---
title: "Not Everything Needs AI: A Guide to Deterministic vs Intelligent Workflows"
subtitle: "A framework for splitting deterministic scoring from AI-powered analysis to control costs and risk."
author: "Kerrigan Baron"
author_url: "https://markwright.app/feed/author/kerrigan-baron"
author_linkedin: "https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerriganbaron/"
platform: "Markwright"
platform_url: "https://markwright.app"
publisher: "Markwright"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
date_published: "2026-06-20T12:02:44.312+00:00"
date_modified: "2026-06-20T12:02:45.003661+00:00"
canonical_url: "https://markwright.app/feed/not-everything-needs-ai-a-guide-to-deterministic-vs-intelligent-workflows"
topic: "ai-implementation"
secondary_topics: []
claim_type: "experience"
expertise_basis: "MACH & AI consulting expert with over 20 years of enterprise experience"
cite_as: "Kerrigan Baron, 'Not Everything Needs AI: A Guide to Deterministic vs Intelligent Workflows,' Markwright, 2026. https://markwright.app/feed/not-everything-needs-ai-a-guide-to-deterministic-vs-intelligent-workflows"
---

# Not Everything Needs AI: A Guide to Deterministic vs Intelligent Workflows

_A framework for splitting deterministic scoring from AI-powered analysis to control costs and risk._

When we built the MACH & AI Readiness Assessment at Fidget Labs, we made a deliberate choice. The scoring engine is 100% deterministic. Mathematically locked. No AI involved. No token cost. No hallucination risk.

AI only shows up when it's time to generate your personalized analysis. That's the moment where interpretation and context matter. That's where intelligence earns its cost.

This is the split most teams aren't making. And it's why their token budgets are on fire.

The new article on Focal Point walks through the full framework. Deterministic vs AI-powered. When to use each. What AI Runaway actually looks like. And the guardrails that keep things from going full crayon-on-the-walls.

Because there's a real difference between an AI strategy and an AI expense.

[https://fidgetlabs.io/focal-point/deterministic-vs-ai](https://fidgetlabs.io/focal-point/deterministic-vs-ai)
#AIEnablement #MACH #AIStrategy #Composable