What's on Your 2026 AI Checklist?
Dear Will & AiME,
After a year of experimenting with AI across our teams, we're looking for a practical checklist to help us reset for the new year. How can we ensure we’re covering the right business, legal, and IP considerations?
— Strategy Lead at a National Retail Brand
Short answer 💡
A strong 2026 AI checklist focuses on how AI is used across the business, whether that use is legally compliant, and how resulting data and IP are protected. Companies should align governance, licensing, and disclosure practices with real-world AI adoption.
Dear Strategy Lead at a National Retail Brand,
Perfect timing. The start of the year is ideal for taking inventory, not just of your tools, but of how your company is using, protecting, and scaling AI responsibly.
Here is your 2026 AI Business Readiness Checklist, focused on practical business uses, compliance, and protecting your intellectual property.
1. Audit AI Use Across the Business
What tools are being used and where?
Inventory any AI systems used in marketing, customer support, internal operations, or R&D.
Identify “shadow AI” tools adopted by teams without legal, privacy, or security review.
Document where AI is involved in decision-making, customer interaction, or content generation.
2. Review Licensing & Terms of Use
Are you legally allowed to use the AI tools as you do?
Confirm whether tools grant commercial use rights.
Review what rights you give up in your inputs (e.g., prompts, documents).
Understand your rights to the outputs and whether they’re exclusive, sublicensable, or revocable.
3. Clarify AI Disclosure Obligations
Are you disclosing AI use in the right places?
If you’re using AI in customer-facing chatbots, ads, or virtual influencers, ensure your disclosures align with state law and platform requirements.
Review marketing and product content for AI-generated materials that may require transparency or disclaimers.
4. Reevaluate IP Strategy for AI-Generated Assets
Are your AI tools creating something worth protecting?
Evaluate whether AI-generated content qualifies for copyright protection or whether contractual safeguards are more effective.
Review AI-assisted inventions to confirm they are eligible for patent protection and strengthen your patent applications to address subject-matter eligibility.
Consider updating invention disclosure forms to ask targeted questions about how AI is used or implemented in the invention.
5. Strengthen Internal AI Governance
Who owns AI policy, and is it working?
Create or update internal guidelines for acceptable AI use.
Assign accountability across departments—not just legal or IT.
Update risk management playbooks to cover AI misuse, phishing, and impersonation risks.
As you head into 2026, treat AI as a core business asset—one that impacts legal risk, operational integrity, and brand value.
— Will & AiME
Three Takeaways:
Audit your AI use to spot legal blind spots, unauthorized tools, and untapped IP value.
Align your licensing, disclosure, and IP strategies with how your teams actually use AI.
Treat AI governance as a strategic priority, not a side project, to ensure successful long-term adoption.
