There’s a new study out that means it’s time to update all those slides that say AI projects are failing:
[A] new study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School complicates the narrative. The study found that 74% of businesses that measure the ROI from their generative AI efforts are already seeing a positive return, and more expect to see a positive ROI within the next two or three years.
Larger organizations struggle a bit:
Only 57% of those with more than $2 billion in annual revenue said they saw a positive ROI so far.
The Wharton study’s more positive findings stem, in part, from the broader set of use cases it considered. Where the MIT study looked at whether generative AI pilots made it into production and delivered a profit, Wharton’s incorporated a range of uses, including individual productivity, employee retention, and operational efficiency.
Also, as always with a new technology, the higher up the chain you are, the more incorrect your assumptions about its effectiveness are:
Eighty-one percent of VPs and above said they were seeing a positive ROI from the technology, while only 69% of those in manager or director jobs said the same. Middle managers, the Wharton study found, were twice as likely than VPs and above to say it’s too early to tell whether there’s a generative AI ROI or that they were still in pilot phase.
Us marketers work really hard to put those ideas into the heads of executives who have the big budgets.
Speaking of, for there’s the EBC slide updates my fellow marketers need to do now:
- Previously, with the MIT study your slides said “these projects are failing, so you need to buy our product to avoid the mistakes and ensure you get ROI.”
- Now the slides need to be to say “look at how successful AI is, you need to immediately buy our products so that you don’t miss out.” The larger companies struggle a bit above is a good tie-in if you’re pitching to large enterprises.
If you have a talk-track, anecdote list, my advice would be to cite the MIT study and the Wharton study and say “no one really knows at this point. Yes, but, we do know how to do enterprises apps successfully, and we do know how to make them enterprise-grade. We know how to build an antifragile mindset, culture, system, platform, [insert your product category here]. So, start with that, and whichever way this crazy train goes, you’ll be ready to profit.”
So, make sure you update your slides before the execs are like, “hey, doofus, I guess you didn’t check out the Wharton PDF. I mean, I didn’t either, but I read a headline. I think I’ll just buy your rivals product, they used that slide. Can we go get that steak dinner now?”
🔗 Wait, Are 74% Of Businesses Actually Seeing An ROI From Generative AI?
