The model
AI readiness is a shape, not a single score.
The AI Ready Model combines six maturity levels with six axes. The lowest durable axis determines the level because one weak operating layer can cap the whole system.
Six levels
From curiosity to native operating behavior.
The names are simple on purpose. They give people a shared language for what is already happening and what is still missing.
You have tried AI, but it is not a consistent habit yet.
AI tools are in use, mostly through defaults and isolated wins.
Custom prompts, workflows, and internal tools are becoming normal.
Whole tasks move through AI with humans on review.
AI is the default first move when new work appears.
Workflows assume AI as part of the operating layer.
AI-Curious
AI-Adopting
AI-Building
AI-Delegating
AI-First
AI-Native
Six axes
The axes separate enthusiasm from capability.
A team can have broad access and still be weak at automation, governance, or workflow integration. That unevenness is the point.
Adoption Breadth
Tool Customization
Build Capability
Automation Depth
AI-First Culture
Operational Integration
How it works
Placement uses a lowest-axis floor.
Your headline level is bounded by the weakest durable axis. That keeps the recommendation practical: strengthen the constraint before pretending the system is more mature than it is.