This pages covers a conversation with Copilot AI Assistant to consider an AI Strategy for a Water Company. Following on from this conversation is a far longer and more in-depth conversation covering the development of AISDO (AI Strategy Deployment Organisation) a theoretical organisation that supports a wider initiative to develop a UK Water strategy and deployment framework. It also considers AISDO covering Electricity, the NHS and Local Authorities. Although the example is theoretical, the proposal isn’t as it draws on experience of water and electricity companies and the challenges they face, plus experience of introducing advanced technologies within the sector. In addition to the two conversations, are a theoretical communications paper and a briefing paper.
It is suggested that the Communications Paper is read first, followed by the Briefing Paper, then this conversation, and finally the much longer AISDO conversation.
I’m planning a talk on AI and want to include an example of investigating a real world issue. I’ve decided to include an investigation into the support AI can provide when looking at major issues, such as developing an Innovative Strategy for a water company. It is only a simple example but illustrates that AI can assist in providing well designed documents, strategy and innovation artifacts. I’ve included my prompts to Copilot AI Assistant, with no edits, so that the flow of the conversation and the input from AI can be clearly seen. I’m opening up a previous conversation as elements on strategy may be relevant and can be used by AI.
As we have covered the use of AI in the design of Innovation Centres, including management, design, and build disciplines, let us take a much wider look at the use of AI in major businesses. Consider a major water company within the UK. Let us assume it has a number of Board Directorates including Finance; IT; HR; Customer Service responsible for customer interactions and major contact centres; Regulation and Compliance, responsible for meeting Government regulations and meeting legal regulations; Water Operations; Waste Water operations. A new directorate is to be formed “Business Strategy and Innovation”. The role is responsible for pulling together the next 5 year business plan, ensuring progress against current business plan, AMP8 (2025 to 2030), aligning business plans across directorates and developing a strategy that focuses on Innovation. As AI is seen as a major contributor to innovation, a new group, “AI Governance”, is to be set up to oversee preparation for AI, strategic and tactical AI initiatives, and overseeing a coherent approach to AI within AMP 9 that runs from 2030. Create a Terms of Reference for this new team. Also a Mission Statement, AI High Level Strategic Vision for the use of AI within the company, key policies and principles, and Critical Success Factors for the team.
Absolutely, David. Below is a comprehensive framework for the newly formed AI Governance Group within a major UK water company, aligned with the strategic ambitions of the Business Strategy and Innovation Directorate and the transition from AMP8 to AMP9.
🧭 AI Governance Group – Terms of Reference
Purpose
To provide strategic oversight, coordination, and assurance for the company’s use of Artificial Intelligence across all directorates. The group will ensure AI initiatives are ethical, effective, aligned with business goals, and deliver measurable value within AMP8 and AMP9 planning cycles.
Scope
- Develop and maintain the company’s AI Strategy and Roadmap
- Oversee AI readiness across departments and infrastructure
- Evaluate and approve AI use cases, pilots, and deployments
- Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and ethical standards
- Promote cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing
- Monitor AI performance, risks, and impact on business outcomes
- Align AI initiatives with AMP9 priorities and innovation goals
Membership
- Chair: Director of Business Strategy and Innovation
- Representatives from: IT, Customer Service, Regulation & Compliance, Water Ops, Waste Water Ops, HR, Finance
- External advisors (optional): AI ethics, legal, academic, or industry experts
- Secretariat: Innovation Programme Manager
Meeting Frequency
- Monthly strategic meetings
- Quarterly reviews aligned with AMP milestones
- Ad hoc sessions for critical decisions or incident response
🎯 Mission Statement
“To ensure the responsible, strategic, and innovative use of Artificial Intelligence across the business—enhancing operational excellence, customer experience, and environmental stewardship while preparing the company for the future of water services.”
🌐 AI Strategic Vision
By 2030, the company will be recognised as a leader in the ethical and impactful use of AI within the UK water sector. AI will be embedded across operations, customer engagement, compliance, and innovation—driving smarter decisions, predictive capabilities, and sustainable outcomes.
