A global study by EY and Oxford Economics finds that while companies are extensively experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI), most cannot yet demonstrate clear business returns from their AI investments. The survey polled 2,500 technology leaders across 28 countries about their AI strategies and the business impact of those initiatives.
Key findings
- A majority of respondents believe automated and intelligent solutions create more value than they are currently able to measure or report.
- Generative and agent‑based AI continue to attract substantial investment worldwide, but many organisations are seeing expected outcomes emerge more slowly or unevenly than hoped.
- The report describes an "AI return trap": experimentation and pilots are progressing faster than deployment, operations and performance measurement can keep up.
Processes and readiness gaps
The analysis highlights operational weaknesses in how organisations prepare for and manage AI:
- More than half of companies have processes to assess AI readiness, but these processes are not run consistently.
- Only 33 percent regularly evaluate whether their IT infrastructure is fit to support AI solutions.
- Barely 25 percent perform recurring checks on data quality and reliability.
According to the study, the ability to use intelligent systems to transform end‑to‑end business processes, tie AI initiatives to clear objectives, and measure outcomes with appropriate performance indicators will determine success.
About the research
The EY research is based on two international surveys conducted with Oxford Economics. The first online survey included 1,500 technology industry leaders from 28 countries across the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and the EMEIA region. A second survey added another 1,000 similarly composed respondents.
(Compiled from MTI reporting)
