AI Intent Canvas is a coach for AI initiatives. It combines a six-step canvas, a free-play thinking mode, AI scoring, EU AI Act insights and lightweight analytics - so you can move from hunch to evidence without leaving one workspace.
Instead of pushing you into features, the app treats your idea as an initiative.
It asks what system you are stepping into: the people, constraints, decisions and value chain around your idea.
Each step you complete is evaluated by GPT-4 with a 6–20 score, reasoning and suggestions. You don't just "fill the canvas" - you see where your thinking is strong, weak, or incomplete before you move on.
At the end, you don’t get a single score or judgement. You get a structured, honest picture of your idea: step scores, a tier classification, compliance notes, an Impact/Effort quadrant, and the assumptions you still need to test.
The app guides you through six essential fields - one at a time.
Each step combines reflection and practical constraints, and can be evaluated by AI with a score, reasoning and improvement tips.
What is the real problem - not the output you want to generate? The app asks what breaks today, for whom, and what happens if you do nothing.
Who exactly is this for? You’ll need to be concrete: context, behaviour, and what they are already doing today.
What changes for them in the first minutes, days or weeks? The app pushes you away from vague benefits into observable differences.
What does AI actually do here? Support, augment, automate, decide, generate - and what should remain human?
How will you know this is working? The app asks for small, concrete signals you can measure within a short loop.
What can’t you change - time, data, regulation, budget, politics? The constraints are not a problem; they shape the prototype.
Two ways to think: a structured Canvas for full initiatives, and a 10-minute free play mode for unfinished ideas.
Start with a title and move through Problem, Target Group, Value, AI's Role, Success Measure and Reflection. Each step comes with guidance, examples and AI-powered evaluation (6–20) so you see where your reasoning holds.
When you finish, the app rolls scores into a tier (from Eerste-Stappen to Meester-Creator), places the initiative on an Impact/Effort matrix and, when AI is involved, surfaces EU AI Act risk and next steps.
For rough ideas, you use the free play mode: one-line idea in, three interpretations out (safe, strange, challenging). You capture what shifted in your thinking and then explore it further in a Socratic AI conversation.
The app is not a form. It deliberately resists one-line answers.
Scores, traffic lights and reasoning show you which steps you've really thought through - and which ones you've rushed.
Through the Canvas and Free Play modes it keeps asking: “Who exactly?”, “What changes?”, “What evidence would convince you?” Over time, analytics reveal which step you consistently overlook.
The Impact/Effort matrix and tier badges make blind spots visible. You see which ideas cluster in “Quick Wins”, which are strategic but heavy, and where you’re over-investing in low-value experiments.
Instead of a single score, you finish with a clear list of unknowns - the things you must test before committing serious time or budget.
Use it during workshops on your Mac or Windows to clarify AI ideas and move from hunch to evidence.
The AI Intent Canvas app is inspired by the frameworks in From Idea to Direction with AI - especially the Intent Canvas and 30-day loops. You don’t need the book to use the app, but the book goes deeper into why this way of thinking works.
Teams that are past AI hype and need structured thinking:
Who need to judge AI ideas based on value, feasibility and intent.
Who want to experiment without losing sight of risk and constraints.
Who want a clearer picture before committing budget and people.
Clarity also means being honest about the limits.
This is not a compliance or portfolio assessment tool. It does not classify projects for portfolio decisions or compliance reporting. It does not give you a single “go/no-go” score.
The AI Intent Canvas is for teams who want to think clearly before they build. It helps you decide whether an idea deserves a prototype - and what to test first.
Start your own Canvas, or contact me if you want to run this as a guided session with your team using your real initiatives.
