Is your company ready for AI? A 12-point honest checklist

AI projects in companies rarely fail because of the model

They fail because something upstream was missing: a documented process, accessible data, an accountable person, a number to improve. This checklist exists to find that out before you spend, not after. Answer yes or no; one point per yes.

Data.

• Does the data the process needs exist in digital form, rather than scattered across emails and spreadsheets?
• Is there a system (ERP, CRM, e-commerce, database) exposing it through an API or at least a regular export?
• Can someone in the company say with confidence which source is authoritative when two systems disagree?

Process.

• Does the process you want to automate happen at least 20-30 times a month?
• Can you describe it out loud in five minutes, step by step, without saying "it depends" more than twice?
• Are exceptions fewer than one case in four?

People.

• Is there an internal person who can spend two hours a week on the project for three months?
• Are the people who do the work today part of the decision, rather than finding out afterwards?
• Is there someone who can make the final call without three meetings?

Measurement and money.

• Do you know how many minutes or euros that process costs every month today?
• Do you have a defined budget, however small, already approved for the first project?
• Are you willing to put something imperfect into production within 6-8 weeks instead of waiting for the complete version?

How to read your score

10-12 points: you are ready, the first project can start now and the risk is low. 6-9: almost ready — what is usually missing is data access or the baseline measurement, and two weeks of preparation fixes it. Below 6: this is not the moment to buy AI. Invest first in order — data in one system, written processes, an owner — because automating chaos only makes it faster.

The single most common mistake

Companies with a low score starting anyway, because a vendor promised that "AI learns by itself". It does not learn your price list, your commercial exceptions, or where the truth lies when the ERP and a sales rep's spreadsheet disagree. You have to give it those.

If your score is between 6 and 9 and you want to know exactly what is missing, a free 15-minute call is enough to find out what to fix before spending anything on development.