Board AI Briefing Template

How to use it. Fill in the blanks with your own figures. Slide 1 carries the decision, and every other slide is evidence for it, so write slide 1 first and say it in the first minute. If your chair takes papers as read, put the slide 1 sentence at the top of the paper instead. Send the whole pack, including this quarter's measures, with the board papers. If the board wants to learn about AI, ask the chair for a separate teaching session rather than spending this slot on it.

Before you send it

The slide 1 sentence has been read to someone outside the AI team, who could repeat it back.
Readiness is scored on all five pillars, and the weakest is named.
Each of the three risks is tied to a system you actually run, with the dates of the rules that apply.
The ask is costed as a share of the AI budget, with any top-up for high-risk systems.
The six measures are filled in with this quarter's numbers, and "unknown" is written where a number is unknown.
General counsel has read slide 3.

Slide 1. The recommendation

What are you asking us to decide?

One sentence a director could repeat at dinner. A sample to adapt:

"We ask the board to approve [amount] for [what it pays for] and AI as a standing item each quarter, with the first report at the [month] meeting."

Item	Your answer
The decisionApprove, fund, stop or change what?
The amount
The date you report back
The one business result it buys

Slide 2. Readiness

Can we do this?

Score each pillar from 1 to 5. Readiness is the lowest of the five scores, not their average, because an average lets four strong pillars hide a weak one (the five-pillar assessment).

Pillar	Score (1 to 5)	Evidence for the score
Strategy
Data
Talent
Process
Governance
ReadinessThe lowest score above, and the pillar it comes from

Slide 3. Exposure

What could go wrong?

Three risks, each tied to a system you run. Give the cost as a range and write its assumptions beside it.

#	Risk	System it sits in	Rule and date	Cost range and assumptions
1
2
3

Dated obligations that apply. One row is filled in as an example; check every date against the legal text before you send.

Obligation	Applies from	Status	Owner
EU AI Act, high-risk obligations for uses listed in Annex IIIFor example hiring and credit scoring	2 December 2027, under Regulation (EU) 2026/1744

Slide 4. The ask in detail

What exactly do you need?

Ask for a stated share of the AI budget, topped up for each high-risk system on slide 3. Do not promise a return multiple.

Item	Detail	Cost
Named roles
Tools
Top-up for high-risk systems
Total, and as a share of the AI budget

Three dated deliverables. By day 90, every AI system should have a place on a list, a record of how it could fail, and a named person who can pause it (Minimum Viable Governance).

By	Deliverable	Owner
Day 30
Day 60
Day 90

Review turnaround you will promise: a decision on a low-risk use within working days.

Slide 5. Reporting

How will we know?

The six measures the board sees every quarter. Write the threshold for red, amber and green before launch, and the status as R, A or G. On a phone, the table scrolls sideways.

Measure	This quarter	Thresholds	R, A or G	Owner
1. AI systems in use, by risk tier, with the share that have a current risk assessment and a named owner who can pause them.
2. Systems outside their agreed limits (accuracy, drift, override rate), and how many breached them this quarter.
3. Serious incidents, near misses and complaints or appeals from the people the systems decide about, with the days from detection to the board.
4. Governance review: median days from request to decision, how many reviews required changes or a refusal, and any system that went live without a review.
5. Each dated legal obligation that applies, with its status and owner.
6. Value delivered against the approved business case for each material initiative, with the scale-up or stop decisions due.

Each red, amber or green against thresholds the board agreed before launch; internal audit or the risk function checks the numbers once a year.

Item	Your answer
Executive accountable for the measures
Next review date
Who checks the numbers, and when

For a board of three: the one-page version

A small board doesn't need slides. Send one page two days ahead, in the same order, and open the meeting by pointing to the first paragraph.

The decision and the amount, with the date you report back.
Readiness and exposure: the weakest pillar and the three risks, with their dates.
The deliverables and the measures you will report each quarter.