What ROI? AI Misfires Spur CEOs To Rethink Adoption
CIO, Thursday, May 29th, 2025
FOMO still drives AI investments, but with only 25% of projects meeting expectations, chief executives may be shifting from 'fail fast' to a slower, more intentional approach.
Nearly three years after the release of ChatGPT kicked off a new revolution, consistent AI ROI remains elusive.
Just 25% of AI initiatives in recent years have lived up to ROI expectations, according to CEOs surveyed by the IBM Institute for Business Value. Meanwhile, organizations have achieved enterprise-wide rollouts with only 16% of AI projects.
Part of the problem has been that organizations don't know what they're getting into. Nearly two thirds of CEOs acknowledge that the fear of missing out drives investment in new technologies before they have a clear understanding of its value. Often this results in rushing an AI project for ROI or launching one just for show - neither a recipe for success.