University of Kwazulu-Natal

How To Measure Ai Roi In 2026 Sas Voices

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
how to measure ai roi in 2026 sas voices

It's a fair question – but often the wrong one, at least in the way it's traditionally framed. In the early 2000s, no one could give you an ROI calculation for building a website. But they could tell you: if you don’t, you’ll be irrelevant. And I think we’re seeing the same inflection point now. The mistake companies make is trying to apply the same ROI model they used for upgrading a server or rolling out a CRM. AI is not a one-time purchase or a bolt-on tool.

It’s a foundational capability shift. It changes how you think, decide and evolve (who does what, in what order, and with what automation handoffs), not just what you can automate. Classic ROI models focus on quantifiable, short-term outcomes: These are important metrics, but when applied alone to AI initiatives, they tell an incomplete story. They undervalue AI's strategic potential and overemphasize efficiency over innovation. In fact, applying only traditional ROI logic to AI can de-incentivize bold initiatives that unlock long-term transformation.

Access the top developers across Asia, fully compliant, ready to start. Here is a striking reality: while 78% of enterprises now use AI in at least one business function, only 23% actively measure their return on investment. This disconnect has created what analysts call the “AI accountability crisis “billions invested with little visibility into actual business impact. But 2026 marks a turning point. As AI budgets face increased scrutiny and CFOs demand clearer justification for technology spend, enterprises are adopting sophisticated frameworks to quantify AI value. According to Gartner research, organizations with structured ROI measurement achieve 5.2x higher confidence in their AI investments.

This guide explores the metrics, methodologies, and measurement frameworks that leading enterprises are using to track AI ROI in 2026 and how your organization can implement them to maximize returns on your AI development... Traditional return on investment calculations work well for predictable technology investments. You spend X on a new system, it saves Y in labor costs, and the math is straightforward. AI investments rarely follow this pattern. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. The AI hype fueled by the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 has only accelerated.

Organizations, however, have yet to see much ROI on their mounting investment in the technology -- but experts say that wait may be over in the new year. Based on promises of AI's potential to dramatically optimize operations through new developments in the space, including models that are smarter, cheaper, multimodal, better at reasoning, and even autonomous, business leaders have funneled money... Global corporate AI investment reached $252.3 billion in 2024, and US private AI investment hit $109.1 billion, according to Stanford data -- it's safe to assume those numbers will only continue to grow. Also: Why AI agents failed to take over in 2025 - it's 'a story as old as time,' says Deloitte But a look back at 2025 reveals a common thread: AI's potential to dramatically optimize operations has not yet been realized across the board. Most memorably, a now-infamous MIT study found that 95% of businesses weren't seeing an ROI from their generative AI spend, with only 5% of integrated AI pilots extracting millions in value.

While the criteria for returns are narrowly defined, which partially explains the high percentage, it is still indicative of a wider trend. We’re so glad you’re here. You can expect all the best TNS content to arrive Monday through Friday to keep you on top of the news and at the top of your game. Check your inbox for a confirmation email where you can adjust your preferences and even join additional groups. Follow TNS on your favorite social media networks. Check out the latest featured and trending stories while you wait for your first TNS newsletter.

In conversations with founders, product leaders and CTOs, I still hear a lot of skepticism around AI. Trust, complexity and compliance continue to slow adoption. 2026 will certainly be the year we shift from hype AI to pragmatic and return on investment-driven AI. As 2026 rolls in, ROI is stepping into the AI driver’s seat. After three years of experimenting and spending, and as talk of an AI bubble looms, enterprises are starting to demand results. According to Kyndryl’s recent Readiness Report, drawing on insights from 3,700 business executives, 61% of CEOs say they are under increasing pressure to show returns on their AI investments compared with a year ago.

This is putting company leaders to the test in terms of balancing long-term innovation with the need to prove outcomes now, all while AI development continues to move at breakneck speed. It’s also creating risks of misalignment in the C-suite, with tech and business leaders looking out for their firm’s innovation while financial leaders look out for the balance sheet. “The last year was a lot about experimental budgets, like, ‘I’m just going to give the budget to every department [and] experiment with whatever tools they think are useful,’” said Lexi Reese, a former... “Now, it’s accountable acceleration, because the price tag on this is very expensive.” The unprecedented amount of money being spent to develop and deploy AI has been grabbing headlines all year. Much of this surrounds infrastructure spending by frontier AI labs and eye-popping startup investments, but enterprises are heavily investing, too.

Gartner expects spending on AI application software to more than triple from last year to almost $270 billion in 2026. Over the past year, Reese said she’s had conversations with over 300 customers about their AI tool costs and found they are spending between $590 and $1,400 per employee annually, according to internal data... When companies invest in AI, the first question often asked is: “What’s the ROI?” It's a fair question – but often the wrong one, at least in the way it's traditionally framed. In the early 2000s, no one could give you an ROI calculation for building a website. But they could [...] The post How to measure AI ROI in 2026 appeared first on SAS Blogs.

The conversation surrounding AI ROI 2026 has evolved from simplistic cost-benefit analysis to a sophisticated dialogue about value creation and strategic positioning. As artificial intelligence transitions from experimental projects to core business infrastructure, executives and boards are demanding more comprehensive frameworks to justify significant investments. The days of measuring AI success solely through efficiency gains or headcount reduction are fading, replaced by multidimensional models that capture AI’s transformative impact on organizational agility, market responsiveness, and innovation capacity. According to a 2025 Gartner survey of 750 CIOs, while 82% reported their organizations had deployed AI solutions, only 36% felt confident in their ability to accurately measure the full return on these investments. This measurement gap represents a critical challenge for sustained AI adoption and scaling. Modern frameworks for evaluating AI ROI 2026 must encompass not only direct operational improvements but also strategic benefits that position organizations for future competitiveness in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.

