Many UK business leaders believe AI will continue to be at the top of their spending priorities, with 65% planning to maintain their investment regardless of whether they see immediate tangible benefits.
As the debate rages on about the need for technology departments to prove return on investment (ROI) before purchasing AI platforms, agents, or enterprise software add-ons, the concept is slipping down business leaders’ priority lists, according to research from KPMG.
The consultancy survey of 2,110 global business leaders found that 70% of UK business leaders believe AI will remain high on their spending priorities even in the face of an economic downturn. 94% plan to use AI agents in their business, but experience varies.
The study, conducted in February and March, found that while ROI can be measured in certain areas, it is not the primary driver of AI investment for many organizations. Most people said they can measure ROI for productivity (76%), quality of work and performance (71%), speed and accuracy of decision-making (67%), and profitability (64%).
However, only 14% are confident in measuring business value from improved analytics that executives use to make business decisions.
Leanne Allen, head of AI at KPMG, said the way companies look at AI investments is changing. “This shift in thinking from seeing AI as something that must deliver immediate benefits to seeing AI as a long-term investment and seeing AI as a strategic enabler for enterprise-wide transformation is an important milestone.”
Some engineers who run departments for their employers may think they’re getting mixed messages.
Software vendors and cloud providers are currently shouldering the burden of increased AI spending expected this year, with investments projected to reach $2.52 trillion in 2026, according to Gartner. But in the long run, business customers and consumers will pay one way or another.
At the enterprise level, John-David Lovelock, Distinguished Vice President Analyst at Gartner, said: register In January, the company announced a shift from a “give me some AI” conversation to a more measured approach by a special group appointed by its board of directors.
“We’re starting to see the end of the investment line. We had a thousand flowers blooming, but now it’s time to prune the garden. We’re getting to the point where we go from ‘That was a great idea’ to ‘Where’s my income?’ That’s normal with new technology,” he said.
KPMG’s findings come as companies struggle to justify AI spending. A February survey of nearly 6,000 business executives in the US, UK, Germany and Australia found that although 69% of companies currently use some form of AI, more than 80% do not see a noticeable impact from AI on jobs or productivity.
A Gartner report last week found that only 28% of AI use cases in technology infrastructure are fully successful and deliver ROI.
According to a Harris Poll survey commissioned by Dataiku, 98% of technology leaders say they are under increasing pressure from their boards to prove ROI, and 71% of CIOs surveyed believe their AI budgets are likely to be reduced or frozen if goals are not met by the end of the first half of this year. ®
