AI Readiness Index (AIRI): A Framework for Assessing AI Adoption in Your Organization
How AI Singapore's AI Readiness Index (AIRI) scores an organisation, how it compares with the Cisco and Microsoft frameworks, and how to run your own assessment.
An AI readiness index scores how prepared an organisation is to use AI across areas such as strategy, data, infrastructure, governance and people. This guide covers AI Singapore's AI Readiness Index (AIRI), compares it with the Cisco and Microsoft frameworks, and ends with a simple way to run an assessment of your own.
What an AI readiness index measures
Most frameworks score a handful of pillars, give each a level, and show where the gaps are. AI Singapore describes AIRI as a framework for assessing readiness and finding gaps [1]. The pillar names differ by publisher, but the same five areas come up in each: strategy, data, infrastructure, governance, and people and culture.
AIRI: AI Singapore's AI Readiness Index
AIRI was first developed by AI Singapore [1]. The original 2021 version had four pillars (organisational, business value, data and infrastructure readiness) and was distilled from work with more than 500 companies [3].
The current version has five pillars and 15 dimensions [1][2]:
| Pillar | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Leadership & Culture | Management Support, AI Literacy, AI Talent, Workforce Adaptation, Experimentation Culture |
| Ethics & Governance | AI Governance, AI Risk Control, GenAI & Agent Risk Management |
| Business Value | Business Use Case, GenAI Value Realisation |
| Data Foundation | Data Quality, Reference Data |
| Infrastructure & Standards | AI/ML/Data Infrastructure, Specification Standards & Practices, GenAI & Agent Deployment |
An organisation lands on one of five levels: AI Unaware, AI Aware, AI Ready, AI Competent or AI Catalyst. AI Singapore recommends AI Ready as the target [1]. The organisational and personal assessments each have 15 questions, take about 20 minutes and are free. The framework is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence [1].
Cisco AI Readiness Index
Cisco scores companies on six pillars (strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent and culture) using 49 indicators. It sorts them into four groups: Pacesetters, Chasers, Followers and Laggards [4].
The 2025 edition, Cisco's third, surveyed more than 8,000 senior IT and business leaders in 30 markets [5]. Its main findings:
- Pacesetters have made up about 13% of organisations for three years [5].
- Pacesetters are four times more likely to move AI pilots into production and 50% more likely to see measurable value [5].
- 83% of organisations plan to deploy AI agents [5].
- Only 26% have robust GPU capacity, and 64% struggle to centralise their data [5].
Microsoft's AI Readiness Assessment
Microsoft's online assessment covers seven pillars: business strategy, AI governance and security, data foundations, AI strategy and experience, organization and culture, infrastructure for AI, and model management [6].
Country-level readiness: the Government AI Readiness Index
Oxford Insights has published a Government AI Readiness Index since 2017. The 2025 edition ranks 195 countries, with the United States first again [7]. It ranks countries, so it gives context on a market rather than a score for your organisation.
How the frameworks compare
| Area | AIRI [1] | Cisco [4] | Microsoft [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy and value | Business Value | Strategy | Business strategy; AI strategy and experience |
| Data | Data Foundation | Data | Data foundations |
| Infrastructure | Infrastructure & Standards | Infrastructure | Infrastructure for AI; model management |
| Governance | Ethics & Governance | Governance | AI governance and security |
| People and culture | Leadership & Culture | Talent; culture | Organization and culture |
How to run your own assessment
- Pick one framework. AIRI is free and takes about 20 minutes [1], which makes it a good first pass.
- Score each pillar with the people who own it. Ask IT, data, legal and business owners to score their own areas.
- Set a target level. AIRI recommends AI Ready as the first goal [1].
- Close the biggest gap first. Re-score after each project to see whether the level moved.
Related: LLM agents: the practical guide and adopting an AI culture.
Frequently asked questions
What is the AI Readiness Index (AIRI)?
AIRI is an AI readiness assessment framework first developed by AI Singapore. It scores an organisation on five pillars and 15 dimensions and places it on one of five readiness levels.
What are the levels of AI readiness in AIRI?
AI Unaware, AI Aware, AI Ready, AI Competent and AI Catalyst. AI Singapore recommends AI Ready as the target level.
What are the pillars of AI readiness?
They differ by framework, but the common areas are strategy, data, infrastructure, governance, and people and culture. AIRI uses five pillars, Cisco six and Microsoft seven.
How many companies are fully AI-ready?
In Cisco's 2025 AI Readiness Index, the most prepared group, called Pacesetters, made up about 13% of organisations. That share has held for three years.
Is the AIRI assessment free?
Yes. AI Singapore's organisational and personal assessments each have 15 questions, take about 20 minutes and are free.
What is the Government AI Readiness Index?
It is an index published by Oxford Insights that ranks countries rather than companies. The 2025 edition ranks 195 countries.
Sources
- AI Readiness Index (AIRI) — AI Singapore
- AIRI framework — AIRI Foundation
- New AI Readiness Index framework to increase awareness, boost AI adoption in Singapore — AI Singapore (June 2021)
- Cisco AI Readiness Index methodology — Cisco
- The most AI-ready companies outpace peers in the race to value — Cisco Newsroom (October 2025)
- AI Readiness Assessment — Microsoft Learn
- Government AI Readiness Index 2025 — Oxford Insights (December 2025)