How to use the agentic AI adoption maturity model

Use the agentic AI adoption maturity model as a practical planning and decision-making tool. Don't use it as a one-time assessment or scorecard.

Use the model to:

• Understand your current readiness across multiple AI capabilities.
• Identify gaps that could slow or block scale.
• Prioritize investments and initiatives.
• Guide safe progression toward more advanced and autonomous AI agents.

Step 1: Assess your current state by pillar

Review each of the eight capability pillars independently. For every pillar, read through the maturity level descriptions (Level 100 to Level 500) and identify the level that most closely reflects your current, observable reality.

Use these key principles for assessment:

• Be evidence-based, not aspirational.
• Assess what is consistently true, not isolated examples.
• Expect uneven maturity across pillars.

It's normal to find that your organization is:

• Strong in areas like security and governance.
• Early in areas like process redesign or organizational readiness.

The model supports this kind of uneven profile.

Step 2: Avoid collapsing maturity into a single score

Don't use the maturity model to create a single overall score.

Agentic AI adoption doesn't progress uniformly. For example:

• You might operate at a high maturity level for business process mapping in one domain, but at a lower maturity level in other domains.
• You're still operating at a lower maturity level for organizational readiness or value measurement.

Each pillar represents a different capability that must mature at its own pace. Treating the model as a single score risks masking critical gaps that could create risk or slow adoption later.

Step 3: Visualize maturity levels with a radar diagram

Plot your current maturity levels as a radar chart to help visualize your maturity profile and priority investment areas. A radar chart gives stakeholders a quick view of where to focus first.

The shape of the diagram is often more informative than the average score. Thin or recessed areas show where scaling breaks if you expand adoption without strengthening the underlying capabilities. A radar diagram also reinforces a key point of this model: you don't need to invest in every pillar at once. Instead, target the few constraints that are most likely to limit scale, trust, or value next.

Step 4: Identify gaps and opportunities

After you identify the current level for each pillar, review the opportunities to progress to the next maturity level.

These progression opportunities highlight:

• Capabilities that are missing or inconsistent.
• Risks that might not yet be visible.
• Dependencies between pillars. For example, scaling technology without matching operations or governance.

By overlaying the current state with near-term goals, you can see how targeted investments close critical gaps and reduce scaling risk. The near-term shape reflects deliberate choices to strengthen the capabilities most likely to break as adoption grows.

Step 5: Prioritize actions by using maturity progression

Use the model to prioritize near-term, achievable improvements, rather than attempting to move every pillar forward at once.

A common approach is to:

• Select one or two priority pillars.
• Focus on moving from the current level to the next level.
• Align initiatives to specific maturity progression opportunities.

For example:

• Investing in clearer intake, prioritization, and ownership can move Organizational readiness from Level 200 to Level 300.
• Establishing consistent metrics and dashboards can move Value realization from Level 200 to Level 300.

This incremental approach helps you build momentum while managing risk.

Step 6: Use the model as a shared language

Use the maturity model to establish a common language across business, IT, security, and leadership:

• Align stakeholders on what "good" looks like at each stage.
• Structure leadership discussions about readiness and risk.
• Support roadmap planning and investment decisions.
• Set realistic expectations about timelines and dependencies.

Because the model describes observable behaviors and capabilities, it helps teams move conversations from opinion to evidence.

Step 7: Reassess regularly as adoption evolves

Agentic AI adoption isn't static. As you deploy new agents, explore more complex use cases, and grow usage across your organization, maturity levels change.

You should:

• Revisit your maturity assessment periodically.
• Update priorities based on real usage, outcomes, and incidents.
• Use operational and value telemetry to inform reassessment.

At higher maturity levels, reassessment often becomes continuous, with maturity signals embedded directly into planning, governance, and operational reviews.

Next step

The next articles explore each capability pillar in detail. They include what maturity looks like at each level and how to progress safely and effectively.