Going AI-native
How to teach AI how your business works
General information, not legal advice. Last checked 31 Oct 2026. Examples use a fictional business.
Most owners who try an AI tool hit the same wall. It doesn't know your prices, your policies or how you handle things, so every answer comes back generic and you end up re-explaining the business every time. The fix isn't a cleverer prompt. It's writing down how your business works, once, and keeping it current.
Why the answers come back generic
A general AI tool knows a lot about the world and nothing about your firm. Unless you give it your procedures, it fills the gaps with guesses that sound plausible.
When people say they want to "train AI on their business", they rarely need to build a model. What they need is for their own know-how to be written down in a form that people and software can both use.
What to write down
Start small. These six sections do most of the work.
| Section | What goes in | Example (fictional letting agency) |
|---|---|---|
| What you do, and for whom | Services, area, the clients you serve | "We manage residential lets for private landlords in Edinburgh." |
| Policies and timescales | The commitments you've made and the rules you follow | "We acknowledge a repair report the day it arrives." |
| Procedures | Step-by-step "how we do it" for common jobs | "Tenant reports a leak: ask these questions, judge the urgency, contact the landlord, then book a contractor." |
| Templates and tone | The messages you send and how you sound | Repair acknowledgement, delay notice, rent reminder (see repair update templates) |
| What always goes to a person | The lines you don't let anyone cross alone | Complaints, spend above an agreed limit, anything legal |
| What changed recently | New rules, prices, contacts or suppliers | "New plumbing contractor from November." |
Write the first version about whatever your most experienced person gets asked most often. That one page pays off even before any software is involved: new starters learn faster, and answers stop depending on who happens to pick up.
Where it should live
Keep it in one place, owned by one named person, with a review date on it. If there are three versions of a procedure, people follow the one they remember. For a template and a checking routine, see Writing SOPs with AI.
Keeping it current
When an answer or a draft is wrong, fix the source, not just the draft. Each correction to the written procedure improves every future answer. Reread the whole thing on a set day each month, because prices, contacts and rules change.
A pasted document vs know-how that gets used
Many owners paste a "business context" document into a chat tool at the start of each conversation. It helps, but it depends on someone remembering to do it, and the chat tool still only answers when asked.
The next step is know-how that a coworker uses every time, on real work, and shows you which procedure it followed. That's the difference between telling a tool about your business and having the routine work done your way.
How Lorework uses it
Lorework learns your procedures and templates and shows the sources behind each draft, so your team can check what it followed. It takes on scheduled and recurring work and keeps a record of what was done. You can require approval before it writes or submits anything.
Letting agencies in Scotland are the first trade it is built for. See Lorework for letting agents in Scotland.
Questions
Do I need to train my own AI model?
Almost never. What makes the difference is writing down how you work and keeping it current.
What should I write down first?
Whatever your most experienced person is asked most often, plus the list of things that always need a person.
How do I keep client data safe?
Keep personal data out of tools that aren't set up for business use, and check the data settings of any tool you use. The ICO publishes guidance for UK organisations. General information, not legal or qualified advice.
How often should I update it?
Whenever something turns out to be wrong, plus a scheduled monthly reread.