---
title: "From AI demo to client process: seven gates"
description: "Where a demo demonstrably breaks down in a real client process, and which seven questions to answer beforehand."
source_name: "Gen8"
source_url: "https://gen8.app/en/kennis/zeven-gates-voor-consultants/"
site_home: "https://gen8.app/"
source_description: "Managed AI service for SMEs. We set up, connect and manage; you stay in control."
locale: "en"
authors:
  - name: "Sasker Soontiëns"
    url: "https://gen8.app/en/kennis/author/sasker-soontiens/"
copyright: "© 2026 Gen8 VOF · Dutch Chamber of Commerce 92978789 · Delft"
published_at: "2026-09-06T00:00:00.000Z"
modified_at: "2026-10-21T20:08:44.135Z"
---

# From AI demo to client process: seven gates

A demo proves it can be done. A client process proves it keeps working when input is messy, the user is in a hurry and nobody is watching. Seven gates stand between them.

By Sasker Soontiëns · September 6, 2026 · Decisions and control

## Why a demo predicts little

A demo runs on material you selected yourself: a tidy email, a complete transcript, a document without scans or signatures. A client process runs on whatever comes in that day. The difference between the two is where almost every automation project gets stuck, and the model is rarely what falls short.

So treat the step from demo to process as a series of gates rather than an implementation. Each gate is a question with an answer you can write down. If you cannot pass it, you know exactly what is missing.

## The seven gates

1. **Real input.** Does the workflow run on twenty random cases from the past month rather than selected examples? Deliberately include messy ones: forwarded chains, attachments without a text layer, unfinished sentences.
2. **An owner for each step.** Who reviews the proposal, who approves it, who intervenes if something goes wrong? A workflow without a name behind every step stops as soon as someone goes on vacation.
3. **The control level.** Does the workflow only read, propose with human approval, or execute with a log of every step? Choose this per step, not per project.
4. **The way out when uncertain.** What does the workflow do when it does not know? An explicit route back to a person is a functional requirement, not a nice afterthought.
5. **Permissions and visibility.** Can the workflow see everything the requester may see, and nothing more? Existing permissions remain authoritative; a connection that bypasses permissions solves one problem by creating a larger one.
6. **The log.** Can you see, for each run, which source was read, which proposal was made and what happened to it? Without that, you cannot investigate a deviation or change a control level based on evidence.
7. **The second time.** Can someone other than the builder set up the same workflow for a second client or department using only the configuration and documentation? If not, you have a demo with a longer lifespan.

## What to record for each gate

Keep it short: about three lines per gate. Which question, which answer, who provided it and on what date. That document is not a formality — at delivery, it is the only thing that still explains why one step may be automatic and another may not.

Gates you do not pass are just as valuable. A gate marked "not yet" is an explicit scope limitation rather than a surprise at the first failure.

## The order is not optional

Gates 1 and 2 always precede the rest. Choosing a control level for input you do not know, or devising a fallback without knowing who is at the other end, produces paperwork that gets ignored at the first exception. Gate 7 comes last and determines whether you have a solution or an assignment.

## What to do with this

Take the process you currently have in a demo and check gates 1 and 2 today: twenty real cases from the past month, and a name behind every step. What remains is the subject of a process discussion. For gate 3's control level, see [what an AI agent does in a business process](<https://gen8.app/en/kennis/wat-doet-een-ai-agent/>); those setting up these gates themselves can find the builder's perspective under [builders](<https://gen8.app/en/bouwers/>).

## Frequently asked questions

Can I skip gates if the client is in a hurry?

Yes, provided you write down which ones you skip and the consequences. A skipped gate is a deliberate scope limitation; a forgotten gate is a failure you cannot explain later.

How many real cases are enough for gate 1?

Twenty random cases usually already reveal which exceptions are structural. The point is not statistical certainty, but finding input you had not yet considered.

## Want to apply this to your own process?

Bring one process to a conversation. We assess suitability, risk and the cost of the first step.

[Book an introduction](<https://gen8.app/en/contact/>)

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