During the peak of generative AI hype last year, numerous enterprises embarked on a variety of genAI projects. However, many of these projects failed to meet the expected return on investment, leading to a year of AI postmortems and blame games in 2024.
To ensure the success of genAI projects in 2025, IT leaders are advised to rethink how ROI is measured in AI deployments and consider the suitability of generative AI for different types of projects.
Atefeh “Atti” Riazi, CIO of media giant Hearst, highlighted the AI ROI paradox in the industry, emphasizing the need to understand the long-term impacts of AI disruptions.
When boards mandated genAI projects, it created a sense of euphoria and fear in the industry. AI vendors capitalized on this by instilling fear, uncertainty, and doubt in organizations, leading to a rush of genAI deployments.
Rajiv Shah from Snowflake noted that the top-down approach to genAI projects complicated traditional ROI analysis, resulting in failed expectations.
Aside from board mandates, IT leaders also faced pressure from business units to implement genAI projects, often deviating from core business priorities.
According to Kelwin Fernandes of NILG.AI, genAI is sometimes applied in non-core processes, such as chatbots, diverting attention from essential business functions.
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