
-
About the company:
-
Role summary:
-
Responsibilities:
-
Requirements:
-
How to apply:
Minute 18–20: Add an escalation rule (so it doesn’t cause damage)
This is what turns an AI into a safe “employee.”
Escalate when:
-
money, legal, HR, medical, security issues appear
-
the user is angry or threatening escalation
-
the request requires a real-world action or verification
-
the AI confidence is low due to missing facts
Escalation response example:
“I can help draft the response, but I need a human confirmation on [policy/number/date] before sending.”
The One Prompt That Runs the Whole System
Copy and use this as your “master prompt” whenever you start a task:
Master Prompt:
“You are my 24/7 AI employee. Follow the Employee Card and SOP below.
If any required info is missing, ask up to 3 questions.
If the task is sensitive, escalate.
Now complete this task: [PASTE TASK].
Employee Card: [PASTE]
SOP: [PASTE]
Company Knowledge: [PASTE]
Templates: [PASTE]”
This keeps outputs consistent—no matter who uses it on your team.
Real-Life Examples (What it looks like day-to-day)
Example 1: Content manager
Input: “Turn this messy meeting note into a 700-word post.”
Output: title options + outline + clean draft + takeaways + SEO snippet
Example 2: Support team
Input: “Customer says payment failed but money was deducted.”
Output: empathetic response + troubleshooting steps + escalation to finance queue
Example 3: HR / recruiting
Input: “Write a job description from bullet points.”
Output: structured JD + interview questions + scoring rubric
Mistakes to Avoid (They ruin the “AI employee”)
-
Trying to automate 20 tasks at once
-
No checklist (AI will improvise and drift)
-
No examples of your voice
-
Letting it guess facts
-
Using it on sensitive tasks without escalation rules
Final Takeaway
A “24/7 AI employee” isn’t magic. It’s role + rules + checklist + knowledge + templates.
Once you set those five pieces, you’ll get consistent output on-demand—without repeating yourself.
