- Productivity, work quality and decision making are bigger ROIs than profitability
- However, managers are not confident in measuring non-financial ROI
- Upskilling of employees and redefinition of job specifications should be prioritized
New data from KPMG has claimed that some companies are continuing to invest in artificial intelligence despite poor returns on investment, but it could be time to reframe expectations and focus on far more than just traditional financial ROI.
The report outlines how organizations are increasingly seeing it as a long-term strategic investment for transformation, rather than simply focusing on short-term and immediate value.
As a result, profitability has fallen as a priority, cited by 64% of KPMG’s sources, compared to non-financial metrics such as productivity gains (76%), quality of work (71%) and better decision-making (67%).
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AI is about full business transformation, not just profitability
The difficulty comes in actually measuring ROI – while profitability can be observed on the financial statements, only 14% are confident in measuring indirect and strategic returns due to challenges in quantifying benefits. Overall, KPMG summarizes that traditional ROI frameworks don’t actually fit well with AI results.
Despite this unclear return on investment, around two in three (65%) companies are set to continue investing regardless of measurable returns, with AI now seen as a “must-have” just like the cloud. Agentic AI appears to be one of the biggest priorities, with almost everyone (94%) using or planning to use AI agents.
In terms of what this means for the workforce, KPMG says AI requires not just a technical shift, but a broader organizational change to accommodate workers in new types of roles. Around half are already redesigning roles around AI (48%) and hiring dedicated AI specialists (52%), three in five are also upskilling their staff (61%).
Despite ongoing training efforts, the shift is simply too big for many, with 46% citing a lack of skills as a major barrier. The usual culprits – privacy, security and governance – are also still hurdles for many.
“No matter what form of AI an organization uses or plans to use, having the right safeguards in place to minimize risks is critical,” wrote AI chief Dr. Leanne Allen.
Allen praised companies for investing in their workers, but stressed that roles are likely to change under the influence of artificial intelligence. Looking forward, business leaders should pay as much attention to role support as they do employees.
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