Every December, roadmaps get locked, budgets get approved, and board decks are polished until everything looks precise and under control. Underneath, many CTOs and VPs are still working with partial visibility. They have a feel for their teams, but not a reliable view of how work moves through the system, how AI is really changing delivery, or where time and money actually go.
"As efforts shift from hype to execution, businesses are under pressure to show ROI from rising AI spend," the company wrote. "Large-cap CEOs are seeing solid returns on current programs, particularly across administration, internal efficiency, and customer-facing applications. However, 84% of these CEOs predict that positive returns from new AI initiatives will take longer than six months to achieve. In contrast, investors are pushing for faster impact: 53% expect positive ROI in six months or less."
According to a new report from Boston Consulting Group, only 5% of companies in its2025 study of more than 1,250 global firms are seeing real returns on AI. Meanwhile, 60% of companies have seen little to no benefit, reporting only minimal increases in revenue and cost savings despite making substantial investments. BCG said that industries like software, telecommunications, and fintech have the highest levels of "AI maturity," which the firm defines as "the ability to create value at scale."
Every company wants to have an AI strategy: A bold vision to do more with less. But there's a growing problem-one that few executives want to say out loud. AI initiatives aren't delivering the returns they were hoping for. In fact, many leaders now say they haven't seen meaningful returns at all. IBM recently found that only 1 in 4 AI projects hit the expected ROI. And BCG's research goes further still: 75% of businesses have seen no tangible value from their AI investments.