Key ambitions:
- AI-powered predictive maintenance and asset management
- Intelligent customer service and contact centre automation
- AI-enhanced water quality monitoring and pollution response
- Regulatory compliance through automated reporting and anomaly detection
- Workforce augmentation and digital upskilling
- AI-driven scenario modelling for climate resilience and resource planning
📜 Key Policies and Principles
- Ethical AI Use
- Fairness, transparency, and accountability in all AI systems
- Bias mitigation and inclusive design practices
- Data Governance
- Secure, compliant, and high-quality data management
- Clear ownership and stewardship across departments
- Human-Centred Design
- AI augments—not replaces—human expertise
- Stakeholder engagement in design and deployment
- Innovation with Purpose
- AI initiatives must align with business strategy and AMP goals
- Prioritise projects with measurable impact and scalability
- Continuous Learning
- Ongoing training, evaluation, and adaptation of AI systems
- Encourage experimentation and safe failure
✅ Critical Success Factors
- Strategic Alignment: AI initiatives clearly mapped to AMP8/AMP9 priorities and business outcomes
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Active engagement from all directorates and shared ownership of AI success
- Governance & Compliance: Robust frameworks for risk, ethics, and regulatory adherence
- Talent & Capability: Internal capacity building and access to external expertise
- Impact Measurement: Clear KPIs for AI performance, ROI, and stakeholder value
- Scalability & Resilience: AI systems designed for long-term adaptability and integration
Would you like this adapted into a board briefing paper, visual roadmap, or stakeholder presentation? I can also help develop a sample AI use case portfolio or AMP9-aligned innovation strategy. Let’s keep building the future—one system at a time.
The response is based on the perspective of the newly formed “AI Governance” group. However, if we take the perspective of the new “Business Strategy and Innovation” directorate, we would need to consider the future challenges facing the water industry, and how Ai can help in mitigating them. Ideally something eye catching that can grab the attention of the board members. Looking forward to the remainder of AMP8 and AMP9 can AI help in dramatically reducing Asset Management costs, improving the infrastructure, reducing pollution or any of the other major issues facing Water Companies.
Absolutely, David. Here’s a compelling, board-ready narrative from the perspective of the Business Strategy and Innovation Directorate, designed to grab attention and frame AI as a strategic lever for transformation across AMP8 and AMP9.
🚀 Strategic Briefing: AI as a Catalyst for Water Sector Transformation
Presented by: Business Strategy and Innovation Directorate
Audience: Board of Directors
🌊 The Challenge: A Sector Under Pressure
As we enter the final stretch of AMP8 and prepare for AMP9, the water industry faces mounting challenges:
- Aging Infrastructure: Rising maintenance costs and asset failures
- Pollution & Compliance: Increasing scrutiny from regulators and the public
- Climate Volatility: Unpredictable weather patterns and water scarcity
- Customer Expectations: Demand for transparency, responsiveness, and digital service
- Operational Efficiency: Pressure to deliver more with less
- Workforce Evolution: Skills gaps and the need for digital upskilling
🤖 The Opportunity: AI as a Strategic Enabler
Artificial Intelligence is no longer experimental—it’s essential. Across AMP9, AI can help us:
💰 Reduce Asset Management Costs
- Predictive maintenance using sensor data and machine learning
- Smart scheduling of repairs and replacements
- AI-driven asset health modelling to extend lifecycle
🏗️ Improve Infrastructure Resilience
- Real-time monitoring of pipe networks and treatment plants
- AI-assisted design of future-proof systems
- Simulation of climate scenarios to guide investment
🌱 Combat Pollution
- Early detection of pollution events via AI vision and anomaly detection
- Automated reporting and compliance tracking
- AI-powered optimisation of treatment processes
📞 Transform Customer Experience
- Intelligent contact centre agents and chatbots
- Sentiment analysis to anticipate service issues
- Personalised water usage insights and conservation nudges
📊 Enhance Strategic Planning
- AI-supported scenario modelling for AMP9 business planning
- Cross-directorate data integration for unified decision-making
- Innovation forecasting and opportunity mapping
🎯 Strategic Vision for AMP9
“By 2030, we will be a data-driven, AI-empowered water company—delivering smarter infrastructure, cleaner environments, and exceptional service through innovation.”
