About the Project

Project Description

Adopting AI is a SaaS platform that helps small business owners and solopreneurs navigate AI adoption in a structured, data-driven way. The platform transforms the content from the Adopting AI book into an interactive application that guides users through a four-stage journey: awareness → assessment → planning → execution.

The Problem It Solves

Most small business owners are bombarded with AI hype but lack a clear framework for evaluating where they actually stand, which tools make sense for their situation, and how to build a realistic adoption plan. Adopting AI provides that framework. Practical, vendor-neutral, and grounded in measurable outcomes.

Four Core Tools

AI Readiness Assessment evaluates a business across five dimensions. Tech Awareness, Process Maturity, Data Readiness, Team Readiness, and Leadership Alignment using a 30-question survey. Results are visualized as a radar chart with scored recommendations per dimension and tracked over time to show progression.

ROI Calculator lets users model specific tasks with estimated hours saved, hourly rate, and monthly tool costs, then calculates net savings, ROI percentage, and payback period. Sessions are saved and accumulated across a project dashboard.

AI Tool Recommender takes inputs on business type, pain points, budget, and comfort level, then uses the Claude API to match users to a curated catalog of AI tools with personalized explanations of why each tool fits.

Adoption Strategy Builder generates a three-phase, 6-month roadmap via the Claude API. Quick Wins, Core Workflows, and Scale & Optimize with action items, completion tracking, and editable success metrics that trigger strategy regeneration.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: Next.js 16.2.4 (App Router), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion, Recharts
• Backend: Next.js API Routes (serverless), Supabase (PostgreSQL + Row-Level Security)
• Auth: Supabase Auth with email confirmation, Cloudflare Turnstile for bot protection
• AI: Anthropic Claude API for tool recommendations and strategy generation
• Hosting: Vercel, live at adopting-ai.com

Business Model

The platform uses a freemium model with three tiers:

Additional Platform Features

• Multi-initiative dashboard so users can manage separate AI adoption efforts in parallel
• Admin CMS for managing blog posts, AI tool catalog, and user accounts without code deploys
• Public blog with category filtering covering awareness, readiness, execution, leadership, and future-positioning topics
• Progress tracking with reassessment alerts when readiness scores shift significantly

Results

Project Results

Delivery

All four core tools were built and deployed to production at adopting-ai.com. The full platform including the freemium tier system, admin CMS, public blog, and multi-initiative dashboard was completed and made live on Vercel.

What Was Built

The platform went from book concept to fully functional SaaS in a single development cycle. Every planned Phase 1–9 feature from the original implementation roadmap was delivered:

• Four interactive tools covering the full AI adoption journey
• Freemium access control with server-side enforcement across all tools
• Supabase database with Row-Level Security on all tables, ensuring complete data isolation between users
• Admin interface for managing blog content, the AI tool catalog, and user accounts without requiring code changes or redeployments
• Retention features including score trend charts, reassessment alerts, and ROI accumulation dashboards

Outcomes by Tool

AI Readiness Assessment produces a scored profile across five business dimensions, stored as a timestamped history so users can track progression across multiple assessments. The radar chart visualization gives business owners an immediate, intuitive picture of where they stand.

ROI Calculator makes the business case for AI adoption concrete. Users can model multiple tasks, see live calculations of net annual savings and payback period, and accumulate results across all sessions into a single initiative-level summary. This is often the piece that moves a business owner from skeptical to committed.

AI Tool Recommender connects users to relevant tools from a curated catalog using Claude-powered matching, cutting through vendor noise and giving personalized, context-aware recommendations based on the user's actual situation.

Adoption Strategy Builder delivers a structured, phased roadmap that users can act on immediately. The three-phase structure (Quick Wins, Core Workflows, Scale & Optimize) was designed to produce early wins that build momentum, making follow-through more likely than a generic checklist approach.

Platform Outcomes

• Live and monetized: The freemium model is operational with working payment tiers, plan-based feature gating, and upgrade prompts embedded in the user flow.
• AI-powered at its core: Two of the four tools use live Claude API calls to generate personalized output, not static templates, making the platform differentiated from simple assessment tools.
• Extensible architecture: The database schema, API route structure, and admin CMS were built to support the deferred roadmap features (email reminders, PDF exports, cohort benchmarking, team sharing) without requiring architectural changes.
• Secure by design: Row-Level Security is enforced at the database level on all user data, and all premium feature gates are validated server-side making the access model robust against client-side workarounds.

Deferred for Future Phases

Several features from the original roadmap were intentionally deferred pending user demand and infrastructure decisions:

• Monthly PDF progress reports
• Email/notification reminder campaigns
• Cohort benchmarking (compare scores by industry or team size)
• Team sharing and advisor annotation features

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