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Governance · AI readiness
An AI readiness assessment that names the human checkpoint
Our AI readiness assessment looks at your data, processes, people and risk appetite, then hands you a prioritised list of AI use cases. Every use case comes with a named person who checks the output.
In focus →
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AI handles0
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UK firms already using AI that feel ready to scale it0%13% completely ready, 41% fairly ready.
Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ↗Firms planning to adopt AI that feel ready to implement0%33% are unsure and 32% say they are not ready.
Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ↗Businesses citing a lack of identified need for AI0%The most common barrier to adoption in the survey.
Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ↗Where the line sits
AI readiness means knowing where people stay
Most readiness checklists stop at data quality and software licences.
Our AI readiness assessment also asks where a person must stay in the loop, and whether that person has the time and authority to do it.
DSIT’s AI adoption research found that only about a third of businesses planning to use AI feel ready to implement it.
The gap is rarely the technology.
It is usually unclear ownership, patchy data and no agreed rule for when the AI hands a case to a person.
Where AI tends to fit first
- Sorting and routing inbound requests
- Extracting data from standard documents
- Drafting first-pass replies and summaries
- Reconciling records between systems
- Answering routine questions from approved content
Where people stay in the loop
- Decisions with legal or similarly significant effects
- Complaints and vulnerable customers
- Regulated advice and professional judgement
- Pricing, credit and hiring decisions
- Final sign-off on anything sent externally
What we assess
Five areas, one AI readiness assessment
We look at five areas, because AI projects fail at the weakest one.
Data covers where it lives, how clean it is and whether you may use it for this purpose.
Processes covers which tasks are repetitive, rule-based and high-volume enough to be worth automating.
People covers skills, appetite and who would own each new workflow.
Risk appetite covers what your leadership, clients and regulator would accept going wrong.
The fifth area is the one most assessments miss: where a human must stay in the loop.
- Data: sources, quality, access and lawful basis
- Processes: volume, variation and rework
- People: skills, capacity and ownership
- Risk appetite: tolerances agreed by leadership
- Human checkpoints: who reviews, approves or escalates
85%
AI acts alone
130
65% of 200 cases
Goes to a person
70
35% of 200 cases
Illustrative batch with a typical confidence spread. Your real split comes from a pilot on your own work. Some decisions go to a person whatever the score.
Human checkpoints
Every use case gets a named person
A use case without a named reviewer is not ready, however good the demo looks.
UK GDPR restricts solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on people.
The government’s AI Playbook makes meaningful human control a core principle for public-sector AI.
It is a sensible bar for private firms too.
So for each use case we name the role that checks the output, what they check and when they escalate.
We also estimate the review load, because a checkpoint nobody has time for soon becomes a rubber stamp.
AI drafts
Check
Person decides
Learns
01 / 04
The output
A prioritised list, not a maturity score
Every AI readiness assessment ends with a short report and a prioritised use-case list you can act on.
Each use case shows the expected benefit, the data it needs, the main risks and its human checkpoint.
We rank them by value and by how ready you are to run them safely.
We also flag quick wins that need no new software, only better use of tools you already pay for.
DSIT’s free AI Management Essentials self-assessment is a useful companion for the governance side.
When you are ready to build, our AI implementation consultant service picks up the top of the list.
Every AI readiness assessment ends with a short report and a prioritised use-case list you can act on.
Who it is for
An AI adoption assessment for firms that are not tech companies
Our AI readiness assessment is built for professional services firms, charities, practices and owner-managed businesses.
You do not need a data team or a strategy document to start.
We work with your partners, directors and the people who do the work day to day.
If your team first needs a shared baseline, start with our AI literacy training.
We work with teams in person in London and across the UK, or remotely.
Our AI readiness assessment is built for professional services firms, charities, practices and owner-managed businesses.
How it works
Four steps, one owner
Each system ships with a named person accountable for what it does.
01
01
Discovery
Short interviews with leaders and the people who do the work, plus a look at your systems and data.
02
02
Assess
We review data, processes, people and risk appetite, and map where decisions are made today.
03
03
Prioritise
We build and rank the use-case list, each with its human checkpoint and estimated review load.
04
04
Hand over
We walk leadership through the report and agree the first use case and its owner.
Questions
Asked and answered
Further reading
From the source
Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologyAI Adoption Research ↗Survey of 3,500 UK businesses on AI use, readiness and barriers.Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologyGuidance for using the AI Management Essentials tool ↗Free self-assessment built on ISO/IEC 42001, NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act.Information Commissioner’s OfficeRights related to automated decision-making including profiling ↗When UK GDPR requires a human to be able to step in.Government Digital ServiceAI Playbook for the UK Government ↗Principle 4: meaningful human control at the right stages.Office for National StatisticsArtificial intelligence in UK businesses: 2023 to 2026 ↗How many UK firms use AI, by size.
Keep reading
Related pages
GovernanceAI assurance →AI assurance, with evidence a person can stand behindConsultancyAI implementation consultant →An AI implementation consultant for getting past the pilotConsultancyAI for small business →An AI consultant for small business, that starts small and stays safeTrainingAI literacy training →AI literacy training for everyone who touches AI at work
Next step
Tell us the work. We’ll show you where the line goes.
A 30-minute call. We map one workflow, what the AI could take, and where a person must stay in the loop.