95% of Companies See Zero Returns on $40 Billion AI Investment as Most Projects Fail to Reach Production

A staggering 95% of companies report zero returns on $40 billion in AI investments as organizations treat artificial intelligence like plug-and-play software instead of redesigning workflows, with only 5% of projects reaching production while back-office automation delivers the highest returns.

• Despite $30-40 billion in enterprise GenAI investments, 95% of organizations report zero measurable returns and only 5% of custom AI initiatives make it from pilot to production
• Companies fail by treating AI as plug-and-play software rather than redesigning workflows around AI capabilities, with most pilots executed in isolation without rethinking underlying processes
• The biggest AI ROI comes from back-office automation like invoice processing and compliance monitoring rather than the heavily-funded customer-facing projects in marketing and sales