Articles October 3, 2025
Why So Many AI Initiatives Are Failing to Deliver ROI
- Author
- CapTech
New Executive Research Reveals the Keys to AI Success
Executive Summary
To uncover the challenges organizations face in adopting AI, CapTech led a research effort that featured commissioned interviews with executives in leadership roles at multibillion-dollar corporations across the financial services, healthcare, retail, hospitality, telecom, and consumer goods industries. The findings uncovered six leadership risks across industries that consistently undermine AI return on investment (ROI), ranging from technology-first strategies to misaligned transformation efforts.
In response to the research, we’ve offered recommendations for a critical paradigm shift across each of the six trends. The organizations that succeed with AI will be those that prioritize business outcomes with governance at the core, take purposeful but realistic risks, and engage employees in the process with trust and transparency.
Download the Full Article
Learn MoreTrend 01: AI Has Become a Mandate
$850K
in annual savings at a state’s Department of Labor through a workers compensation initiative
80%
reduction in task time for a leading logistics provider
30%
reduction in infrastructure costs at a leading health insurer
Trend 02: Risk Aversion Creates a Game of Wait-and-See
Trend 03: Near-Term Results Outweigh Long-Term AI Investments
Trend 04: Lagging Employee Adoption Is a Widespread Challenge
Trend 05: Security and Compliance Are Non-negotiable
Trend 06: Tech Solutions Tend to Scope Creep
Generate Value at Every Stage of AI Maturity
Foundational
At the Foundational stage, executives focus on building data readiness with a scalable cloud platform, establishing governance and cyber- resiliency, and experimenting with targeted use cases that have measurable benchmarks and clear ROI metrics. These early efforts lay the groundwork for trust, scalability, and future innovation.
Emerging
In the Emerging stage, organizations begin to expand automation, integrate AI into more workflows, and upskill teams to support broader adoption. This phase is about increasing the nimbleness of work, beginning to transform your workforce, and raising baseline expectations.
Matured
As organizations reach the Matured stage, they begin to scale agentic AI, orchestrate multi- agent systems, and embed AI into core business processes. These efforts drive efficiency and unlock new capabilities across the enterprise.
Visionary
At the Visionary stage, companies enable self- optimizing, adaptive AI ecosystems that fuel continuous innovation and competitive advantage.
Reframing Executive AI Strategy
Download the Full Article
Learn More
Bree Basham
Principal, Go-to-Market & Growth Strategy
As Principal of CapTech’s Go-to-Market & Growth Strategy, Bree Basham leads our efforts to shape how we bring services, solutions, and stories to market—accelerating growth and deepening client impact. Drawing on a career that spans strategy, customer experience, and marketing, Bree brings a rare blend of creative vision and strategic discipline to CapTech’s growth initiatives.