What it means
Process adjustments are the operational rewrites an AI deployment requires. The intake form changes because the agent needs three fields the old form did not capture. The escalation path changes because the agent handles tier-one queries and the team only sees tier-two. The morning team huddle changes because the dashboard now shows AI volume separately.
Without process adjustments, the AI is glued on top of a workflow that was not designed for it. With them, the workflow is rebuilt around the AI's strengths and the team's strengths together.
Why it matters
The biggest mistake in AI deployments is to add the agent without redesigning the work. The team ends up doing all their old work plus monitoring the agent, which is more work, not less. With proper process adjustments, the team's job is leaner and more interesting, not heavier.
Done well, process adjustments are what turn 'we have an AI agent' into 'we have a different operating model'.
Example
A clinic adjusts three processes when the AI booking agent goes live: the morning huddle drops the 'manual confirmations' agenda item, the front-desk SOP gets a 'when to override the agent' section, and the after-hours protocol changes (the agent now handles after-hours bookings, so the on-call nurse is no longer the booking person). Each is a small rewrite; together they reclaim 14 hours a week.