What is workflow data, and can your company license it?
Workflow data is how your team gets work done, captured step by step. What AI labs want from it, what counts, and how it differs from selling data.
Written by Jimmy Lin
, 2 min read
Workflow data is a record of how work gets done: the request, the steps, the tools used, the result and how it was checked. AI labs want it because agents learn from examples of real tasks done well, and most of those examples sit inside companies, not on the open internet. Yes, some companies can license theirs, and you keep your workflows and keep using them.
How it differs from company data
Company data is the records you already have: support tickets, chat threads, CRM history, documents. Workflow data is the process around those records. A support ticket is data. The way your team moves that ticket from the first message to the fix, including which tool they open, what they check and when they escalate, is a workflow.
Many companies have both, and you can license either or both. Each gets its own quote.
What counts as a workflow
A workflow is one task from start to finish that your team repeats. A month-end close. Onboarding a new client. Handling a refund. Triaging a bug report. The test is simple: could a new hire follow it, and does it leave a written record? If the answer to both is yes, a lab can learn from it.
Workflows can be split by department. Support, sales, finance and operations each run different processes, and a larger company can ask for a quote on each one.
Three ways to license a workflow
There are three forms, and which one fits depends on your industry. We agree it with you case by case, on a call.
Documented processes. Written procedures, playbooks and checklists that show how a task is done. This is the lightest form, because the writing already exists.
Recorded task runs. Your staff do a real task and the steps, inputs, outputs and review notes are captured.
AI-assisted tasks. Your staff do a real task with an AI tool, and the prompts, edits and corrections are captured. Labs value these because they show where an agent helps and where a person still has to step in.
What stays protected
Nothing is captured until you agree to a quote, and your staff agree before any of their work is captured. Client-held material is left out. Labs want how everyday work gets done, not your strategy or your pricing.
Personal information is removed by automated tooling, and trained human reviewers check the result. You then review a sample before anything is accepted. Licenses are never perpetual.
How to start
You answer a few basic questions about which workflows you run, which departments do them and which tools they use. You send no data and no files. We take a summary of your answers to several AI labs, then bring back the best quote and conditions for your needs. If you agree, we agree how the work is captured, and you decide from there.
The button below opens the short form. Choose workflows, or choose both if you also have data to license.
Questions people ask
Is this the same as selling my data?
No. Data is the records you already hold. A workflow is how your team does a task, written down or captured step by step. The form lets you choose data, workflows or both.
Do all my employees have to take part?
No. Who takes part and what is captured is agreed with you first, case by case. Nothing starts until you agree to a quote.
Does this give competitors my edge?
No. Labs want how everyday tasks get done, not your strategy. Confidential items are removed, people review the result, and you review a sample before anything is accepted.
What does it pay?
It depends on the workflow, the industry and how it is captured. You get a quote per workflow after the labs have looked, and a straight yes or no first if it is not a fit.