When to use AI

When to use AI

When to use AI matters because it defines where FirmAssist should use AI as a tool and where backend rules remain the main control.

In this module you define why the company adopts AI and what FirmAssist should do for employees — before writing the first line of code.

In depth

This topic separates what the model does well from what must remain deterministic PHP. For FirmAssist, that is the foundation for using AI on text, summaries, and classification while business rules, permissions, and critical state changes stay under strict server control.

Key points

• AI is strongest on unstructured text.
• The backend remains the source of truth for business rules.
• Useful first use cases are summaries, classification, and drafting.
• Cost and security must be part of the design from the start.

Practical example

A simple rule for when AI makes sense in FirmAssist.

function shouldUseAi(string $task): bool
{
    return in_array($task, ['summarize', 'classify', 'draft'], true);
}

var_dump(shouldUseAi('draft')); // true
var_dump(shouldUseAi('change_user_role')); // false

Common mistake

The mistake is treating AI as a replacement for business logic.

Summary

After this lesson you can decide where FirmAssist gets the most value from AI without introducing unnecessary risk.