Level 1 of 7
Fragmented
It depends who’s doing it. Information lives in inboxes, spreadsheets and people’s memory. Someone already uses AI privately; there’s no rule about it.
Earns level 2
An audit: what exists, what is undefined.
The locator
Where are you on the ladder?
Every company is already on this ladder. If someone in the business already uses AI — even privately, even unofficially — then this is not where you start. It is where you already are. What is missing is not effort. It is structure.
Mark where each part of your business sits today. Different departments will land on different rungs — that is normal, and it is the useful finding.
Seven levels — and what earns the next one
NOR-TIC · Diagnose → Define → LoopCompany ________________ Date ____________
Choose a level 1 · Fragmented
Level 2 of 7
Digitised
The software exists, but everyone uses it a little differently. No one owns the process.
Earns level 3
Processes written down, each with an owner.
Level 3 of 7
Connected
Systems exchange data. Reports are still assembled by hand.
Earns level 4
Clean records; data reliable enough to act on.
Level 4 of 7
Automated
Predictable work moves on its own. Someone can name exactly what runs automatically — and what breaks.
Earns level 5
Automations stable; exception rate low.
The real threshold
Above this line, AI stops proposing and starts producing work that leaves the building.
Level 5 of 7
AI-assisted
AI drafts the real work; a person approves before it ships. Someone can state the approval rule out loud.
Earns level 6
Measured accuracy and acceptance rate.
Level 6 of 7
Agent-enabled
Multi-step work runs within defined authority — with limits, logging, and a named owner.
Earns level 7
Low override rate; zero unauthorised actions.
Level 7 of 7
Continuously optimised
Performance data changes the rules, and someone reviews those changes.
How to read it
Progression
You climb by earning it, not by waiting
You do not move up because time passed. You move up because the previous level’s numbers earned it — accuracy, exception rate, override rate.
Dependency
Your weakest layer caps your strongest
Marketing cannot run at level 5 if the information layer underneath is at level 2. There is nothing defined for the system to run on. This is usually why a previous attempt didn’t stick.
Control
Regulated claims change the line
Where what you publish carries regulatory exposure, level 5 needs a named claims-review gate with a logged approver — not a quality check, a control.
Applicable rules are jurisdiction-specific and should be confirmed with your own advisors.
Value
Most of the value sits at 3–4
Duplicate records, hand-built reports, information nobody can find, data re-typed between systems. None of it is claims-exposed. All of it is expensive.
Marked where you are? The next step is finding out why an area sits where it does — that is what the first engagement produces.
This site collects nothing — no analytics, no email capture, no form. If we are not the right people, we will say so. Email NOR-TIC