Distinguish awareness, proficiency, and technical expertise.

AI literacy, proficiency, and technical expertise describe different levels of capability. Understanding the distinctions helps individuals choose appropriate assessments and organizations set realistic expectations for their teams.

Three levels of AI capability

AI literacy is awareness: knowing that AI tools exist, understanding their general capabilities and limitations, and recognizing when they might be useful. A literate person can describe what ChatGPT does and why prompt quality matters, but may not use these tools daily or produce polished work with them.

AI proficiency is practical skill: working with AI tools reliably to complete real tasks, checking output for errors, adapting when results miss the mark, and knowing when NOT to use AI. A proficient person integrates AI into their workflow and delivers work that stands on its own. This is what Emeri measures.

Technical AI expertise is deep capability: building models, fine-tuning systems, writing code that calls APIs programmatically, or architecting AI infrastructure. An expert understands how the systems work internally, not just how to use them. Emeri does not assess technical expertise — it measures how non-technical and technical professionals alike USE AI to do their jobs.

What Emeri measures

Emeri assesses AI proficiency across six practical competencies through role-calibrated scenarios. You work with AI during the assessment — open-book, open-AI — and your output is graded against published rubrics. The result is a band (E1 to E4), a percentile, and a six-skill profile showing where you are strong and where to improve.

The free 15-minute check gives you a private grade. Certification ($189) turns your result into a verified credential with a badge, public proof page, and Vanguard registry listing that employers can check instantly.

Individual assessment

Anyone can take the free check — no account needed, completely private. If you like the result, certify it. If not, use the six-competency feedback to study and retake when ready. The free study guides cover every skill the exam measures.

Team and organizational assessment

Organizations interested in assessing teams should understand what is available now versus what requires a pilot.

What works today: individuals on a team can each take the assessment and share their credentials. A hiring manager can request Emeri verification links the same way they request any credential. The Vanguard registry lists certified professionals who have opted in.

What Emeri does not currently provide: aggregate reporting, team dashboards, bulk administration, departmental segmentation, and benchmark analytics are not currently available. Organizations interested in helping shape a future team program can contact support@emeri.org to discuss a team assessment pilot.

More detail on team options is available on the Teams page.