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AI Software Requirements Guide

A practical requirements sheet for LLM assistants, AI coding, image and video, meeting notes, writing, voice, decks, sites, ads, and agents.

By Lee M.Updated Aug 18, 20266 min readFact-checked

Quick answer

Write AI requirements as jobs and evidence, not feature wishlists: primary job (LLM assistant vs coding vs image vs video vs meeting vs writing vs voice vs decks vs sites vs ads vs agents), must-have models or outputs, usage unit, stack integrations, admin/privacy, and who uses it weekly. Decision rule: every must-have must map to a weekly output and a plan, credit pack, GPU hour, or Copilot SKU you are willing to buy.

  • Primary job statement
  • Must-have outputs
  • Usage unit (seats / credits / GPU)
  • Integrations list
  • Admin / privacy gates
  • Roles & permissions

Key takeaways

  • Separate must from nice — If the team still operates without it for 90 days, it is nice-to-have.
  • Requirements own plan gates — SSO, custom GPTs, stealth stills, and Copilot add-ons imply a qualifying configuration — write that explicitly.
  • Clusters need their own sheet — LLM-assistant, AI-coding, and image-generation requirements should not pollute a single undifferentiated RFP.

1. Write three job statements

Capture: (1) who produces the output, (2) who needs visibility or admin, (3) which stack tools must connect — Microsoft 365, the IDE, Creative Cloud, or meeting tools.

Worked example: Harbor Labs wrote “Engineers complete multi-file refactors in the editor; the lead needs SSO without chasing seats; legal needs a privacy mode we can point to.”

2. Build a one-page score sheet

One-page AI requirements score sheet with must/nice columns and usage-unit gates.
One page beats a 40-row feature dump — every must-have needs evidence and a plan, credit, GPU, or Copilot SKU.

Columns: requirement, must/nice, evidence to collect in trial, qualifying plan/usage unit. Rows for LLM assistant, AI coding, image, video, meeting, writing, voice, presentations, website builder, ad creative, agents, integrations, admin.

This guide is the requirements surface for AI buyers on SoftwareGlimpse.

3. Name the job AI software should own

AI products are usable when the loop is explicit: name the weekly output, provide context, generate, review with a human, apply governance, then ship into the real stack (docs, IDE, ads, or workflow).

Example: Harbor Legal needs meeting notes with a retention policy — not an image generator and not an ungoverned consumer chatbot pasted into client files.

4. Next: freeze requirements and compare fairly

Move to /guides/how-to-choose-ai-software/ once the job cluster is clear. Compare finalists with the same assumptions — not affiliate-ordered lists.

5. Use a one-page checklist before demos

For AI Software Requirements Guide, list must-haves, owners, integrations, and the weekly ritual this purchase must improve. Share the sheet with finance and IT before you schedule a second demo.

  1. Name the primary job in one sentence.
  2. List must-have gates (plans, SSO, data residency, usage caps).
  3. Name integrations that must work on day one.
  4. Assign an admin owner and a weekly user champion.
  5. Define non-admin proof — what a sceptic completes without rescue.

Worked example: Harbor Ops refuses demos until the checklist is signed — cutting evaluation time in half.

6. Avoid the usual buying mistakes

Common failures in ai: buying for brand familiarity, comparing entry tiles across different usage units, skipping a fair trial script, and adding scope before adoption proves out.

Run one trial script on every finalist the same week. Score on the same card. Write a one-paragraph decision memo that names what you are not buying yet.

7. Hand off to the category shortlist

When assumptions are frozen, continue on /best/ai-software/ with the same headcount, usage band, and must-have gates on every quote.

8. Use a one-page checklist before demos

For AI Software Requirements Guide, list must-haves, owners, integrations, and the weekly ritual this purchase must improve. Share the sheet with finance and IT before you schedule a second demo.

  1. Name the primary job in one sentence.
  2. List must-have gates (plans, SSO, data residency, usage caps).
  3. Name integrations that must work on day one.
  4. Assign an admin owner and a weekly user champion.
  5. Define non-admin proof — what a sceptic completes without rescue.

Worked example: Harbor Ops refuses demos until the checklist is signed — cutting evaluation time in half.

9. Avoid the usual buying mistakes

Common failures in ai: buying for brand familiarity, comparing entry tiles across different usage units, skipping a fair trial script, and adding scope before adoption proves out.

Run one trial script on every finalist the same week. Score on the same card. Write a one-paragraph decision memo that names what you are not buying yet.

10. Hand off to the category shortlist

When assumptions are frozen, continue on /best/ai-software/ with the same headcount, usage band, and must-have gates on every quote.

11. Use a one-page checklist before demos

For AI Software Requirements Guide, list must-haves, owners, integrations, and the weekly ritual this purchase must improve. Share the sheet with finance and IT before you schedule a second demo.

  1. Name the primary job in one sentence.
  2. List must-have gates (plans, SSO, data residency, usage caps).
  3. Name integrations that must work on day one.
  4. Assign an admin owner and a weekly user champion.
  5. Define non-admin proof — what a sceptic completes without rescue.

Worked example: Harbor Ops refuses demos until the checklist is signed — cutting evaluation time in half.

12. Avoid the usual buying mistakes

Common failures in ai: buying for brand familiarity, comparing entry tiles across different usage units, skipping a fair trial script, and adding scope before adoption proves out.

Run one trial script on every finalist the same week. Score on the same card. Write a one-paragraph decision memo that names what you are not buying yet.

13. Hand off to the category shortlist

When assumptions are frozen, continue on /best/ai-software/ with the same headcount, usage band, and must-have gates on every quote.

Frequently asked questions

  • Should requirements include scores?

    No invented product scores. Capture evidence against your jobs; use Best page methodology for cluster editor’s picks.

  • How many must-haves is too many?

    If more than roughly eight items are must-haves, you are still in wishlist mode — force a ranking.

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