AI Adoption Maturity Model
Overview
Organizations don't adopt AI in a single step. They evolve through predictable stages, each with different requirements, risks, and vendor evaluation priorities. Understanding where you are—and where you're heading—determines which vendor characteristics matter most.
This maturity model describes four levels of AI adoption. Each level represents a different organizational stage with distinct technical, operational, and strategic requirements.
Why Maturity Matters for Vendor Selection
The vendor that's right for Level 1 may be wrong for Level 3.
At Level 1 (Individual Use), you need ease of use and quick value. Lock-in risk is low because deployment is limited.
At Level 3 (Organizational Transformation), you need transparency, control, and future-proofing. Lock-in risk is existential because AI is embedded throughout operations.
Using this model:
- Identify your current maturity level
- Understand requirements for your next level
- Evaluate vendors based on where you're going, not just where you are
- Avoid vendors that can't scale with your maturity
The Four Levels
Level 1: Individual Use
AI as Personal Productivity Tool
- Users: Individuals and small teams
- Use Cases: Research, writing assistance, data analysis
- AI Interaction: Primarily chat interfaces and individual tools
- Decision Context: Tactical, minimal organizational impact
- Risk Level: Low
- Primary Vendor Concerns: Usability, output quality
Example: Marketing team members use ChatGPT Plus for content ideation. Sales reps use AI tools to draft emails. Analysts use AI to summarize research.
Level 2: Workflow Augmentation
AI Integrated into Business Processes
- Users: Departments and cross-functional teams
- Use Cases: Customer support, document processing, data enrichment
- AI Interaction: Integrated into existing applications and workflows
- Decision Context: Operational, departmental impact
- Risk Level: Medium
- Primary Vendor Concerns: Integration capability, consistency, control
Example: Customer support tickets automatically enriched with AI summaries. Sales CRM auto-generates call notes. HR system uses AI to screen resumes at scale.
Level 3: Organizational Transformation
AI Reshapes How Work Gets Done
- Users: Enterprise-wide deployment
- Use Cases: Autonomous workflows, decision automation, strategic intelligence
- AI Interaction: Agentic systems making decisions and taking actions
- Decision Context: Strategic, company-wide impact
- Risk Level: High
- Primary Vendor Concerns: Transparency, future-proofing, exit strategy, capability building
Example: AI agents handle end-to-end customer issues. Procurement AI negotiates with vendors. Strategic intelligence AI monitors competitive landscape and flags opportunities.
Level 4: B2B Integration
AI as Organizational Interface
- Users: Your organization + external partners/customers
- Use Cases: Automated B2B transactions, partner integrations, marketplace participation
- AI Interaction: AI systems communicating with other AI systems
- Decision Context: Ecosystem-level, multi-organization impact
- Risk Level: Critical
- Primary Vendor Concerns: All six criteria at maximum rigor
Example: Your AI procurement system negotiates directly with suppliers' AI sales systems. AI customer service integrates with partner AI support systems. Real-time B2B API negotiations between AI agents.
Maturity Progression
Typical Path
Most organizations progress through levels sequentially:
Level 1 → Level 2: Teams see individual productivity gains and want to scale to departmental workflows (6-18 months)
Level 2 → Level 3: Successful departmental use cases drive enterprise-wide transformation initiatives (12-36 months)
Level 3 → Level 4: Organizations with mature internal AI extend capabilities to partner/customer ecosystems (24-48 months)
Common Mistakes
Jumping Levels Too Fast
- Deploying Level 3 solutions without Level 2 operational maturity
- Result: Failures damage organizational AI trust
Staying Too Long at Lower Levels
- Using Level 1 tools when organization is ready for Level 2
- Result: Missed opportunities, competitive disadvantage
Wrong Vendor for Maturity Stage
- Choosing Level 1 vendors that can't scale to Level 2+
- Result: Expensive migrations, wasted investment
Evaluation Priorities by Level
Level 1: Individual Use
Critical Criteria: USE (output quality) Important Criteria: CHANGE (basic customization) Less Critical: SEE, LEAVE, LEARN, ADAPT
Why: At individual scale, ease of use and quality matter most. Lock-in risk is low because switching affects few people. Transparency is nice but not essential.
Level 2: Workflow Augmentation
Critical Criteria: USE (consistency), CHANGE (integration capability) Important Criteria: ADAPT (scalability), SEE (debugging) Increasing Importance: LEAVE, LEARN
Why: Integration and consistency are key. Need to debug workflow issues (transparency). Starting to think about exit strategy and internal capability.
Level 3: Organizational Transformation
Critical Criteria: All six criteria matter significantly Especially Critical: SEE (governance), LEAVE (strategic risk), ADAPT (future-proofing)
Why: At organizational scale, all six criteria become critical. Transparency for governance and compliance. Exit strategy protects against strategic risk. Future-proofing essential because transformation is multi-year investment.
