For the past year, I've polled attendees during my presentations at conferences. I ask where their organization stands with AI, using four stages. Across multiple events, the combined results thus far look like this:
Exploring (learning about AI, no active initiatives): 43%
Planning (identifying use cases and evaluating options): 21%
Piloting (testing AI in limited workflows): 22%
Scaling (expanding AI across programs or departments): 14%
That means more than four in 10 respondents work at organizations that haven't begun any AI initiative.
I was surprised, and also not surprised. I would have hoped to see more people piloting by now. At the same time, the results reflect where our field is. Behavioral health has lagged far behind other areas in implementing AI, and a cautious pace is what I'd expect from us.
Still, 57% of respondents reported AI activity at some level, with most of them in planning or piloting. That spread differs from what I've learned in conversations.
Most of the people who talk with me at these events are either exploring or scaling, and I meet fewer who are in the planning stage. That's why the scaling result stood out. It came in lowest of the four stages, even though it comes up often when I'm speaking with attendees.
Each stage brings a different kind of conversation and calls for different support. At Core Solutions, we work with organizations at all four.
Exploring. This is the largest group in the poll, and organizations here are still learning what AI can do. We typically talk through the AI tools we offer, discuss new features, provide demos, and share questions to ask vendors about their AI products.
Planning. For organizations that choose Core, planning carries into implementation. Each customer stays in the driver's seat on how AI rolls out, so we ask what they need from our system, Cx360 Intelligence: The Intelligent Care Record. Some don't want AI available to everyone. If an organization wants it only for clinicians, we enable it for that role and leave it off for others. The goal is a configuration that reflects those choices. We also work with customers on their AI governance framework and policies. State law can come up, too. Recently, a Florida organization asked how the Intelligent Care Record addresses the state's behavioral health laws, and we were happy to walk through it. State-specific questions like this come up regularly with organizations nationwide.
Piloting. Once an organization goes live, we take a step back. Their teams put the tools to work, and we re-evaluate from there.
Piloting can also mean partnering with Core to test something new.
Scaling. By the time an organization reaches this stage, its teams know the Intelligent Care Record well. They follow their own plan for expansion and come to us with questions about turning on additional features. For enterprise organizations, scaling often takes place site by site. A single location that tends to try new technology first may serve as the starting point, with AI extending to other sites after that, possibly supported by super users from the first location. Sites the organization acquires later can come on board the same way.
An organization can move through these stages once, but many go through them repeatedly. A team might begin with a few AI tools, have a good experience, and return to exploring when it wants to try others. Each new tool can bring a fresh round of exploring, planning, piloting, and scaling. Our work with each customer starts from wherever it is in that process.
I'd like to see the 43% with no active AI initiatives shrink over the next year. Behavioral health already trails other areas in implementing artificial intelligence, and organizations that move forward still control the pace. They can start with a single role or one site and expand from there.
If your organization is still exploring, our "AI for Healthcare: A Guide for Behavioral Health Providers" covers where AI fits across care delivery and operations. If you're in planning, our "Behavioral Health Leader's Guide to Ethically Built AI" and its companion vendor checklist can help shape your governance approach and vendor conversations. If you're piloting, scaling, or ready to see what comes next, request a demo of the Intelligent Care Record.