‘AI is no longer about experiments. It is about results’: Boards are pushing for faster returns on AI investments, and tech leaders can't keep pace

Business leaders are losing patience when it comes to AI investment, new research suggests, with many now expecting to see measurable returns within months, not years.

Software firm Emergn said its 2025 Global Intelligent Delusion Study shows that boards are no longer funding open-ended innovation; instead, AI is being judged like any other business investment, with timelines, margins, and outcomes under constant pressure.

The survey of CEOs, CTOs, COOs, and other senior leaders across the UK and US found that 34% said AI projects are taking longer than anticipated – often with pressure from boards to hit deadlines.

Nearly three-in-ten said AI has yet to live up to expectations, with 57% agreeing that organizational expectations for AI are growing faster than their ability to deliver. Just over half said they can't meet their AI goals without talent capable of problem framing, outcome design, and market integration.

However, 77% reckoned that new AI solutions will drive business value in the next 12 months and all expected ROI within two years.

Despite this, Emergn noted that without near-universal adoption and strategic alignment, execution is faltering. Leaders report slipping timelines, capability gaps, and mounting pressure to turn ambition into evidence.

“AI is no longer about experiments. It is about results,” said Alex Adamopoulos, chairman and CEO of Emergn.

"Leaders expect systems, capabilities and teams that can deliver measurable impact at scale. The winners will be the ones who turn AI into growth, with AI contribution margin as the new scoreboard."

The battle for ROI is heating up

The findings echo PwC’s recent Global CEO Survey, in which only one-in-eight CEOs said AI has delivered both cost and revenue benefits, with a third reporting gains in one or the other. More than half (56%) said they’d seen no significant financial benefit so far and 56% revealed the technology has delivered zero cost or revenue improvements.

A key factor behind poor success rates lies in preparation, PwC found. According to the survey, organizations that established strong AI foundations such as Responsible AI frameworks that enable enterprise-wide integration were three-times more likely to report meaningful financial returns.

Separate research from SAP does point toward positive gains on AI adoption, however. Analysis from the company found the average UK business is seeing a good ROI of 17% from AI.

Many said they were already starting to unlock value from the technology, with 36% reporting significant improvement in decision-making, 34% in customer engagement, and 31% in time to value.

Things are expected to improve moving forward, SAP added, with ROI forecast to almost double to 32% by 2027.

That doesn’t mean plain sailing, however. The study from SAP warned that a concerning number of AI programs are fragmented, with 42% of UK enterprises describing their investment as piecemeal.

Organizations need to stop treating AI as a ‘technology project’ and instead see it as a a holistic business transformation, the firm said.

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