AI ROI Fails to Outpace Spend for 57% of Enterprises, Unchanged Since 2025

My take: Domino Data Lab just published its fifth annual enterprise AI report, based on 639 senior AI leaders across North America, the UK, and Europe. The central finding: 93% of enterprises report improved production capability with AI, but 57% still can't get their return to outpace their investment. That number has not moved since 2025.

The gap is real. Companies are more productive, but that productivity is not translating into measurable returns at scale. On top of that, 41% are scaling AI agents in production without any governance framework, which adds risk without clarity on the benefit.

This is not a reason to stop. It is a reason to be more strategic. The tools work. What is missing is the process. The companies that will win are the ones that connect individual productivity to business outcomes, not the ones accumulating tools without measuring impact.

If your company is using AI and you cannot answer how much money it is saving or generating, that is exactly the question to solve first.