According to Gartner's survey among 2 002 IT directors, only 13% companies are getting real business returns from investments in AI. Meanwhile 51% respondents expect AI to increase operating costs.
Despite this, 75% CEOs plan to continue increasing technology budgets. Thus, the intention to keep investing appears stronger than the confirmed results.
For companies this means they must separately verify the financial impact of AI projects and cost growth, rather than counting budget increases as proof of successful implementation. The source does not disclose the survey questions, the industry structure of the sample, or the criteria for 'real business returns'.
editorial commentary
Why it matters
A likely consequence is increased attention to measuring the financial effect of AI projects while maintaining investment pressure. The next observable signals will be more detailed data on payoff criteria, sample structure, and actual changes in budgets. Substantial uncertainty arises because the package contains only a summary of metadata from one source.