From Access to Governance: Generative AI Literacy for Extension Professionals and Small Businesses, and a Governance-Aware Design Framework

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has become widespread through user-friendly interfaces that require minimal technical skill, yet rural communities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) still face a capability gap that low barriers to access do not resolve. This review examines how land-grant universities with Cooperative Extension System and other public institutions in the United States are delivering GenAI literacy education, an area of practice that has grown rapidly since late 2022 but has not been systematically reviewed. Drawing on a structured narrative review of published research, institutional program documentation, and grey literature from 2022 to 2026, the review maps the current landscape of Extension and public-sector GenAI education. We group existing programs into four delivery models: single-session workshops, multi-session series, one-on-one technical consulting, and asynchronous online modules. Hybrid configurations combine these models. Our review then identifies six challenges that cut across programs, which consist of the need for scaffolding, a governance gap between individual acceptance and organizational readiness, cost sensitivity and tool proliferation, a digital literacy paradox, persistent equity exclusions, and the capacity gap within Extension itself. Building on these findings, we recommend a governance-aware design framework organized around four questions of what to teach, how to teach, who teaches, and how to evaluate. The framework considers governance capability as core content rather than an optional addition and offers state Extension systems, funders, and policymakers a structure that can be adapted. The review concludes with a research agenda for longitudinal, organizational, and equity-focused work.