AI Opportunity Radar
The AI Opportunity Radar is a canvas from Board of Innovation for exploring where AI could matter for a business. Starting from one core AI capability, a team maps the direct applications in its own business and then the second-order effects, such as new business models and shifts in its industry, on a radar of concentric rings. Looking at where the notes cluster shows which areas deserve closer investigation.
Facilitation script
- 1
Introduce the radar and its two rings. Agree on the AI capability to start with and make sure everyone means the same thing by it.
10 min - 2
Silent writing, then sharing: first-order opportunities, the direct applications in your own business. Place them on the inner ring.
15 min - 3
Second-order opportunities: for each inner-ring item, ask what follows from it. Place the knock-on effects, new business models and industry shifts on the outer ring.
20 min - 4
Mark risks and opportunities, then look for clusters and name them.
10 min - 5
Select the clusters to investigate, agree what would need to be true for each, and assign owners.
10 min
Tips
Fill the inner ring quickly and spend the time on the outer ring; the first-order ideas are usually ones the team has heard before.
Keep asking what happens next if a competitor or a customer does the same thing.
Invite at least one person who knows the technology and one who knows customers and the market, otherwise the radar fills with either features or wishful thinking.
Treat the result as a list of hypotheses to check, since nothing on it has been validated.
Common pitfalls
Stopping at first-order applications. The radar becomes a list of automation ideas and misses the changes that matter strategically
Starting from 'AI' in general, with no single capability in the centre. The notes become too vague to cluster
Treating the outer ring as forecasts. Second-order effects are speculation and need evidence before money is committed
Mapping only opportunities for the own company and ignoring what the same capability gives competitors and new entrants
Ending with a full canvas and no selected areas or owners, so the session has no effect on the strategy
Variations
Board of Innovation offers the canvas as a downloadable template and as a board template for digital whiteboards, which suits remote sessions. With a larger group, assign a different AI capability to each subgroup and merge the radars in a gallery walk. The mechanics resemble a Futures Wheel started from an AI capability, and a team without the template can draw concentric rings on a whiteboard and proceed the same way. The source states no duration or group size; the figures here are practical estimates.
Where it fits
When to use it
A leadership or innovation team is starting to define its position on AI and has only a list of scattered tool ideas
Discussion about AI is stuck at efficiency gains and you want to widen it to business models and industry change
You need input for a strategy or roadmap session and want candidate areas before prioritising
The team should consider what competitors and customers can do with the same capability
Several AI capabilities are relevant and you want to compare where each leads
When not to use it
The team wants hands-on experience with AI tools. Run an AI Innovation Day
Use cases are already chosen and pilots are stalling. Use AI Scaling Blockers to find out why
You need to rank a known list of use cases. An Impact & Effort Matrix is faster
Nobody in the room understands what the chosen AI capability can and cannot do. Build that knowledge first or the radar fills with speculation
You want to explore the consequences of a trend that is not about AI. The general Futures Wheel is the better fit
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is AI Opportunity Radar?▾
The AI Opportunity Radar is a strategy canvas from Board of Innovation. A team starts from one AI capability, maps its direct applications in the business and then its second-order effects such as new business models and industry shifts. The clusters that appear on the radar indicate where to investigate further.
What is the difference between first-order and second-order opportunities?▾
First-order opportunities are the immediate applications of a capability in your current business, such as generating product descriptions automatically. Second-order opportunities are what follows once that becomes common: changed customer expectations, new business models or a different competitive structure. The second ring is where the strategic questions usually sit.
How long does an AI Opportunity Radar session take?▾
Board of Innovation does not state a duration. In practice, one AI capability can be worked through in 60 to 90 minutes with a small team. Plan extra time or a second session for each additional capability.
Who should take part?▾
A small cross-functional group works best: someone who understands the technology, someone close to customers, and people responsible for strategy or the business model. The source does not prescribe a group size. Three to eight people is a workable range for one canvas.
How does it relate to the Futures Wheel?▾
Both map consequences outward from a centre in successive orders. The Futures Wheel starts from any trend, event or decision, while the AI Opportunity Radar starts from an AI capability and looks for business opportunities and risks. A team that knows the Futures Wheel will find the radar familiar.
Plan your next workshop with AI
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Board of Innovation.