Two years from now, a new AI tool will be released.

And it’s going to completely transform the way your business runs.

With this tool, you’ll be able to onboard your clients, manage your marketing and plan your workloads, without you having to do a thing.

There’s just one catch: it needs crystal-clear instructions specific to your business to work.

While your competitors scramble to document processes they should have sorted years ago, you’re feeding your team’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) into the tool, watching it automate entire workflows in minutes.

SOPs have been sold as the key to building a business that “runs like clockwork.” They give you the power to:

Onboard new hires and clients faster.
Maintain quality and consistency as you scale.
Create a business that doesn’t rely on you for every little thing.

But this is purely scratching the surface.

With the rise of AI only just beginning, SOPs are about to become non-negotiable for staying ahead.

The problem now, is that the thought of spending hours creating detailed SOPs probably makes you want to shut your entire business down.

You’re not alone.

Most growing business owners feel exactly the same.

So today, I’m going to show you how to cut your SOP creation time down from hours to minutes, with a little help from ChatGPT.

Start at level one, and work your way up - one SOP at a time.

Level 1: Create Your MVSOP

When you’re scrolling Instagram today, you see reels, DMs, stories, and ads.

But when Meta first launched the app, it was just a basic platform for uploading photos.

In the SaaS world, this is called an MVP - Minimum Viable Product.

It’s the simplest, most efficient version of something that gets the job done.
We’re going to do the same thing, and create your Minimum Viable SOP (MVSOP):

MVSOP: A simple, streamlined process document that’s fast to create and effective to use.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Choose your task

To be honest, most people get stuck at this very first step. Your business does so much, where do you even begin?

Start with one high impact task.

Something you do every day or can’t afford to mess up.

These are what I call “power steps.” They’re essential for keeping your business running smoothly and bringing in revenue. Examples include:

Sending invoices.
Running a sales call.
Onboarding new clients.

This will give you the highest return for your time.

2. Record yourself doing that task

Trying to map out a process from memory almost never works.

Instead, record yourself completing the task in real time.

Use Loom or Zoom to capture your screen and talk through what you’re doing as if you’re explaining it to an intern. You’ll naturally include all the little details that often get overlooked.

3. Generate a transcription

Video recordings are not SOPs.

No one will ever watch a 20 minute video to check one small detail, especially in a busy, growing team.

So, once your recording is done, convert it into text using your tool’s transcription feature, or a platform like Otter.ai.

This will give you a text version of your process that’s easy to edit.

4. Draft the SOP using AI

This is where the magic happens. Use this ChatGPT prompt to turn your transcript into a streamlined SOP:

"You are a small business systems expert with a skill for creating highly effective, easy to follow SOPs for busy teams. Here’s the transcript for [insert task name]. Create an SOP for this task in dot point form with the following components: Purpose, Outcome, Start Trigger, Step-by-Step Instructions, Stop Trigger, FAQs.”

5. Store your SOP where it’ll be used

Here’s where SOPs get such a bad rap.

Teams spend hours creating their SOPs, only to save them as a word or google doc buried in a folder no one will open.

If you want your team to follow your processes, you need to remove any and all friction.

To do this, integrate it into your project management tool (like ClickUp or Asana). Attach it to task templates or create a centralised SOP hub.

If you don’t have a project management system, Notion is a great alternative.

In less than an hour, you’ll have a functional SOP your team can start using immediately.

Level 2: Optimise Your SOP

Once you’ve created your core MVSOPs, it’s time to find quick wins to make your existing process run even smoother.

There’s three extremely effective ways to do this:

1. Ask ChatGPT for improvements

Copy and paste your SOP into ChatGPT with the prompt:

"Brainstorm five low-effort ways to improve this process"

The insights might surprise you (and at the very least, give you some initial ideas).

2. Borrow from the best

Look to other businesses for inspiration.

Businesses in your industry are an obvious choice, but also think outside the box.

A construction company’s project planning process might inspire better workflows for your marketing agency - and could give you a unique point of differentiation.

