Why AI isn’t delivering the value you expected

When we discuss AI-led digital transformation with executives, we often hear a familiar theme: “We’ve invested a lot, but the payoff isn’t what we hoped for.” It’s not just one or two organizations making this claim. Across industries, the pattern is consistent. Companies have invested significant time, money, and energy in transformation initiatives, yet the value unlocked often feels incremental at best.

When it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI), I can’t think of a time in recent history when so many leaders were aligned in their conviction that a technology would be transformative. I share that conviction. The potential is enormous. At the macro level, AI should unleash massive productivity gains, lower costs, and open up entirely new opportunities for value creation.

However, the paradox we keep running into is that very few organizations are actually realizing these benefits today. They’ve invested in pilots, platforms, and proofs of concept. They’ve staffed up new AI teams. They’ve experimented with automation and agents. And yet, AI has not fundamentally changed their business outcomes – at least not yet.