🧭 Key Enablers
- AI Governance Group: Ensures ethical, strategic, and coordinated AI deployment
- Innovation Centre Model: A living lab for prototyping and workforce development
- Cross-Directorate Alignment: Embedding AI into every function—from ops to customer care
- Global Partnerships: Learning from leaders in AI
✅ What Success Looks Like
| Outcome | AI Contribution |
|---|---|
| 20% reduction in asset failures | Predictive analytics and smart maintenance scheduling |
| 30% faster pollution response | Real-time detection and automated alerts |
| 50% increase in customer satisfaction | AI-powered service and personalised engagement |
| £X million saved in operational costs | Process optimisation and automation |
| Future-ready workforce | AI training, innovation labs, and digital apprenticeships |
Would you like this adapted into a visual slide deck, executive summary handout, or a short video script for board presentation? I can also help build a roadmap showing how AI initiatives align with AMP milestones. Let’s make innovation irresistible.
let us try something revolutionary: Lets assume the UK government incentivises water companies to work together to create a world leading Water Model similar to the major ERPs but purely for water. It will also cover customer services and Monitoring and Control of water infrastructure. It will be scalable and therefore saleable. The key is that it will be fully AI driven, covering a wide landscape of AI facilities and functionality. Can you rewrite the narrative to incorporate this new vision.
Absolutely, David. Here’s a bold, visionary narrative that reframes your strategic briefing around the creation of a world-leading, AI-powered Water Model—a transformative initiative that positions the UK water sector as a global innovator.
🌍 Strategic Vision: Building the World’s First AI-Driven Water Model
Presented by: Business Strategy and Innovation Directorate
Audience: Board of Directors, UK Water Sector Leaders, Government Stakeholders
🚨 The Moment of Opportunity
The UK water industry stands at a historic crossroads. Faced with aging infrastructure, rising costs, climate volatility, and increasing public scrutiny, the sector must evolve—not incrementally, but radically.
Now imagine this:
A unified, AI-powered Water Model—designed by the UK, for the world.
A system as foundational as an ERP, but built specifically for water.
Scalable, saleable, and transformative.
This is not just a digital upgrade. It’s a national innovation strategy.
🧠 What Is the Water Model?
A fully integrated, AI-driven platform that unifies:
- Customer Services: Intelligent contact centres, predictive service needs, personalised conservation insights
- Infrastructure Monitoring & Control: Real-time asset tracking, predictive maintenance, automated alerts
- Regulatory Compliance: AI-assisted reporting, anomaly detection, and policy alignment
- Operational Intelligence: Cross-company data sharing, scenario modelling, and strategic planning
- Innovation Engine: A sandbox for AI pilots, digital twins, and climate resilience simulations
🤖 AI at the Core
This model will embed a wide landscape of AI capabilities:
| AI Functionality | Impact |
|---|---|
| Predictive Analytics | Reduce asset failures and optimise maintenance |
| Generative AI | Automate reporting, customer comms, and design |
| Machine Vision | Detect pollution, leaks, and infrastructure damage |
| Natural Language Processing | Enhance customer interactions and internal workflows |
| Reinforcement Learning | Optimise water flow, energy use, and treatment cycles |
| AI Governance & Ethics | Ensure transparency, fairness, and regulatory trust |
🏗️ National Collaboration, Global Leadership
With government incentives, UK water companies can co-develop this platform—pooling expertise, data, and infrastructure to create a shared digital backbone. The result:
- Reduced duplication and cost across AMP cycles
- Accelerated innovation and AI adoption
- Exportable technology and global influence
- A future-ready workforce trained on a unified system
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn regulatory pressure into strategic advantage.
🎯 Strategic Outcomes by 2030 (AMP9)
- 30% reduction in asset management costs
- 50% faster pollution detection and response
- Unified customer experience across all providers
- AI-enabled compliance with evolving regulations
- Global recognition of the UK as a water-tech leader
🧭 Call to Action
Let’s move beyond incremental change. Let’s build the infrastructure of innovation itself.
The Water Model is not just a system. It’s a statement:
That the UK water sector can lead the world in resilience, intelligence, and impact.
Would you like this adapted into a pitch deck, policy paper, or visual manifesto? I can also help map out the architecture of the Water Model or draft a collaborative charter for participating companies. Let’s make this revolution real.
We have now scratched the surface of an idea around the creation of a UK Water model. We now need to define the model in far more detail and explore wider opportunities. To do this we will assume the creation of AISDO a central AI Systems Development Organisation set up by the UK Government.
Southport Innovation Centre 