Nine in Ten Executives Report No AI Impact. Their Forecasts Disagree.

Founder takeaway

Treat AI adoption and AI value as separate metrics. Govern AI investment with staged funding tied to measurable operational or financial outcomes, rather than optimistic forecasts alone.

Why it matters

When usage is widespread but realized impact remains limited, founders risk turning enthusiasm into unchecked capital expenditure. Clear evidence thresholds help preserve cash while still funding promising experiments.

Relevant guides

Put it to work

For each AI initiative, define one baseline metric, a target improvement, a review date, and the evidence required to expand, revise, or stop funding.