AI readiness checklist for small businesses
By Denise Aitken, Founder of Suantraí Solutions
Before starting an AI initiative, check that you understand the task, the information it needs, who can access that information and how the result will be reviewed.
This checklist is free to use. It is a practical discussion aid, not a scored certification or a substitute for checking a particular tool. You can use it without purchasing an assessment.
Start with one proposed use
Write a sentence describing the task: “We want AI to help [person or team] do [specific work], using [information], so that [result improves].”
Complete the checklist for that use. A business can be ready for a public-content drafting task and unprepared for AI that retrieves confidential records. Combining those into one general score would hide a useful distinction.
For each item, record in place, needs work or unknown. Add the evidence, the person responsible and the next action. Do not convert unanswered questions into a reassuring average.
The checklist
| Check | What a useful answer looks like |
|---|---|
| 1. Purpose | A specific task and an improvement you can explain |
| 2. Current process | An example showing inputs, handovers and the finished output |
| 3. Owner | Someone responsible for the pilot and its boundaries |
| 4. Information source | A known source with a person responsible for its accuracy |
| 5. Information quality | Awareness of gaps, outdated versions and inconsistent records |
| 6. Permission | A clear account of who may see or submit the information |
| 7. Tool suitability | The relevant plan, terms and settings checked for this use |
| 8. Output review | A named reviewer with enough knowledge to detect mistakes |
| 9. People | Users understand the task, limitations and escalation route |
| 10. Workflow | Agreement on what happens after an output is produced |
| 11. Measurement | A baseline and a way to compare quality, effort and cost |
| 12. Stop or recovery | A way to stop the trial and return to the previous process |
Work through the unknowns
An “unknown” is useful information. It tells you what to find out before making the next decision.
If nobody knows which document is current, start by identifying the authoritative version for the pilot. If permissions are unclear, resolve access for the selected information. If the team cannot describe a good result, agree a few examples and a reviewer before comparing tools.
Some gaps affect only the scope of the trial. Others should stop a particular use until resolved. Uncertainty about permission to submit confidential information, for example, is not something to balance against enthusiasm or potential time savings.
Turn the checklist into an action list
For each relevant gap, record one concrete action. “Improve our data” is too broad. “Confirm the owner and current version of the ten documents in this pilot” is something a person can complete.
Use three headings:
- Before this trial: actions necessary to run the selected task appropriately.
- During this trial: learning, training and process improvements that can proceed within the agreed boundaries.
- Before expansion: work needed before adding more users, information or automated actions.
This keeps preparation proportional to the task. It also makes the decision visible to everyone involved.
A worked example
Imagine a team wants AI to help create internal training notes from a procedure. It finds two versions of the procedure and no named owner.
The next action is to identify an owner and approve the source version. The pilot can then use that approved material in a suitable tool, with an experienced colleague checking that the notes preserve the procedure’s meaning. Expansion to additional procedures should wait until their sources and ownership are checked too.
The lesson is specific: the pilot needs a trustworthy source. It does not require every document in the organisation to be reorganised first.
What is a good AI readiness score?
There is no universal passing score for every AI use. What matters is whether the conditions for your intended task are understood and adequate. A high overall score can conceal a critical weakness in the one area a particular project depends on.
What should I do after this checklist?
If you have a clear task and the relevant conditions are in place, use our getting-started guide to plan a limited trial. If several answers reveal wider organisational questions, investigate how those gaps connect before committing to a larger deployment.
For law firms that want a fuller picture
Suantraí Core examines nine organisational domains and turns your responses into a personalised AI Readiness Report, with prioritised recommendations and 90 days of Decision Navigator access.
AUD $650 - Founding Firm rate. Designed for small and mid-sized law firms.