Leadership and adoption
An AI roadmap for the year ahead
From scattered experiments to a plan. An AI roadmap in four quarters, realistic for a small business and flexible enough for a fast-moving field.
6 min read
After the first experiments comes the question: what next? A roadmap helps you make choices and explain them to your team. A small business doesn't need a thick document. A plan in four quarters will do.
A simple structure
Quarter 1: foundations
- AI policy and agreements with the team.
- One business tool for everyone.
- Basic training.
- Test one or two first use cases.
Quarter 2: broaden
- Roll successful use cases out to the whole team.
- Uses by role, with training.
- Appoint champions.
Quarter 3: deepen
- Assistants with fixed instructions for recurring tasks.
- First simple automations.
- Capture knowledge in a shared collection of notes and documents.
Quarter 4: evaluate and look ahead
- Measure what it has delivered.
- Update rules and policy.
- Plan for the following year.
Stay flexible
AI moves fast. Review the roadmap every quarter. What works, you expand. What doesn't, you stop. New possibilities get added if they serve your goals, not because they're new.
Link it to your business goals
A roadmap isn't a technology plan but a business plan. Start from what you want to achieve: more customers, less overtime, faster delivery, better service. Then choose the AI uses that contribute.
Exercise
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Prompt to copy
Help me draw up an AI roadmap for the year ahead for our business, a [sector] company with [number] people. Our goals: [list]. What we already do with AI: [x]. Set out a plan in four quarters with no more than three actions per quarter, each linked to a goal, with an owner ([name] open) and a measure.
