AI readiness assessment for small business: a 10-minute self-check
A free AI readiness assessment for small business: seven plain questions to answer before you pay a consultant or a tool. Takes about ten minutes.
Search "AI readiness assessment" and most of what comes up is written for companies with an IT department, a data team and a Microsoft licence budget.
If you run a small team, you can do your own AI readiness assessment at the kitchen table. Seven questions, about ten minutes, and you'll know whether AI is worth your money yet, or what to fix first.
Grab a pen. For each question, note "yes", "sort of" or "no".
The seven questions in this AI readiness assessment
1. Can you name the one job that eats your week?
Make it specific: writing quotes, chasing unpaid invoices, answering the same five customer questions, typing up job notes. "Marketing" or "admin" is too broad to hand over.
Ready if: you can name it and roughly how many hours it takes.
Not yet if: the answer is "everything". Start by tracking one week of tasks.
2. Do you do that job the same way most times?
AI is good at repeating a pattern. It's poor at guessing a process that lives only in your head and changes every time.
Ready if: the steps are mostly the same each time.
Not yet if: every job is a one-off. Write the steps down first. Our one-page SOP template takes about half an hour.
3. Is the information it needs written down somewhere?
Price lists, past quotes, emails, a spreadsheet of customers. AI works from what you give it.
Ready if: the details live in files, emails or a system you can open.
Not yet if: it's all memory and sticky notes. Getting it into one document is step one, and it's useful even without AI.
4. Who checks the output before it goes out?
AI drafts confidently, including when it's wrong. Someone has to read every quote, email or reply before a customer sees it.
Ready if: you know who signs off, and they have the time.
Not yet if: the plan is to "let it run". That's how wrong prices and odd replies reach customers.
5. Do you know what you can't paste in?
Customer details, staff records and financial information need care. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner recommends that organisations "do not enter personal information" into publicly available generative AI tools.
Ready if: you have a rule, even a one-line one, about what stays out of free AI tools.
Not yet if: nobody has thought about it. Write the rule before anyone starts.
6. Can you spare a few hours to set it up and test it?
Even a small AI workflow needs trying, fixing and trying again on real jobs. That time comes before the time it saves.
Ready if: you can block out a few quiet hours over the next fortnight.
Not yet if: you're flat out until the end of the season. Pick a quieter month.
7. Will you know if it worked?
Pick one measure before you start: hours spent on the job, quotes sent per week, missed calls returned the same day.
Ready if: you have a number to compare against.
Not yet if: success means "it feels easier". Write down this week's number now.
How to read your answers
- Mostly yes: you're ready to try AI on that one job. Start small, keep a person checking, and measure for a month.
- A mix: fix the "no" answers first. Most are free: write the steps down, gather the files, set a privacy rule.
- Mostly no: AI won't help yet, and paying for it now is the fastest way to decide "AI doesn't work for us". Sort the basics, then come back to this list.
A formal, multi-week readiness assessment makes sense for a business with several departments and workflows to rank. For a sole trader or a team of five, these seven questions usually cover it. Our breakdown of what an AI consultant costs in Melbourne explains where the bigger engagements fit.
From readiness to adoption: a simple AI adoption plan
- Pick one task — repetitive, low-risk, done every week.
- Run it with AI for two weeks alongside the old way, and check every output.
- Write down the rule: what AI does, what a person still approves, and what data never goes in.
- Measure the time saved, then decide whether to keep it, change it or stop.
- Only then pick the next task.
For the data side, the Australian Cyber Security Centre's guide to AI for small business is a good checklist.
Questions we get asked
What is an AI readiness assessment?
It's a check of whether your business has what it needs before you spend money on AI: a clear job to hand over, a repeatable process, information written down, someone to check the output, a privacy rule and a way to measure the result.
Does a small business need a paid AI readiness assessment?
Usually not at the start. A team of a few people can answer the seven questions on this page themselves. Paid assessments suit larger businesses that need to compare many workflows across departments.
How long does an AI readiness assessment take?
The self-check on this page takes about ten minutes. Fixing any "no" answers, such as writing a process down or gathering your files, can take an afternoon or a few weeks depending on the job.
What should I fix first if I'm not ready for AI?
Start with the job itself. Name the one task that eats your week and write down how you do it. Most of the other answers get easier once that's on paper.
Can I put customer information into ChatGPT?
Be careful. The OAIC recommends, as best practice, that organisations do not enter personal information, particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools. Set a rule for your business before anyone starts.
Want a second opinion on your answers?
Bring your seven answers to a free call and we'll tell you straight whether AI fits that job, or whether it's better left alone. Talk to an AI consultant
Sources: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, "Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products", published 21 October 2024, updated 17 January 2025, https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/guidance-on-privacy-and-the-use-of-commercially-available-ai-products (fetched 2026-10-12, re-checked 2026-10-21). Keyword data (not shown on page): DataForSEO Google Ads search volume, Australia, ai readiness assessment 70/mo, keyword difficulty 0 (fetched 2026-10-12).
