AI strategy roadmap

A five-stage AI strategy roadmap for organizations that want results, not experiments.

Find where your organization stands today, see which of five value drivers needs attention first, and leave with a sequenced next step you can act on.

Stage 1

Exploring

You are likely here if:

Signals

  • People are trying AI tools on their own, but nobody owns the effort.
  • You have a long list of ideas and no agreed way to rank them.
  • Leadership wants to know what is realistic before committing budget.
Stage 2

Planning

You are likely here if:

Signals

  • A sponsor and a target use case exist, but the plan is still a draft.
  • Nobody has checked whether the data behind the idea is accessible and trustworthy.
  • Security, legal, and IT have not yet weighed in on the approach.
Stage 3

Implementing

You are likely here if:

Signals

  • A pilot is being built, and a small group of users is ready to try it.
  • Integrations with existing systems are the hard part right now.
  • You need reviewers and approval steps designed into the workflow.
Stage 4

Scaling

You are likely here if:

Signals

  • One pilot has shown value and other teams are asking for the same thing.
  • Cloud and AI spend is rising faster than anyone can explain.
  • Ownership, support, and policy have not caught up with usage.
Stage 5

Realizing

You are likely here if:

Signals

  • AI is part of how several teams normally work, not a side project.
  • You track outcomes against targets and review them on a regular rhythm.
  • The question has shifted from whether to use AI to where to extend it next.
Value drivers

Five drivers behind successful AI adoption

Whatever your stage, progress depends on these five areas moving together.

Self-check

Where are you today?

Select every statement that sounds like your organization. The suggestion updates as you go and nothing leaves your browser.

Exploring
Planning
Implementing
Scaling
Realizing
Suggested current stage

Exploring

Tick the statements that sound like your organization. Until then, Exploring is the natural place to begin.

Next step: We narrow the field to one use case that matters, define how success would be measured, and give leadership a plain-language view of what is feasible with your current data and platforms.

After that, the focus moves toward Planning.

Book a strategy call

Frequently asked questions

What is the AI strategy roadmap?

It is for leaders who want a sequenced plan rather than disconnected AI experiments. We use it to place an organization on five readiness stages, Exploring, Planning, Implementing, Scaling, and Realizing, across five value drivers. Engagements follow that sequence, and you can start with the self-check or book a strategy call.

Where does the framework come from?

The stage and driver names follow the AI Strategy Roadmap published by Microsoft, which we cite on this page, and are meant for organizations that want a shared vocabulary. Our engagements apply it in our own words, and a call can show how it fits you.

How does the stage self-check work?

It is for any team or leader: tick the statements that sound like your organization, and the page suggests the stage that fits best and a next step. It runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere, and a strategy call can confirm the result.

What happens after I know my stage?

Organizations at any stage agree with us on one measurable use case and the readiness gaps in its way. The engagement then covers the plan, the pilot or build, and the guardrails. To get started, book a strategy call.

Source and attribution

The five readiness stages and five value drivers follow the framework in The AI Strategy Roadmap: How organizations are achieving Frontier Transformation, published by Microsoft. All explanations on this page are written in our own words and describe how King David Consulting applies the framework.

Next step

Talk through your stage

Bring your self-check result to a short call and leave with a clear next step for your organization.