In How to Write an AI Vision Statement, we explored how to articulate why AI matters to your business. In How to Create an AI Council, How to Draft an AI Charter, and How to Create an AI Policy, we laid the foundation for governance. Together, these steps establish intent, oversight, and guardrails.

The next step is where AI strategy becomes practice: creating and evaluating AI use cases. A use case is how you translate ambition into application—and how you avoid “random acts of AI adoption.”

Step 1: Define the Business Need

Every use case should start with a clear business need tied to your Vision Statement and consistent with your Charter and Policy.

Ask:

• What problem are we solving?

• Which business objective does this support (efficiency, cost savings, customer experience, risk reduction, innovation)?

• How will success be measured?

If the use case doesn’t tie back to a real business need, stop here.

Step 2: Identify Candidate Tasks

Look across your team or department and map out tasks. Use this simple four-question filter:

• Is this task data-driven?

• Is this task repetitive?

• Is this task predictive?

• Is this task generative?

If you can answer “yes” to one or more, you may have a candidate for an AI use case.

Encourage teams to crowdsource ideas. The best use cases often emerge from frontline employees who live inside the processes every day.

Step 3: Evaluate Value and Feasibility

Once you’ve identified candidates, evaluate them systematically. This is where your Use Case Assessment spreadsheet becomes critical.

Key evaluation fields include:

• Category: Which function or department does this serve?

• Task/Use Case: What exactly would AI do?

• Interval: How often is the task performed?

• Estimated Hours per Month: Current time investment.

• Existing Tech: What tools are used today?

• Estimated Monthly Cost: Current vs. projected.

Together, these factors help you score both:

• Value: Potential time, cost, and performance gains.

• Feasibility: Whether the right AI tools and data exist to support it.

Step 4: Select Pilot Projects

Not every candidate becomes a pilot. Choose carefully. This is where the Pilot Project Assessment helps you test scope, ownership, and ROI potential.

Guidelines for pilots:

• Define a clear use case.

• Assign an accountable owner.

• Set SMART goals for measurement.

• Dedicate time for onboarding and training.

• Choose flexible contracts (monthly vs. annual) until value is proven.

Use the 30–90 Rule: activate within 30 days, test over 90 days, then decide to scale, pivot, or sunset.

Step 5: Select the Right Tools

The AI Tool Assessment ensures you choose technology that is safe, secure, and fit-for-purpose. Evaluate tools for:

• Data privacy and compliance.

• Integration with your existing systems.

• Security posture.

• Ease of use and adoption.

• Cost vs. projected ROI.

This step keeps you from overinvesting in shiny objects or unproven platforms.

Step 6: Implement, Monitor, and Iterate

Roll out your pilot projects with proper onboarding and support. Monitor progress using the KPIs you defined. Expect some pilots to fail—that’s part of the process.

Regularly review outcomes with your AI Council, ensure alignment with your Policy, and revise your Charter if new insights emerge.

Step 7: Scale or Sunset

Successful pilots can be scaled across functions. Others should be modified or discontinued. The key is discipline: not every experiment deserves to live on.

Scaling requires:

• A clear ROI case.

• Documented workflows and training.

• Ongoing monitoring and governance.

Bringing Your AI Strategy to Life

AI use cases are where vision, governance, and policy become real. By systematically identifying, assessing, piloting, and scaling, you avoid random adoption and build a program that delivers measurable business value.

Remember the sequence:

1. Vision Statement

2. AI Council

3. AI Charter

4. AI Policy

5. AI Use Cases

6. Assessments (Use Case, Tool, Pilot Project)

This is how you turn AI from hype into advantage. Start small, learn deliberately, and scale with confidence.