Free PDF · No signup · UK
Download the PDF. Print it. Bring it to your next leadership-team meeting.
What's inside
- Five dimensions of readiness. Six items per dimension across Governance, Data, Infrastructure, Security, and Use case. The same five-dimension model the Arx Certa scorecard uses, in printable form.
- Audit-ready evidence framing. Each checklist item is written as a yes/no question, anchored on what evidence a regulator or auditor would expect to see.
- UK-specific framing. References UK GDPR, ICO guidance, NCSC framing where relevant. Not generic; UK-grounded.
- Leadership-team format. Designed to be taken as a group — CEO, COO, CTO, Head of Risk. Compare ticks. Where the team agrees, you have consensus on the readiness picture. Where you disagree, you've surfaced the conversation that needed to happen anyway.
Who this is for
UK SMEs and mid-market businesses where AI has become a leadership-team agenda item. Particularly useful in legal, accountancy, financial services, healthcare supplier, recruitment, and logistics sectors — the regulatory weighting differs by sector, but the readiness framework is the same.
How to use this
Take 20 minutes as a leadership team. One copy per person. Tick what your function can evidence today. Compare ticks across the team — disagreement is the signal that an internal conversation needs to happen. For everything no one can tick, you've identified the foundations work that should happen before AI scales further.
Frequently asked
Is the AI Readiness Checklist genuinely free?
Yes. No signup, no email gate, no upsell. Download, print, use. If the checklist surfaces gaps that need outside help, the Arx Certa scorecard is the next step — also free.
How is this different from the Arx Certa AI Readiness Scorecard?
The checklist is a paper artefact for offline group use. The scorecard is the interactive 4-minute version that produces a quantified score, a readiness band, and a personalised 30-day action plan. They're complementary — many leadership teams use the checklist first, then take the scorecard to quantify the result.
Does this checklist apply outside the UK?
It's designed for UK businesses — regulatory framing references UK GDPR, ICO, NCSC, and UK sector regulators. The five-dimension model is universal, but the specific evidence expectations are UK-anchored.
What sectors is this best for?
Sectors where AI adoption sits inside formal governance — legal, accountancy, financial services, NHS suppliers, recruitment, logistics. Less useful for sole-trader scenarios where formal governance isn't yet on the agenda.
How often should we redo this checklist?
Quarterly is a useful cadence during the first year of AI adoption. After that, annually plus on any material trigger — new vendor, new use case, regulatory change, leadership change.
Related Arx Certa services
If the gaps this resource surfaces for your business need outside help to close:
- AI services — implementation reviews, AI policy work, vendor due diligence, and pilot scoping.
- Cybersecurity — security overlay for AI use, UK GDPR / NCSC alignment, vendor risk assessment.
- Database — data foundations work AI projects depend on.
- Infrastructure — cloud, identity, network and integration foundations.
Score your AI readiness in 4 minutes
The Arx Certa AI Readiness Scorecard quantifies the foundations this resource describes — across governance, data, infrastructure, security and use case. Free, 12 questions, personalised report.
Get your AI readiness score →