3. Introduce your team

Go straight to the people actually executing the process on a daily basis. Your team will bring the most practical, impactful improvements to optimise your SOPs.

Ask them:

“What’s one step in this process that feels harder than it should?”
“If you could change one thing, what would it be?”

These small improvements will compound across your business, saving you time and money, elevating your client experiencing, and building a more productive, happy team.

Level 3: Add the Human Touch

Now that you’ve created a solid SOP, it’s time to make it practical and engaging for your team. AI is efficient, but a dry, text-only document isn’t exactly fun or easy to follow

These human elements can help:

1. Add Visuals

Screenshots, video clips, or flowcharts can make processes clearer, allowing your team to check that they’re on the right track as they progress.

If you’re documenting how to use a specific software, include annotated screenshots of key steps.

2. Create a consistent SOP template

Have you ever gone to your normal grocery store, but in a different shopping centre?

Even with the same products, the same branding and music… it’s disorientating, and your shop takes 10 minutes longer than usual.

When all your SOPs are structured slightly differently, you’re creating the same effect.

Consistent SOPs mean that anyone on your team can pick up an SOP and immediately know how to use it.

Remember, the easier you can make your SOPs to use, the better.

3. Add a process map

For more complex SOPs, especially those with multiple paths or decision points, visualise your process.

Use Tools like Miro or Lucidchart to show how each step connects in a clear diagram, and embed this in your SOP so it can easily be referenced and updated.

Level 4: Make it part of your workflow

The best SOP in the world is still useless if it’s sitting in a folder no one opens.

To turn your SOPs into true assets for your business, they need to live in the tools your team uses every day.

When you integrate SOPs into your project management system (like ClickUp, Asana, or Monday) you do three things:

Reduce Resistance: Your team doesn’t have to dig through folders or chase down documents. The process is right there when and where they need it.
Ensure consistency: With SOPs embedded into task templates, your team won’t accidentally skip steps or miss details. It’s all clearly laid out for them.
Streamline Training: New team members can get straight into tasks, following the process along the way, instead of spending their first week reading through all your SOPs.

So, how do you actually do this?

Create Task Templates

In your project management tool, create task templates for recurring processes. Each template should include:

Subtasks: Break the SOP into smaller steps your team can check off as they complete them.
Attachments: Upload the full SOP document or a link to its location in your SOP hub.
Assignees and Deadlines: Pre-assign team members and set default timelines for tasks to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Imagine you’re onboarding a new client. Instead of a vague “Onboard new client” task, you’d have a template with subtasks like:

Send welcome email (include template link).
Set up client project folder (link to folder template).
Schedule onboarding call (link to guide on using your scheduling software).

When the time comes, simply use the template and assign it to the relevant team member.

Use Checklists for Small, Repetitive Tasks

For less complex SOPs, like “Uploading a youtube video,” you might not need a full-blown task breakdown. Instead, create a simple checklist within your task.

Checklists reduce mental load and make it easy for your team to complete routine tasks without missing any details.

Here’s why this work so well.

If your team member has been onboarding clients for six months, they think they know the process inside out. They won’t bother checking the SOP saved in a Google Drive folder.

But just one time, they forget to send a follow-up email with the contract link, the delays start, and the client decides to pull out of the deal.

This is where integrated SOPs are so powerful.

An “Onboard New Client” task template in ClickUp automatically includes all the steps, deadlines, and resources they need.

The contract email step is right there as a subtask, with a link to the email template for quick access.

They check it off and move on. No missed steps.

By integrating SOPs into your team’s daily workflows, they become resources that are used consistently - rather than just documents.

This is how you build consistency, reduce errors and save time across your entire business.

You should not be spending hours creating a single SOP.

Start with your Minimum Viable SOPs
Optimise as you go
Add the human touches that make them easier to follow
Integrate them into your daily workflows.

Not only will you save time now, but you’ll also set your business up for future success - whatever new tech comes your way.

Create SOPs in Minutes using ChatGPT (A Guide for Busy Business Owners)