Earlier this year, MIT made headlines with a report that found 95% of organizations are getting no return from AI — and this despite a groundbreaking $30 billion investment, or more, into US-based internal gen AI initiatives. So why do so many AI initiatives fail to deliver positive ROI? Because they often lack a clear connection to business value, says Neal Ramasamy, global CIO at Cognizant, an IT consulting firm. “This leads to projects that are technically impressive but don’t solve a real need or create a tangible benefit,” he says.

Technologists often follow the hype, diving headfirst into AI tests without considering business results. “Many start with models and pilots rather than business outcomes,” says Saket Srivastava, CIO of Asana, the project management application. “Teams run demos in isolation, without redesigning the underlying workflow or assigning a profit and loss owner.”