For all the hype surrounding technologies such as AI, for most of the last few years, there has been precious little return on the investments companies were making.  Many AI-related projects were stuck in a research or pilot phase and were subsequently making little real impact on the operations of the business.

Indeed, as recently as 2019, a survey from MIT Sloan and BCG found that around 70% of companies had seen no real return from their AI investments.  Moving projects from research into production was proving challenging, whether due to the lack of skills, the need for processes to be re-engineered, or various other factors that hampered the scaling of AI successfully.

Signs of change

A survey conducted this year by NewVantage suggests things are changing.  Indeed, it shows a remarkable turnaround, as 92% of large companies now report that they’re achieving returns on their investment in AI and data-related projects.

Companies have managed to construct an AI strategy and are building an ecosystem around AI that is underpinned by the structures and processes required to make the technology work.  Even those embarking on a relatively small number of AI projects were still seeming to gain value from them, even if they aren’t quite transforming the business in the same way more adventurous organizations are.

Similarly positive outcomes were found in a survey last year by McKinsey, which found that the majority of companies were using AI in at least one function, with the economic returns from these projects also growing.

The impact of the pandemic on digital investments has been well documented, with various surveys suggesting that most of those benefiting from AI are doing so because their investments aim to create new value rather than cut costs.  Indeed, those in the former camp were 2.5 times as likely to feel that value has been achieved than those in the latter camp.

While the various surveys into the value of AI investments only really capture our subjective feelings, they do nonetheless appear to suggest that the tide is turning and we are getting better at deriving value from the technology.  It’s perhaps not the wholesale transformation that advocates predicted a few years (yet), but it is nonetheless an indication that we’re beginning to get to grips with what the technology can do and how to best capitalize on it.