AI Canvas01
It makes the work visible
A job description says nothing about the twenty minutes spent every morning retyping data. The friction log and the canvas bring the real work to the surface.
AI Canvas
Beneficiaries
AI value
Tasks
Pains
Gains
Meaning
Point of integration
Human-AI relationship
Target process
Data and tools
Allies and dependencies
Costs and risks
Measurable gains
- Desirable
- Feasible
- Viable
- Meaning
Free tool · Creative Commons license
Start from the work, not the tool.
The Business Model Canvas, rethought for AI.
The AI Canvas helps a team decide where artificial intelligence is really worth it. Nine blocks, a sorting matrix and a three-hour workshop. Starting from real work, real pain points and what must stay human.
Free. Tabloid and Letter PDFs, matrix, friction log and facilitator guide. Fill it in online
AI Canvas
Three zones, three questions
The AI Canvas keeps the structure and the layout of the Business Model Canvas. Each block takes on a new meaning, but the logic stays the same: desirable on the right, feasible on the left, viable at the bottom.
AI Canvas
Beneficiaries
Who benefits from the improvement: the employee, the client, the manager?
AI value
Which pain do we relieve? Which gain do we create?
TasksWhat the role really does.
PainsWhat slows down, repeats, wears out.
GainsWhat we hope to get.
MeaningWhat we love to do and protect.
Point of integration
Where does AI fit into the daily routine: email, business software, Teams, a form?
Human-AI relationship
Automate, augment or assist? Who validates? What stays human?
Target process
Which steps change, before and after?
Data and tools
What data do we need, in what state, accessible to whom?
Allies and dependencies
Who needs to be on board: IT, the vendor, an internal champion, the union?
Costs and risks
Subscriptions, training, compliance, the cost of a mistake?
Measurable gains
Hours recovered, errors avoided, delays shortened. And where does that time go?
- Desirable
- Feasible
- Viable
- Meaning
The problem
A shiny new hammer, looking for nails
In most organizations, access to AI is no longer the problem. The licences are bought, the accounts are open, and a few curious people are working wonders on their own.
The problem is that we start from the spectacular demo and then look for somewhere to plug it in. The result: pilot projects that impress in meetings and quietly die three months later.
AI isn’t overrated. It’s poorly aimed.
Why this canvas
Three things it does better than a list of ideas
02
It names what we protect
The meaning zone and the sanctuary tell teams what we won’t touch before asking them what we’ll change. That’s where buy-in is won.
03
It filters before you buy
Data, compliance, the cost of a mistake: bad ideas die on paper, not after a subscription is signed. An empty block is useful information.
Who it’s for
For people who need to move from talk to decisions
Managers and executives
You want to know where to start with AI without ending up with a showcase project.
The canvas, the matrix and completed examples.
Facilitators and consultants
You’re looking for a ready-to-use workshop tool that fits on one page and gets people talking.
The timed facilitator guide and printable templates.
Trainers and educators
You want a solid teaching framework for continuing education or a management course.
The canvas, the cases and the link to Osterwalder.
IT and compliance
You want a feasibility and risk filter before enthusiasm buys the licences.
The Data and tools and Costs and risks blocks, plus privacy law.
Three ways to use it
On paper, on screen or with support
01
In a workshop
Print the canvas in Tabloid size, grab the sticky notes and follow the three-hour agenda.
See the workshop guide02
Online
Fill in the canvas in your browser and export it as a PDF. Nothing is stored on our servers.
Open the online canvas03
With KODRA Conseil
A facilitated workshop at your place or training for your teams, backed by KODRA’s library of use cases.
Talk to KODRACompleted examples
A machine shop, a small town, a community organization
Three complete canvases, three different modes. In none of them is technology the main obstacle.
Where the tool comes from
Born in training rooms, not in a lab
The AI Canvas was designed by Sébastien Bélisle, co-founder of KODRA Conseil and lecturer in the Executive MBA at UQAT, to answer the question that comes up at every coffee break: “So, in practice, what do we actually use AI for here?”