The emerging consensus suggests that the most valuable AI implementations create capabilities that were previously impossible, rather than simply making existing processes faster or cheaper. Traditional return-on-investment calculations struggle to capture the multifaceted value of contemporary AI implementations. The emerging framework for AI ROI 2026 comprises four interconnected dimensions: operational efficiency, strategic agility, innovation acceleration, and risk mitigation. Operational efficiency remains the most straightforward dimension, encompassing metrics like process automation rates, error reduction, and direct labor cost savings. However, even this familiar territory has evolved. Leading organizations now measure “augmented efficiency”—how AI enables human workers to achieve higher-value outcomes rather than simply replacing them.

For instance, a financial services firm might track not just how many loan applications are processed automatically, but how AI-powered risk assessment tools enable human underwriters to focus on complex exceptions, improving both throughput... The strategic agility dimension represents a paradigm shift in value measurement. This encompasses metrics related to market responsiveness, such as time-to-insight from data, speed of product iteration, and organizational learning velocity. Companies deploying AI for dynamic pricing, supply chain optimization, or customer experience personalization are finding that the greatest value lies not in marginal efficiency gains, but in the ability to respond to market changes... A 2026 Deloitte analysis of retail AI implementations found that organizations measuring agility metrics alongside efficiency saw 3.2 times greater ROI over three years. These companies quantified how AI-enabled demand forecasting reduced inventory costs while simultaneously increasing sales through better product availability—a dual benefit that traditional ROI models would have undervalued.

For all the buzz about AI’s potential to transform business, many organizations struggle to ascertain the extent to which their AI implementations are actually working. Part of this is because AI doesn’t just replace a task or automate a process — rather, it changes how work itself happens, often in ways that are hard to quantify. Measuring that impact means deciding what return really means, and how to connect new forms of digital labor to traditional business outcomes. “Like everyone else in the world right now, we’re figuring it out as we go,” says Agustina Branz, senior marketing manager at Source86. That trial-and-error approach is what defines the current conversation about AI ROI. To help shed light on measuring the value of AI, we spoke to several tech leaders about how their organizations are learning to gauge performance in this area — from simple benchmarks against human...

Most companies waste 30-40% of their AI investments by measuring the wrong things. This guide provides a comprehensive six-part framework for measuring AI automation ROI, covering direct cost savings, productivity gains, revenue impact, risk reduction, employee experience, and customer experience. Complete with case studies, implementation steps, and common pitfalls to avoid, this article helps business leaders capture the full value of their automation investments beyond simple cost reduction. Most companies waste 30-40% of their AI investments because they're measuring the wrong things. After talking with over 100 business leaders about their automation initiatives, I've noticed a worrying pattern: companies invest heavily in AI automation without a clear framework for measuring its actual impact. They track vanity metrics that look impressive in presentations but fail to capture the real business value being created.

In this article, I'll break down a practical framework for measuring the ROI of AI automation investments - one that goes beyond obvious metrics to capture the full spectrum of value these technologies can... Whether you're just starting your automation journey or looking to optimize existing systems, you'll walk away with actionable insights to ensure every euro spent on AI is delivering maximum returns. The automation landscape has transformed dramatically in the past few years. We've moved from simple rule-based systems that handle repetitive tasks to AI agents and workflows that can make decisions, adapt to changing conditions, and handle complex processes with minimal human oversight.

People Also Search

It's A Fair Question – But Often The Wrong One,

It's a fair question – but often the wrong one, at least in the way it's traditionally framed. In the early 2000s, no one could give you an ROI calculation for building a website. But they could tell you: if you don’t, you’ll be irrelevant. And I think we’re seeing the same inflection point now. The mistake companies make is trying to apply the same ROI model they used for upgrading a server or ro...

It’s A Foundational Capability Shift. It Changes How You Think,

It’s a foundational capability shift. It changes how you think, decide and evolve (who does what, in what order, and with what automation handoffs), not just what you can automate. Classic ROI models focus on quantifiable, short-term outcomes: These are important metrics, but when applied alone to AI initiatives, they tell an incomplete story. They undervalue AI's strategic potential and overempha...

Access The Top Developers Across Asia, Fully Compliant, Ready To

Access the top developers across Asia, fully compliant, ready to start. Here is a striking reality: while 78% of enterprises now use AI in at least one business function, only 23% actively measure their return on investment. This disconnect has created what analysts call the “AI accountability crisis “billions invested with little visibility into actual business impact. But 2026 marks a turning po...

This Guide Explores The Metrics, Methodologies, And Measurement Frameworks That

This guide explores the metrics, methodologies, and measurement frameworks that leading enterprises are using to track AI ROI in 2026 and how your organization can implement them to maximize returns on your AI development... Traditional return on investment calculations work well for predictable technology investments. You spend X on a new system, it saves Y in labor costs, and the math is straigh...

Organizations, However, Have Yet To See Much ROI On Their

Organizations, however, have yet to see much ROI on their mounting investment in the technology -- but experts say that wait may be over in the new year. Based on promises of AI's potential to dramatically optimize operations through new developments in the space, including models that are smarter, cheaper, multimodal, better at reasoning, and even autonomous, business leaders have funneled money....