AI Readiness Checklist for Small Business: 25 Questions

November 5, 2026 · Lizzard Solutions

AI ReadinessChecklistAI IntegrationAutomationSmall BusinessData Privacy

By Nemanja Vukmirović, Lizzard Solutions. Last updated November 5, 2026.

You've seen competitors add chatbots and "AI-powered" features, and you're wondering whether your business should do the same. The honest answer depends less on the AI tool and more on your data, your processes and your people.

This AI readiness checklist for small business gives you 25 yes/no questions in five areas, a simple way to score them, and a clear next step for each score. It's the same set of questions we go through with clients before we recommend any AI project.

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What Is AI Readiness for a Small Business?

AI readiness is how prepared a business is to use artificial intelligence in a way that pays off. It covers five things: a specific problem worth solving, data you can access and trust, a process clear enough to automate, security and privacy basics, and a person who owns the project and its results.

It isn't about company size or budget. A five-person firm with clean customer records and one repetitive task is often more ready than a larger company with data spread across spreadsheets nobody maintains.

Action for today: write down one task in your business that is repetitive, rule-based and takes someone hours every week.

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How to Use This AI Readiness Checklist

1. Pick one business problem first, such as answering customer questions or sorting invoices. Readiness depends on the problem.
2. Answer each question with an honest yes or no. "Partly" counts as no.
3. Give yourself one point per yes, per section and in total.
4. Use the scoring table at the end to decide your next step.

If you're not sure which problem to start with, our guide to AI integration for small businesses lists typical use cases and what each one needs.

Action for today: copy the 25 questions into a document or spreadsheet with a yes/no column.

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Section 1: Business Goal and Use Case (Questions 1-5)

• ☐ 1. Can you describe the problem in one sentence, without the word "AI"?
• ☐ 2. Do you know roughly how much time or money this problem costs you each month?
• ☐ 3. Is there a measurable result that would count as success (time saved, faster replies, fewer errors)?
• ☐ 4. Does the task repeat often enough to be worth automating?
• ☐ 5. Would a wrong AI answer be easy to catch and fix before it reaches a customer?

Question 5 matters more than it looks. A chatbot that drafts replies for staff to approve is low-risk. A system that sends prices or medical advice directly to customers needs much more care.

Action for today: if you answered no to question 1, rewrite the problem until a colleague understands it in one read.

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Section 2: Data Readiness (Questions 6-10)

• ☐ 6. Is the data the AI would need stored digitally, not only on paper or in people's heads?
• ☐ 7. Is it in a few known places (CRM, shared drive, accounting tool), not scattered across personal laptops?
• ☐ 8. Is it reasonably accurate and up to date?
• ☐ 9. Do you have the right to use this data for the new purpose, including customer data?
• ☐ 10. Is the data backed up, so a mistake during the project can't destroy it?

For question 9, personal data is covered by the EU data protection rules (GDPR) when you serve EU residents, and Serbia's data protection law follows similar principles. If you're not sure, check before you send customer records to any AI service.

For question 10, our 3-2-1 data backup guide shows a simple setup that works for small teams.

Action for today: list every place where the data for your chosen problem lives today.

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Section 3: Processes and Tools (Questions 11-15)

• ☐ 11. Is the current process written down, even as a short list of steps?
• ☐ 12. Do different people do the task the same way?
• ☐ 13. Do your main tools (CRM, email, accounting, webshop) offer an API or built-in integrations?
• ☐ 14. Have you already automated simpler steps, such as form-to-email or invoice reminders?
• ☐ 15. Is there a clear point where a person reviews or approves the result?

AI works best on top of a process that already runs well. If the steps change every time, start with plain automation first. Our business process automation guide covers that groundwork, and the API integration guide explains how to check whether your tools can connect.

Action for today: ask the person who does the task to list its steps in ten minutes.

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Section 4: Security, Privacy and Compliance (Questions 16-20)

• ☐ 16. Do staff accounts use strong passwords and two-factor authentication?
• ☐ 17. Do you know who in the company can access which data?
• ☐ 18. Have you checked where an AI vendor stores and processes your data, and whether it trains on it?
• ☐ 19. Do you have rules for what staff may and may not put into AI tools?
• ☐ 20. If you sell in the EU, have you checked whether your use case falls under the EU AI Act?

The EU AI Act sorts AI uses by risk. Most small business uses, such as drafting emails or answering FAQs, are low-risk, but some uses (for example, screening job candidates) carry stricter duties. The NIST AI Risk Management Framework is a free, practical reference for thinking through risks, even for a small team.

Action for today: write three rules for AI tool use in your company and share them with the team.

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Section 5: People, Budget and Ownership (Questions 21-25)

• ☐ 21. Is one person responsible for the AI project and its results?
• ☐ 22. Does that person have a few hours a week for it during the pilot?
• ☐ 23. Are the people who do the task today involved and open to trying it?
• ☐ 24. Do you have a budget for a small pilot, including running costs after launch?
• ☐ 25. Have you agreed in advance what result would make you stop or continue?

Running costs are easy to miss. Many AI services charge per use, so a tool that is cheap in testing can cost more once the whole team uses it. Ask for an estimate based on your real volumes.

Action for today: name the project owner and put a 30-minute weekly check-in in their calendar.

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Score Your AI Readiness and Pick a Next Step

Add up your yes answers. Then look at your weakest section, because one weak area can block a project even with a high total.

These ranges are a practical rule of thumb from our own projects, not an industry standard. Use them to start a conversation, not to make the final decision.

A common first pilot is a customer-support assistant that drafts answers from your existing FAQs. Our AI chatbot setup guide walks through that project step by step.

Action for today: circle your lowest-scoring section and pick one question from it to turn into a yes this month.

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AI Readiness Checklist: FAQ

How do I know if my small business is ready for AI?

Check five areas: a clear problem with measurable success, usable digital data, a documented process, basic security and privacy rules, and one person who owns the project. If you can answer yes to most questions in all five areas, a small pilot on one task is a sensible next step.

What is the first AI project a small business should try?

Pick a repetitive, text-heavy task where mistakes are easy to catch, such as drafting replies to common customer questions, summarising emails or sorting documents. Keep a person reviewing the output at first, measure time saved, and expand only once the pilot shows a clear result.

Do I need a lot of data to use AI?

Not always. Many tools work with general models and only need your documents, FAQs or product information as context. What matters more is that the data you have is accurate, current, stored in a few known places, and that you have the right to use it.

Does the EU AI Act apply to small businesses?

It can, if you offer AI systems or use them in the EU. The rules depend on the risk level of the use case, not on company size. Everyday uses such as drafting text are usually low-risk, while uses like screening job applicants face stricter requirements. Check the official EU guidance for your case.

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This AI readiness checklist for small business won't pick a tool for you, but it shows whether your data, processes and team are ready to get value from one. Score yourself, fix the weakest section, and start with one small, measurable pilot. If you'd like help, see our AI integration and automation services.