Sony Surana

AI automation consulting · Mumbai, India

Automate the busywork. Keep the judgement.

I design and deliver AI automation that removes repetitive work across sales, finance, HR and operations — reading documents, routing approvals, updating your CRM and ERP, and answering customers on WhatsApp — with humans in the loop where it matters.

In shortAI automation combines workflow automation (integrations, rules and RPA) with AI models that can read, write, classify and decide. Sony Surana, a Mumbai-based AI automation consultant, audits your processes, finds the highest-ROI workflows, builds the automations on platforms such as n8n, Microsoft Power Automate, Zapier, Make or UiPath, or as custom code, and connects them to your ERP, CRM, email, WhatsApp and intranet.

Use cases

What we can automate first

Document & invoice processing

Extract data from invoices, POs, KYC documents and forms; validate it and post it to Tally, SAP or your ERP automatically.

WhatsApp & email assistants

AI that answers, qualifies leads, books appointments and escalates to a human with the full context.

Approval workflows

CapEx, OPEX, vendor onboarding and leave approvals with AI summaries, smart routing and reminders.

Sales & CRM automation

Enrich leads, score them, draft follow-ups and keep the CRM up to date without manual entry.

Reporting on autopilot

Daily and weekly MIS reports compiled, summarised in plain language and delivered to inboxes or Teams.

HR & onboarding

Resume screening support, onboarding checklists and a policy assistant on your intranet.

How it works

The automation audit

A short, fixed-scope engagement that tells you exactly what to automate, how, and what it will save.

  1. Map

    Shadow teams and map current workflows, volumes and handoffs.

  2. Measure

    Time, cost and error rate per process, today.

  3. Design

    Automation blueprint: tools, integrations, human checkpoints.

  4. Build

    Deliver the first automations and test with real data.

  5. Run

    Monitor, alert, improve — and report hours saved.

Comparison

RPA vs AI automation vs AI agents

ApproachBest forLimits
Rules & RPAStable, repetitive, structured tasks (copying data between systems)Breaks when screens or formats change; cannot read unstructured text
AI automationWorkflows with documents, emails and free text that need classification or extractionNeeds validation steps and clear human checkpoints
AI agentsMulti-step goals: research, decide, act across several toolsNeeds strong guardrails, permissions and monitoring

Most organisations get the best results from a mix of all three. Learn more about AI agents.

Stack

Tools I work with

  • n8n
  • Microsoft Power Automate
  • Zapier
  • Make
  • UiPath
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic Claude
  • Google Gemini
  • Azure AI
  • Open-source LLMs
  • WhatsApp Business API
  • Microsoft 365 & Teams
  • Google Workspace
  • Tally & SAP
  • Zoho & Salesforce
  • ASP.NET & MS SQL
  • Python

FAQ

AI automation — common questions

What is AI automation?

AI automation uses artificial intelligence together with workflow tools to complete tasks that normally need a person — reading documents, understanding emails, drafting replies, classifying requests and updating systems — so teams spend time on decisions instead of data entry.

Which business processes should we automate first?

Start with high-volume, rules-heavy work that involves documents or repetitive communication: invoice processing, customer queries, approvals, report generation and CRM updates. An automation audit ranks them by hours saved and ease of implementation.

Is AI automation safe for financial and customer data?

Yes, when designed properly: role-based access, data masking, audit logs, human approval for sensitive actions, and private or self-hosted models where data residency matters. Every automation includes these safeguards.

Do we need to replace our existing software?

No. AI automation connects to the systems you already have — ERP, CRM, email, WhatsApp, intranet and spreadsheets — through APIs, connectors or, where needed, RPA.

How quickly will we see results?

The first automations typically go live within a few weeks of the audit, and savings are measured from the first month by comparing processing time and error rates with the baseline.

Automation audit

Which of your workflows could run themselves?