Know where your business stands with AI before you invest anything.

Understand exactly where your business stands with AI before you invest in adoption

A structured diagnostic that tells you exactly where your business stands with AI before you invest.

Who this is for

This service is for you if...

  • You suspect staff are already using AI tools informally but have no clear picture of which ones or how
  • You want to make an informed decision about AI investment before committing budget
  • You need a starting point that tells you what to address first
  • You are preparing for a board or leadership conversation about AI and want a structured baseline
  • You want a low-risk, fixed-price first step before committing to anything larger

The Problem

Most Irish SME leaders know AI is in their business. Few know where, how, or at what risk.

Staff are using AI tools informally across most Irish SMEs. Leadership often lacks a clear picture of which tools are in use, whether business data is being shared with external systems, and whether the organisation is ready to adopt AI more formally.

Without that picture, investment decisions are made on incomplete information. Training is delivered before anyone knows what tools staff are actually using. Policies are written before the risk surface is understood.

The AI Readiness Assessment gives you the full picture before you commit to anything. It identifies what is already happening, assesses where the organisation stands across six readiness dimensions, and produces a prioritised action plan so next steps are clear.

What Is Included

A structured diagnostic across six dimensions of AI readiness:

  • Shadow AI audit: identify every AI tool in use across all departments, including tools adopted informally without IT or procurement involvement
  • AI maturity baseline: assess current capability, awareness, and adoption patterns across the organisation
  • Data readiness review: identify data quality, accessibility, and governance gaps relevant to AI adoption
  • Risk and opportunity summary: a clear view of where AI represents genuine opportunity and where current use carries operational or compliance risk
  • Prioritised action plan with recommended next steps, sequenced by impact and feasibility

We spend time with your people to get an honest, specific read on where the business stands. The Assessment fee is credited in full against the AI Capability Build Programme if you decide to proceed.

Deliverables

What we do together

Once the findings are ready, we sit down together and talk through what they actually mean for the business: what's working, what's most urgent, and what can wait. You can ask questions, push back on anything that doesn't ring true, and leave with a clear, agreed view of what to tackle first.

  • AI Readiness Report: full diagnostic across all six dimensions with findings and ratings
  • Shadow AI Inventory: every tool identified, with data handling notes and risk flags
  • Prioritised Action Plan: recommended next steps, sequenced by impact and feasibility

Timeline and Investment

Timeline

Focused conversations with the right people in your business, fitted around how your week already runs. Typically one to two weeks from start to finish.

Investment

From €2,500

Credited in full against the AI Capability Build Programme if you decide to proceed.

One fixed price, agreed upfront. If you move forward to the AI Capability Build Programme within 60 days, this fee comes straight off it, never paid twice.

Up to 80% of your AI Readiness Assessment cost may be covered.

Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in manufacturing or internationally traded services can apply for the Digital Discovery Grant. It funds up to 80% of the cost of digital and AI assessments, to a maximum of €5,000. The AI Readiness Assessment produces exactly the outputs this grant is designed to fund: an expert-led analysis of your current AI systems, identification of gaps and opportunities, and a prioritised action plan.

For Irish owned businesses in manufacturing or internationally traded services. Eligibility subject to Enterprise Ireland terms and conditions.

80%

of eligible costs covered

€5k

maximum grant value

Find out if you qualifyRead about the grant

Free Online Assessment

Irish SME AI Readiness Scorecard

A structured self-check across the areas that determine AI readiness. Takes about 6 minutes, with instant results, and tells you which area of your business carries the most immediate risk before any formal assessment begins.

Take the Assessment

Get started

The right first step is a conversation.

Not sure whether an AI Readiness Assessment is right for your business? Start with a free 30-minute AI conversation. One clear priority finding to take away.

Book a free AI conversation

Insights

Related insights

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Scope and boundaries

What we are

Clear Gate Systems helps Irish SMEs build AI capability, train their teams, and govern how AI runs safely and sustainably. Every engagement includes structured governance and, where relevant, EU AI Act and related obligations. Eileen Weadick holds specialist EU AI Act compliance training (AIActTPro certified) and applies that knowledge as a practical component of every engagement.

What we are not

Clear Gate Systems does not provide legal advice, legal interpretation of specific obligations, or regulatory representation. Where your organisation requires a formal legal opinion, on the classification of a specific system, on contractual obligations with an AI vendor, or on regulatory exposure, a qualified solicitor or barrister must be engaged. Our role is to build the technical governance infrastructure that qualified legal counsel can stand behind.

Get started

Ready to get started?

Book a free 30-minute AI conversation. One clear priority finding to take away.

Book a free AI conversationExplore the AI Capability Build Programme

Eileen Weadick, PhD. AI adoption and governance implementation specialist. Cork, Ireland.

Most businesses that complete the AI Readiness Assessment proceed to the AI Capability Build Programme.