Why did we build the Spark AI Maturity Score?
Summary: We built the Spark AI Maturity Score to give agencies a practical way to understand where they really stand with AI. It is built on two years of proprietary data from work with 80+ agencies, grounded in the Spark AI Maturity Model®, and designed to give leaders practical next steps rather than just a number.
Author: Asta Vallis
Read length: 5 minutes
Date: 24.08.26
Spark AI is the AI performance partner that builds organisation-wide AI capability for creative agencies and brand teams. We take ambitious teams from fragmented experimentation to AI embedded across their people, processes and systems – so it delivers real commercial impact.
We have just launched the Spark AI Maturity Score, free for any agency to take. There are a lot of AI maturity quizzes out there. But here is why ours is worth doing.
The questions are built on our Spark AI Maturity Model® (read about the model here), which is based on two years of proprietary data gathered through our work with more than 80 agencies and brand teams.
The framework also sits behind our wider thinking on AI transformation. Spark co-founder Jules Love wrote about it in the bestselling Shift – AI for Agencies, and his work draws on studying Applied Generative AI at MIT and lecturing on AI in Business at Oxford University's Saïd Business School.
Most importantly, these are not questions we created purely for an online assessment. They are the same questions we use with leadership teams in our own programmes, where the answers have to lead to actual decisions about strategy, skills, tools, governance and investment.
Why did we build the Spark AI Maturity Score?
Our Spring 2026 Spark Report found that AI activity and organisational AI capability are not the same thing. 83% of respondents described themselves as capable AI users. 45% were using AI every day. But only 15% were working with AI at a level that was changing how their agency operates and competes. At the same time, 52% of AI activity was taking place without formal governance behind it.
That tells us that agencies can have lots of AI happening without necessarily having the organisational capability to turn that activity into sustained value.
You might have excellent individual user or have some teams saving hours every week. But that does not automatically tell you whether leadership has agreed what AI is for, whether good practice is shared, whether governance is in place, or whether AI is beginning to change how the agency delivers and sells its work.
We built the Score to give leaders a clearer view of that bigger picture.
What do you get when you finish?
You receive a free report that shows your overall score, where your organisation is strongest, where it needs more work and where your biggest opportunity to progress sits.
It also gives you 3 practical use cases that you can start applying straight away.
Why does this matter for agency leaders?
Because leaders are increasingly having to make decisions about AI investment before they have a clear view of where the organisation is today. Without a baseline, those decisions can easily be led by whichever problem is most visible or whichever tool is getting the most attention.
The Score gives you a more structured starting point to discuss planning and budget conversations.
Why is the Score free?
The Spark AI Maturity Score data benefits the whole industry. Each completed Score contributes anonymously to the wider benchmark behind the Spark Report, our bi-annual study of AI maturity across agencies.
The more agencies that take part, the stronger that industry picture becomes.
That means the Score can become useful in two ways. First, it gives you a baseline for your own organisation. Second, it gives you context for understanding how that position compares with the wider market over time.
Our next Spark Report will be the fifth edition and publishes in October 2026.
Take the Spark AI Maturity Score
12 questions · 5 minutes · personalised report · no sales call
We also owe a thank you to Kreante, an AI strategic partner who helped us turn the Score into a finished product. They helped make the framework production-ready and secure.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Spark AI Maturity Score for?
It is designed for leaders in creative agencies and brand teams who want to understand their organisation’s AI capability and priorities. It measures the organisation around AI use, rather than testing how skilled an individual person is at prompting or using a particular tool.
How long does the Spark AI Maturity Score take?
Less than five minutes. There are twelve questions covering Vision & Strategy, People skills & Culture, Data & Tools, and Governance & Accountability. Your personalised report is sent when you finish.
What should I do with my result?
Send it around your leadership team and see if you all score the same. We tend to be more optimistic, so having more results can create a more grounded depiction of what is happening within your agnecy. Then, look at the areas where your organisation is already strong, but pay particular attention to the biggest gap. That is the area where additional budget or leadership attention will have the greatest effect.
