Many companies have yet to turn their artificial intelligence investments into cost savings, despite board members’ expectations of a productivity return. Gartner found that 97% of organizations are unable to reduce expenses through productivity measures alone.
The research also found that 38% of companies are over budget on AI, while 85% plan to spend more on it next year. “Ultimately, organizations will not generate cost savings from AI at this point,” said CV Viverito, a senior director analyst in Gartner’s HR practice.
A lack of agreement among leaders may be making it harder to capture value from the technology. Gartner found that 78% of leaders were not aligned on how AI helps their workplace. Arj Bagga, a vice president analyst in the firm’s HR practice, said organizations need a shared understanding of where AI can make the biggest difference to guide workforce planning and investment.
The report calls on HR teams to work with leadership to ensure AI strategies deliver workplace value, address risks linked to adoption and prepare for the effects of concentrating AI use unevenly across employees.
Gartner also surveyed more than 1,800 employees and found that only 21% of the time saved with AI was redirected to more innovative work. Viverito said the challenge is not creating extra capacity, but making it useful and directing it toward valuable work. The report said employees may need additional skills to produce higher-quality work with AI.
In a separate study cited in the report, just 9% of CEOs said AI agents had transformed their companies, while 43% reported moderate effects in targeted use cases. Still, 84% said AI was a top investment priority for the next three years.
Sources: HR Dive.