Five Questions Before Approving AI Investment
Most leadership teams are not short of AI ideas — they are short of an agreed basis for choosing between them. These five questions give a leadership team that basis, before capital, capability or attention is committed.
- 01
Where might AI matter?
Begin with the business, not the tool. Identify where AI appears genuinely relevant to your strategy, customers, proposition or operations — and set aside where it is merely available.
Ask the room: If we removed the word “AI”, would this still be a priority for the business?
- 02
What deserves priority?
Not every relevant opportunity deserves equal attention. Compare possibilities on business relevance, potential value, organisational fit and uncertainty — and be honest about which strengthen what makes you distinctive.
Ask the room: Does this strengthen something only we can offer, or something anyone can buy?
- 03
What requires further investigation?
Separate what is verified from what is assumed. Most AI proposals rest on a few load-bearing assumptions; naming them early is cheaper than discovering them late.
Ask the room: Which assumptions, if wrong, would change this decision entirely?
- 04
What should not yet proceed?
A credible direction produces refusals. Separate relevant opportunities from the premature, the low-value and the commonly available — and be willing to defer or decline.
Ask the room: What are we choosing not to do, and why is that the right call today?
- 05
What should happen next?
Direction is only useful if it sequences action. Establish the initial order of leadership decisions, the evidence to gather, and the specialists to involve — and the smallest next step that reduces the biggest uncertainty.
Ask the room: What is the smallest step that would tell us the most?