How Organizations Can Create Their Own AI Landscape Map

Landscape mapping begins with visibility rather than policy

Many institutions attempt to establish governance frameworks before they understand where assistance tools are already shaping work. Creating a local landscape map helps organizations interpret adoption patterns before formal strategy decisions are finalized.

The Organizational AI Use Landscape provides a reusable structure that institutions can adapt to their own environments.

Step 1: Identify entry points of AI adoption

Organizations can begin by identifying how AI first appeared across departments. These entry points often include writing environments, vendor platforms, research workflows, administrative coordination roles, and experimentation by individual staff.

• individual experimentation
• embedded vendor platform features
• department-level initiatives
• leadership guidance
• workflow pressures

Step 2: Identify departments encountering AI first

Adoption rarely appears evenly across institutions. Mapping which departments encounter assistance tools earliest helps organizations prioritize training and coordination efforts.

• communications teams
• administrative coordination roles
• research and analysis environments
• documentation-intensive units
• supervisory roles

Step 3: Identify functional tool categories already influencing work

Organizations benefit from grouping AI systems by function rather than vendor name. This allows mapping work to remain stable even as specific platforms change.

• drafting assistance tools
• summarization environments
• research support systems
• embedded platform assistants
• workflow automation features

Step 4: Identify governance questions emerging across teams

Mapping governance questions helps organizations clarify where expectations need to be established first.

• documentation review expectations
• confidential information handling
• acceptable experimentation boundaries
• public-facing communications practices
• platform evaluation responsibilities

Step 5: Identify training priority zones

Literacy initiatives are most effective when aligned with areas where adoption is already visible.

• writing-intensive roles
• supervisory environments
• administrative coordination teams
• communications staff
• research workflows

Step 6: Identify coordination risks

Mapping coordination risks helps organizations anticipate where inconsistent expectations may develop without shared visibility.

• fragmented experimentation
• conflicting supervisory guidance
• unclear documentation expectations
• misaligned training timelines
• inconsistent platform responses

Landscape maps support coordination before strategy stabilizes

Institutions can use landscape mapping to establish shared understanding across departments while longer-term governance and strategy structures continue to develop.

• supports leadership briefings
• organizes working group agendas
• aligns supervisors across departments
• connects training with workflow exposure
• reduces fragmented adoption patterns