Here is how I currently think about AI maturity:
1. Chat
Ask questions, get answers.
2. Templates
Reuse prompts for common work.
3. Workflows
Connect steps into repeatable processes.
4. Roles
Different AI functions do different jobs.
5. Governance
Add review, evidence, escalation, and accountability.
6. Choreography
Intelligence moves through the organization in designed patterns.
Most people are somewhere between 1 and 3.
That is not bad.
But it explains why results still feel inconsistent.
The leap happens when AI is no longer a one-off interaction.
It becomes part of how work travels.
Who receives the input? Who transforms it? Who checks it? Who decides? Who records what happened?
That is the maturity curve I care about now.
Not whether the model sounds impressive.
Whether the work moves better.
(If your organization is climbing this ladder and wants a guide, that’s what I do. If your household is — start here.)
