COLUMN
Don’t report generative AI impact
as “people found it useful”
“Feedback from the floor is positive” goes in the impact section. The meeting ends. A quarter later, the same section can still be empty. What goes there isn’t an impression — it’s one line: one task and a frequency. No plan document needed.
Before the quarterly report, have your impact line checked →We separate the impact you can write from the impact you can’t write yet. No plan document, no sales deck after the call
Before the impact section — don’t open with “it was useful”
The impact section of a report sometimes carries a line like this.
- NG (don’t put this in the impact section)
- People on the floor say it was useful
The meeting ends. A quarter later, the same line can be sitting in the same section. Impressions aren’t wrong. This is about turning the one line in the impact section into a task and a frequency.
- OK (the one line for the impact section)
- Legal generates contract clause comparisons 3 times a week (usage logs for the last 4 weeks confirmed)
- How to write the frequency (pick one)
- N per week / N per month / N this quarter. Attach either the usage log or a confirmation from the owner. Don’t rely on self-reporting alone.
This is a split that fits your own report format. We don’t make that decision on your behalf.
The quarterly impact section — one line of impressions, and the next report arrives
| How the impact section was written | What tends to remain in the next report |
|---|---|
| “Feedback from the floor is positive” went in as-is | Same line in the same section next quarter. Task name and frequency still blank |
| Login count was reported as impact | You get how many times it was opened. You can’t write the impact on the work |
| Company-wide impressions were listed as bullets | More pages. Still no line to put in the section |
The second one weighs the most. Put login counts in the impact section and the next report still can’t say which task, how many times.
The one line that goes in the impact section
| Impact section | Condition for inclusion |
|---|---|
| Impact you can write | Can state one task and a frequency on the spot. This is the only one that becomes a line |
| Impact you can’t write yet | Impressions only. Don’t mix them into the same section |
| Impact to write after the numbers | Keep it only if the frequency is expected to be in hand this quarter |
Don’t collapse the whole company into a single “impact confirmed.” A one-line company-wide impact defers the blank in the next report.
The impact you can write is department / one task / frequency. Example: Legal | contract clause comparison | 3 per week. Converting it to money isn’t the impact section’s job. Only departments that can state the frequency get a line.
- Not yet (goes in a separate note)
- HR’s “it was useful” doesn’t go in the impact section
Before the quarterly report, have your impact line checked →We separate the impact you can write from the impact you can’t write yet. No plan document, no sales deck after the call
If you bring in an external assessment, “the one line of impact you can write” is easier to work with than company-wide impressions (our Metamon works on the same premise). A first conversation starts from that one line. Whether to order an assessment or sign anything can wait until you have seen the line.
The note you can write in-house before the meeting — not a plan document
| Department | Category | The one line for the impact section |
|---|---|---|
| Legal | Can write | Legal generates contract clause comparisons 3 times a week (logs confirmed) |
| HR | Not yet | — (impact section left blank; “it was useful” goes in a separate note only) |
| IT | After the numbers | — (not reported until the scope and retention period of usage logs are settled under internal rules) |
The frequency in the impact line shouldn’t rest on self-reporting alone. Attach one of: a log, a ledger, or a confirmation from the owner.
You don’t need a plan document to settle the one impact line. These three columns are what you can write in-house before the meeting. When you contact us, no plan document or internal material is needed either. The form only needs “the impact line you can write” (e.g. Legal | contract comparison | 3 per week) or the name of a department that can’t write one yet (leave it blank if unsure).
No need to hand over a company-wide sheet of impressions first. What the meeting wants is the one line of impact you can write.
Split the impact line into what you can write and what you don’t write yet
We sort it to fit your report format. No plan document needed. We don’t send a sales deck. Individual approval and contract decisions follow your own internal rules.
Before the quarterly report, have your impact line checked →
References
How to measure: The three generative-AI adoption metrics
This year’s renewal: A renewal case with no usage number
Next year’s budget: Decide by lines to keep and lines to cut
Our service: Metamon (generative-AI usage diagnostic)
This article is a general framing, not legal, regulatory, or contractual advice.