---
url: https://www.adoptionlab.ai/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/decide-where-gains-go/
title: "Decide where the gains go | Extend | AdoptionLab.AI"
description: "Extend, phase 3 of the 5E Model for human-centered AI adoption. Commit freed time and money before it arrives."
generated: 2026-10-22T16:29:41.197Z
---[AI Adoption Roadmap](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap) / [3. Extend](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap#extend)
Phase 3: Extend
# Decide where the gains go
Commit freed time and money before it arrives.
If you don't decide, the default is cost cutting, and your team will conclude every earlier promise was cover. Before a pilot scales, split the expected gains across four buckets and announce the split.
First, confirm you control the split. Get agreement from your board, CFO, or manager, in writing if you can. Then watch the ratchet: pair every reported gain with the story of where it went.
## Put it to work
- ✓Growth: serve more people with the freed capacity.
- ✓Quality: go deeper on the work you already do.
- ✓People: return time for learning, development, and recovery.
- ✓Margin: name the amount that goes to the bottom line.
[← Keep it opt-in](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/keep-it-opt-in) [Test your measures at scale →](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/test-measures-at-scale)
More in Extend
- [Review your pilot portfolio](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/review-the-portfolio)
- [Define success before you scale](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/define-success-first)
- [Aim at bottlenecks](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/aim-at-bottlenecks)
- [Protect the core of the job](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/protect-the-core)
- [Keep it opt-in](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/keep-it-opt-in)
- [Decide where the gains go](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/decide-where-gains-go)
- [Test your measures at scale](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/test-measures-at-scale)
- [Pace growth with go/no-go checks](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/pace-the-growth)
- [Run a mid-mortem when pilots stall](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/mid-mortem)
- [Build an AI community](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap/extend/build-an-ai-community)
[See all five phases →](/resources/ai-adoption-roadmap)
Go deeper in the booklet
A Leader's Roadmap to Human-Centered AI
The Extend chapter walks through this phase with a worked example, plus the field kit: survey, rubrics, and worksheets.
[Get the booklet on Amazon →](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXGN86YZ)