AI readiness report · October 2026
Harbour & Co is in the Follower zone
Your people can do more with AI than they believe they can. The gap is confidence, and doing closes it, not more training.
52 of 64 people took part (81%)
0 people
can build with AI but wait to be told. The biggest group.
0 out of 100
for letting go: letting AI act without checking every step. The biggest gap.
0.0 hours a week
on average, on tasks people told us they want rid of.
The road to AI native
You have chosen your tools. Now AI needs to become part of the work.
Most companies go through the same five stages. Harbour & Co has picked a platform and is starting to use it every day; Sales and Leadership are a step ahead, Customer service a step behind. Hover over a stage for the signs.
Swipe along the road.
Free tools
People quietly try free chatbots on their own
A chosen platform
The company picks one tool and pays for it
Everyday use
A bit of AI in emails, documents and meetings
Automations
Work that runs without someone pressing go
AI native
Work is designed around AI from the start
Where each department is
Show as a table
| Stage | What it looks like | Signs |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Free tools | People quietly try free chatbots on their own | Pockets of use, no rules, data going who knows where |
| 2. A chosen platform | The company picks one tool and pays for it | Licences bought, a first policy, early champions |
| 3. Everyday use | A bit of AI in emails, documents and meetings | Most people use it weekly, mostly to draft and summarise |
| 4. Automations | Work that runs without someone pressing go | Workflows and agents handle whole tasks end to end |
| 5. AI native | Work is designed around AI from the start | People lead and judge; AI does the rest by default |
Where everyone is
Most of your people are Followers
Everyone lands in one of four zones from their two scores. Hover over a zone for what it means.
- Starter 9Not started yet; would rather be shown first
- Follower 23Can build, waits to be told
- Explorer 8Keen and moving fast; judgement comes next
- Builder 12Builds with judgement, brings others along
By department
Most departments are more able than they are sure
Each circle is a department, placed by its average scores. Only groups of five or more are shown.
Circle size shows how many people, with the number beside each name. Hover for the scores.
Show as a table
| Department | People | Capability | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership | 6 | 66 | 61 |
| Sales | 14 | 54 | 63 |
| Operations | 12 | 61 | 38 |
| Finance | 8 | 63 | 34 |
| Customer service | 12 | 49 | 41 |
The gap
Operations and Finance are the most held back
Finance score 63 on capability but 34 on confidence; Operations 61 and 38. Sales is the other way round: sure of itself, still learning.
Show as a table
| Department | Capability | Confidence | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | 63 | 34 | 29 |
| Operations | 61 | 38 | 23 |
| Customer service | 49 | 41 | 8 |
| Leadership | 66 | 61 | 5 |
| Sales | 54 | 63 | -9 |
Strengths and gaps
Happy to experiment, slow to let go
The themes under the two scores. People try things readily, but stop short of letting AI act on its own or building things that run without them.
Confidence
- Experimenting58
- Self-trust44
- Letting goBiggest gap31
Capability
- KnowledgeStrongest62
- Tools57
- Judgement52
- Building41
Show as a table
| Theme | Score | Part of | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experimenting | 58 | Confidence | Comfortable trying things on their own |
| Self-trust | 44 | Confidence | Backing their own call on what to automate |
| Letting go | 31 | Confidence | Letting AI act without checking every step |
| Knowledge | 62 | Capability | Understanding how AI works and its limits |
| Tools | 57 | Capability | Knowing which tool for which job |
| Judgement | 52 | Capability | What is safe, checking outputs, the right problems |
| Building | 41 | Capability | Prompts, automations and agents that run |
Where AI is worth it first
Reports and admin, not robots
The tasks people named as the ones they would hand over first. These become the first projects.
Show as a table
| Task | Share of people |
|---|---|
| Writing up reports and summaries | 64% |
| Chasing people and scheduling | 48% |
| Copying data between systems | 44% |
| First drafts of quotes and proposals | 37% |
| Meeting notes and actions | 33% |
| Answering the same customer questions | 29% |
What is pushing, what is holding back
Right now, the brakes are slightly stronger
A force field: what moves the company towards using AI well, and what holds it back. Nothing changes until the forces on the right get weaker, which is what the three moves below are for.
Swipe to see both sides.
Each force is rated 1 to 5 from the diagnostic: the longer the stream of dots, the stronger the force. Hover for the evidence.
Show as a table
| Force | Direction | Strength | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaders are ready | Pushing forward | 5 of 5 | Leadership: capability 66, confidence 61 |
| People want rid of admin | Pushing forward | 4 of 5 | 64% named report-writing as the first thing to hand over |
| Happy to experiment | Pushing forward | 3 of 5 | Experimenting: 58, the strongest confidence theme |
| They understand how AI works | Pushing forward | 3 of 5 | Knowledge: 62, the strongest capability theme |
| Won't let AI act on its own | Holding back (move 2) | 5 of 5 | Letting go: 31, the biggest gap |
| Finance and Operations doubt themselves | Holding back (move 2) | 4 of 5 | Gaps of 29 and 23 points between ability and confidence |
| Little has been built yet | Holding back (move 2) | 4 of 5 | Building: 41 |
| No agreed line on what is safe | Holding back (moves 1 and 3) | 3 of 5 | Judgement: 52; no AI policy yet |
What we recommend
Three moves, in this order
- 1
Leaders first
Your leaders are the most ready group in the company. Two weeks with them to agree where the line is on AI, write a one-page policy, and use it visibly in front of their teams.
Weakens: No agreed line on what is safe
Weeks 1 to 2
- 2
Confidence by doing, not more training
23 people, mostly in Operations and Finance, can already build but wait to be told. A real project each on a task they want rid of, with a coach, closes that gap fastest.
Weakens: Won't let AI act on its own; Finance and Operations doubt themselves; Little has been built yet
Weeks 3 to 10
- 3
Judgement before speed in Sales
Sales are keen (confidence 63) but less able (54). A short judgement course on what is safe to share and how to check outputs, before AI touches customer data.
Weakens: No agreed line on what is safe
Weeks 3 to 5
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