Quick ROI vs. innovation: CIOs face competing AI goals

The survey shows a significant split in approaches to AI investment, with some companies focused on quick ROI by deploying off-the-shelf, easy-to-implement AI tools, and others investing in innovative AI projects that they hope will give them major competitive advantages down the line, observers suggest.

When asked about their motivations for deploying AI, the survey respondents were split along three lines: 28% said ROI was their primary focus, 31% said innovation was most important, and 41% said ROI and innovation were equal drivers of their AI spending.

Manish Goyal, vice president, senior partner, and global AI and analytics leader at IBM Consulting, notes that, while short-term gains are attractive, the power of AI is in using it to create competitive advantages, such as deploying new products and services, creating new revenue streams, or “delighting” customers.