What should your business do next with AI?
Find your current stage, the gaps worth addressing, and a practical project to try. 15 questions · About 3–4 minutes · No email required.
Question 1 of 15 · Your business priority
About 3–4 minutes · No email required. Choose what is true today; “not yet” is a useful answer.
Six stages of putting AI to work
1. Ask
Use AI to explore questions and check important answers against reliable sources.
2. Apply
Give AI context and use its reviewed output for real tasks, such as drafts, summaries, or reports.
3. Align
Document the workflow and maintain shared instructions and approved information that AI can follow.
4. Augment
Use a repeatable AI-assisted workflow, with a responsible person checking its output and handling exceptions.
5. Automate
Let defined steps run from a trigger or schedule, with limited access, monitoring, approvals, and recovery controls.
6. Advantage
Sustain a measured improvement through your own knowledge and processes. Human review can remain part of the workflow.
Want the whole framework? Read the Six A’s of AI field guide, or download the PDF. Looking for implementation help? Explore AI consulting, Copilot training, and workflow automation from NSN.
Assessment questions, answered
What are the Six A's of AI?
The Six A's is a practical framework by Sean Fullerton of NSN Management: Ask, Apply, Align, Augment, Automate, and Advantage. Different workflows can be at different stages. The aim is dependable business value, with suitable controls, rather than maximum automation.
How does this assessment determine my stage?
Each stage has specific criteria based on the practices you report. Your result shows the highest stage supported by those answers, explains each stage separately, and identifies gaps in tools, data access, review, or ownership. Reporting controls alone cannot establish Automate; an automatic workflow must also exist. Advantage requires a measured, sustained benefit and does not require unattended automation.
How long does it take?
Allow about 3–4 minutes for 15 multiple-choice questions. You start with your business priority, then answer about tools, information, everyday AI use, workflows, and results. No technical knowledge is required.
Do I need to provide my email to see the results?
No. Your stage breakdown, priorities, suggested project, owner, success measures, and 30-day outline appear on this page. You can print or save them as a PDF. Contact details are only requested if you choose to book a Discovery Call.
What if we have not started using AI, or I do not know an answer?
Choose the answer that best describes what you can confirm today. Not-yet and unsure answers identify things to prepare or check; they do not prove that a security problem exists. Businesses that have not started receive a small, practical starting project.
Is this a security audit or certification?
No. This is a directional self-assessment based on your answers. It does not inspect your systems or verify your controls. A workflow needs its own review before it receives sensitive information, connects to another system, or takes automatic actions.
What can NSN help implement?
NSN helps businesses with AI tool selection, Microsoft 365 Copilot setup, staff training, workflow automation, and integrations. A Discovery Call helps identify the work, dependencies, and scope for your situation.