# AI readiness checklist for business owners

By John Rice · Make AI useful.

Use this checklist with the people who do the work. It helps prepare an AI adoption conversation and make the first week's decisions concrete. Record open questions and the person who will resolve them. Adapt the pace to your business.

## 1. Establish a common starting point

- [ ] We can name a business task where AI might help.
- [ ] We have seen an example input, a draft result, and a mistake to check.
- [ ] We distinguish preparing information from taking an action for the business.
- [ ] We know who is responsible for facts, customer commitments, and final approval.

- Questions the team wants answered:
- Who will explain the approach in plain language:
- A permitted example to use in orientation:

## 2. Inventory current AI use

Ask about tools staff use regularly, occasionally, and through existing business software. Include individual subscriptions and business-managed accounts. Record uncertainty without asking staff to paste private records into this worksheet.

| Task | Tool or feature | Account owner | Information supplied | Current review | Useful result or problem |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |

- Existing approach worth sharing:
- Conflicting instructions or practices to resolve:
- Tool or account that needs further review:
- Owner and date for that review:

## 3. Choose one current task

- [ ] Someone can walk through a recent example from start to finish.
- [ ] The task occurs often enough to evaluate a repeatable approach.
- [ ] There is a specific output and a person who uses it.
- [ ] A reviewer can check the important facts against the sources.
- [ ] The current process remains available if the pilot fails.

- Selected task:
- Trigger and frequency:
- Person doing the work today:
- Intended output:
- Reviewer:
- What counts as accepted:
- Why this is a useful starting point:

Suggested candidates to discuss: an agency's weekly account report, inquiry replies requesting missing job details, or a meeting follow-up prepared for review. Choose based on your actual work and available inputs.

## 4. Decide the information boundaries

- [ ] We have identified the specific sources the pilot needs.
- [ ] We understand which account and settings the pilot will use.
- [ ] The relevant service terms, retention settings, and access controls have an owner for review.
- [ ] We know who can resolve questions about client agreements and sensitive information.
- [ ] Missing and conflicting information has a defined treatment.
- [ ] Staff know where to ask before using information they are unsure about.

| Source or information type | Permitted use in the pilot | Conditions or exclusions | Decision owner | Open question |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

Keep credentials and sensitive records out of this worksheet. Describe the access needed; have the authorized owner configure it in the appropriate system.

## 5. Decide the action boundaries

| Action | Authorized during the pilot? | Review or approval required | Person responsible |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Read the agreed sources | | | |
| Prepare a draft | | | |
| Update a business record | | | |
| Send a customer message | | | |
| Make a price, date, or service commitment | | | |

- Condition that stops the pilot:
- What happens when a tool or source is unavailable:
- Person to notify when the workflow cannot finish:

## 6. Prepare task-based training

- [ ] The reusable instructions and required inputs are written down.
- [ ] Staff practice with a permitted ordinary example.
- [ ] Staff practice with an incomplete or conflicting example.
- [ ] Review includes checking sources, omissions, ownership, and commitments.
- [ ] The person who normally does the work has tried the process.
- [ ] Their questions and corrections are recorded.

- Where the short operating guide lives:
- Person who maintains it:
- Contact for questions or failures:
- Training question still unresolved:

## 7. Define the evidence to collect

- [ ] We have recorded examples of the current process.
- [ ] Acceptance conditions are agreed before the pilot starts.
- [ ] Timing includes preparation, supervision, review, and correction.
- [ ] Elapsed turnaround is recorded separately from active effort.
- [ ] Important errors, omissions, and rejected outputs are visible.
- [ ] Setup effort, tool cost, and ongoing maintenance are considered.

- Examples and sample selection:
- Required output checks:
- Acceptable review and correction effort:
- Critical failures:
- Where results will be recorded:
- Pilot review date:

Use the AI pilot scorecard for the run log and comparison. Keep the workflow version with the results so changes can be evaluated fairly.

## 8. Make the first week's decisions

| Decision | Agreed choice or open question | Owner | Next date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Approved tools and accounts | | | |
| Permitted pilot inputs | | | |
| One task to test | | | |
| Output and reviewer | | | |
| Allowed actions | | | |
| Staff orientation and practice | | | |
| Measures and review date | | | |
| Workflow maintenance | | | |

At the adoption review, ask: Are people choosing to use the workflow? What makes them skip it? Which corrections recur? What changed in the business process? Record a decision to continue, revise, expand, or stop, with a next action and owner.

Bring this checklist, one permitted example, and your open questions to a working conversation. They provide a practical basis for choosing the next step.