Tech execs are getting wise about ROI from AI

Most organizations have been largely unable to measure financial returns from AI, but analysts say new ways to calculate return on investment are emerging. “There’s a delay between the development of technology, even the investment in the technology, and the value that an organization can capture from it,” said Michael Chui, a senior fellow at McKinsey. But more executives are asking questions. “The CFOs are asking CIOs, investors are asking CEOs: ‘Where’s the ROI from this stuff, already?’” he said. In McKinsey’s “State of AI” survey released in August, about 80% of respondents said AI improved their productivity. But only 37% said AI’s impact showed up in profits, about the same as last year. An even smaller number — only 6% — said AI delivered significant value and accounted for at least 5% of their operating profit. In other words, there’s a drop-off between the value that individual workers are getting from AI and the value that organizations are getting from AI, Chui said. The biggest gains will come from redesigning workflows and processes in which humans and AI agents work together, according to McKinsey’s Technology Trends Outlook. Layering agents onto existing processes …

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