Level 4: B2B Integration
Critical Criteria: All six criteria at maximum rigor Especially Critical: SEE (multi-party audit), LEAVE (ecosystem dependency), LEARN (partner capability)
Why: B2B integration creates dependencies beyond your organization. Transparency needed for multi-party governance. Exit strategy must account for partner impact. Capability building extends to ecosystem.
Using the Maturity Model
Step 1: Assess Current Level
Where is your organization today?
- Level 1: Individuals using AI tools on their own initiative
- Level 2: Departments deploying AI into workflows with IT involvement
- Level 3: Enterprise-wide AI strategy with cross-functional deployment
- Level 4: AI integrated into customer/partner interactions
Step 2: Identify Target Level (12-24 months)
Where do you want to be?
- Same level but broader adoption?
- Next level for some use cases?
- Multi-level strategy for different departments?
Step 3: Evaluate Vendors for Target Level
Don't just evaluate for today—evaluate for tomorrow:
If you're Level 1 targeting Level 2:
- Prioritize vendors strong in CHANGE (integration) and ADAPT (scalability)
- Don't accept weak SEE (transparency) even if not critical yet
- Verify LEAVE (exit strategy) exists before lock-in happens
If you're Level 2 targeting Level 3:
- All six criteria become critical
- Cannot accept weak scores in any area
- Wrong vendor choice becomes strategic risk
Step 4: Plan Maturity Progression
Avoid these mistakes:
- Choosing Level 1 vendors when planning Level 2 deployment
- Staying with Level 1 vendors too long and facing expensive migration
- Jumping to Level 3 before establishing Level 2 operational capabilities
Smart approach:
- Choose vendors that can scale with your maturity
- Build capability progressively (LEARN criterion)
- Maintain exit options as scale increases (LEAVE criterion)
Maturity and the Six Criteria
How Criteria Importance Changes
| Criterion | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEE (Transparency) | Nice to Have | Important | Critical | Mandatory |
| CHANGE (Control) | Basic | Important | Critical | Mandatory |
| USE (Quality) | Critical | Critical | Critical | Mandatory |
| ADAPT (Future-Proof) | Low Priority | Important | Critical | Mandatory |
| LEAVE (Exit) | Low Priority | Moderate | Critical | Mandatory |
| LEARN (Capability) | Low Priority | Important | Critical | Mandatory |
Key Insight: At Level 1, you can get away with weak SEE, LEAVE, LEARN, and ADAPT. By Level 3, every criterion is critical. Choose vendors who are strong across all six if you plan to scale.
Real-World Maturity Progression
Company A: Fast Food Chain
Year 1 (Level 1): Marketing team used ChatGPT for content creation. No formal deployment. Good results.
Year 2 (Level 2): Deployed AI in customer service for ticket summarization and routing. Integrated with Zendesk. Reduced response time 40%.
Year 3 (Level 3): Rolled out AI across operations: inventory prediction, dynamic pricing, employee scheduling. Required enterprise AI platform with transparency and control.
Lesson: Started with Level 1 tool (ChatGPT). Switched to enterprise vendor for Level 2. Switched again for Level 3 because Level 2 vendor couldn't scale. Two migrations. Should have chosen Level 3-capable vendor at Level 2.
Company B: Financial Services Firm
Year 1 (Level 1): Analysts used AI for research and report writing. Saved 10 hours/analyst/week.
Year 2 (Level 1 → 2 Failed): Tried to deploy same tool for client-facing reports. Lacked transparency (SEE) for compliance. Lacked consistency (USE) for client quality. Project failed.
Year 2 (retry): Evaluated enterprise vendors with strong SEE and USE. Successful Level 2 deployment after vendor change.
Lesson: Level 1 vendor couldn't meet Level 2 requirements. Avoided expensive full-scale failure by recognizing maturity mismatch early.
Key Takeaways
-
Match vendors to target maturity level, not just current level
- If you're Level 1 today but targeting Level 2, evaluate for Level 2 requirements
-
All criteria become critical by Level 3
- Don't accept weak vendors even at Level 1 if you plan to scale
-
Maturity progression is predictable
- Individual use → Departmental workflows → Enterprise transformation → B2B ecosystem
- Each stage has different requirements and risks
-
Migration costs increase with maturity
- Switching at Level 1: Low cost, low risk
- Switching at Level 2: Moderate cost and disruption
- Switching at Level 3: High cost, significant risk
- Switching at Level 4: May be economically infeasible
-
Choose vendors that can scale with you
- Better to choose enterprise-grade vendor early than migrate later
- Evaluate across all six criteria even if only USE matters today