A digital colleague is an AI employee who carries out recurring work in your existing systems: checking data, flagging deviations, logging tasks and following up. The difference with a stand-alone script or a chatbot: a digital colleague works like a real colleague. She has her own account, is assigned tasks, logs what she does and refers exceptions to a human.
We call ours Maaike
B/Focused already works with a digital colleague of its own: Maaike. She is set up as an employee in our ticket system and carries out work for various departments. In 2026 Maaike had already logged 73 tasks as tickets, each with what was done and what came out of it.
| Department | What Maaike does | When a human takes over |
|---|---|---|
| Backoffice | Comparing licences and devices with contracts, checking invoicing, flagging unused contracts | On a deviation, the responsible colleague gets a notification with the details attached |
| Centralized Services | Monthly review of the lifecycle of operating systems and network equipment, checks on back-ups and platforms | A ticket in the right queue |
| Marketing | Monthly check of our website for errors and dead links, recognising house styles for email signatures | Proposals are approved by a colleague first |
| Proactive support | Recognising recurring notifications, such as a disk that keeps filling up, and turning them into advice | The technician or account manager decides on replacement |
Why this works
- Nothing disappears from view. Every task is a ticket. What a digital colleague does is just as visible and discussable as the work of anyone else.
- It is measurable. Because every task is logged, you see how much work was done, what came out of it and where exceptions occurred.
- A human decides. The digital colleague works within agreed rules. If she is unsure, she refers it.
- Set up securely. Separate accounts per connection, only the rights that are needed, and everything within our information security policy.
A digital colleague for your organisation
What Maaike does for us, a digital colleague can also do for you. Many organisations spend hours every week on work that recurs often and follows fixed rules: checking invoices and contracts, keeping track of licences, transferring data between systems, compiling reports or following up notifications.
We start small and measurable:
- Inventory. Together we map out which work recurs often and how much time it costs.
- Trial with one process. We set up a digital colleague for one defined process, with clear rules for when a human takes over.
- Measure and expand. After a few weeks we look at what it has delivered. Only then do we choose the next process.
Frequently asked questions
Does a digital colleague replace my staff?
No. A digital colleague takes over the repetitive work: checking, comparing, logging and flagging. Your staff keep the decisions, the customer contact and the work that requires experience, and get more time for it.
What happens if the digital colleague is not sure about something?
Then she refers it to a human. Every exception reaches the responsible colleague as a ticket or notification, with the details attached. She does not make decisions outside the agreed rules.
How do I know what the digital colleague has done?
Every task is logged as a ticket in the ticket system, with what was done, the outcome and the time spent. This makes her work just as verifiable as that of a human colleague, and lets you measure what it delivers.
Is my data safe?
A digital colleague only gets the rights needed for her tasks, and a separate account per connection. Everything runs through systems we manage, which fall under our information security policy. We agree with you in advance which data she may see.
Which processes are suitable?
Work that recurs often, follows fixed rules and combines a lot of data from different systems. Think of checks on invoices, contracts and licences, reporting, flagging recurring faults and administrative follow-up.
Wondering which work in your organisation a digital colleague could take over? Plan an introduction, and we’ll look at your processes together.