{"id":19912,"date":"2026-08-10T11:21:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=19912"},"modified":"2026-08-10T11:21:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:21:58","slug":"op-ed-getting-tough-on-ai-roi-as-the-real-cost-benefits-hit-balance-sheets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=19912","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: Getting tough on AI ROI as the real cost benefits hit balance sheets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Return on investments of AI and AI agents is getting much more pragmatic and far less idealistic than it was a year or so ago. The demand is for clear, proven cost benefits. That\u2019s not negotiable, particularly in view of the capital outlay on AI both directly and indirectly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>ongoing mutterings about AI ROI are pretty much continuous in the news<\/strong> as new AI models and modes of operation take shape. Not everybody is or was convinced by the hype, and the demand for clear information has simply increased. The constant drip of AI ROI related information comes from everywhere from <strong>Forbes<\/strong> to just about every possible known peer group input for business operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the sake of brevity, we\u2019ll leave out the costs of awkwardness, failures, and simply getting these systems to run properly. Let\u2019s stick to the fully functional AI event horizon for navigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are legitimate major issues for all sectors and all types of businesses. Given the huge outlay and the gigantic \u201cexistential gamble\u201d that AI represents, ROI is the only show in town now.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-saving-on-human-costs-doesn-t-count-now\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Saving on human costs doesn\u2019t count now<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There <em>are r<\/em>eal cost benefits, previously rather cynically and inaccurately qualified by so-called savings on human costs that were selling points way back in prehistoric 2024 when majestic and mystic Pteranodons ruled the business news.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These supposed savings seem to have been left out of the cost of layoffs and other payouts. It\u2019s the wrong metric, and it always was. The cost of lost expertise and experience doesn\u2019t fit on balance sheets too well. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even Gemini, when asked to define return on investments of AI and AI agents, says that \u201c<em>while 80% of organizations cut headcount during AI rollouts<strong> \u00a0workforce reductions do not improve ROI\u201d.<\/strong><\/em>That\u2019s pretty unequivocal, and Gemini backs it up with a short summary of why that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Note: <em>Gemini is used as a benchmark because it\u2019s easily accessible and readers can ask their own questions directly.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You need to see the Gemini response link above in context with the broader market issues of returns on investment and very basic business best practice. <em>\u201cBest practice\u201d is not a euphemism. It means \u201cEverything even an underachieving idiot shouldn\u2019t need to be told about good business operations, like credible accounts, staying out of jail, etc.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The short history so far is that, as expected, AI processing costs are down by comparison and that AI vs human interaction costs show much lower costs for AI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It <em>is<\/em> history. That\u2019s not working anymore as the costs of the now non-existent staff are hardly a realistic assessment base. It\u2019s the conventional expedient rationale of 2024, not the reality of 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, <strong>Gemini obviously isn\u2019t too sold on the standard AI costs and revenue on balance sheet mantra i<\/strong>tself. Responding to a question about that issue, it cites the dreaded and rightly-much-mistrusted \u201ccircular funding and vendor financing\u201d equation in the wider sense of AI ROI, saying it \u201ccan distort valuation and cash realization\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nice to know Gemini and the entirety of the global market are on the same page, isn\u2019t it? Nobody has ever trusted those circular funding numbers, and nobody ever will. They\u2019re far too much like the notorious in-house payments to yourself that typically crash complex corporate financing. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is just the background to how AI ROI is assessed and perceived. The perception translates directly into market valuations, which makes it essential for ROI to prove itself in practice.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-professional-accountancy-perspective\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The professional accountancy perspective<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile back on the balance sheets, AI agents are now getting a pretty stern, terse, and demanding environment to work with. Mythology isn\u2019t all that popular on real accounts and nobody gives a damn about ideology. The need is to come up with verifiable metrics, not astrology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Corporate Finance Institute (CFI), <strong>measuring AI agent values is now pretty much a strict formal process,<\/strong> with no ambiguities and absolutely no demand for AI hype of any kind. \u00a0There\u2019s a reason for that. Outlay on systems has to make financial sense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the section \u201c<em>What Determines Whether ROI Is Actually Realized,\u201d<\/em> CFI makes the critical point that practical hands-on management of AI is essential to the delivery of ROI. They then cite the classic reasons for AI ROI falling short and the need for AI ROI to be \u201can ongoing management process\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This wary but necessary outcome is a long way from the hallucination of AI being an automated moneymaker. The management workload has simply shifted to AI operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, envision if you will, a solitary manager confronted with an incoming asteroid in the inevitable forms of unexpected AI revenue figures or AI costs. This isn\u2019t just a thankless task. It\u2019s dangerous. Let\u2019s not undervalue what \u201can ongoing management process\u201d can become.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-age-of-cute-is-over-for-ai-roi\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Age of Cute is over for AI ROI<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The novelty of AI has well and truly worn off for real business. Business is well within its rights to demand performance and trustworthy metrics for AI operations at all levels. \u00a0\u201cCute\u201d doesn\u2019t quite cut it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The good news is that AI implementation, clumsy and incredibly myopic as it has been, has delivered what it was expected to deliver to a reasonable level. Bear in mind that the delivery so far is often assessed on static \u201cbefore and after\u201d metrics, and that future projections of vast wealth generation through ROI seem rather tepid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also bear in mind that this is a very fluid environment. AI has a very limited shelf life. What works now has to be made to work in future in the face of new tech and obsolescence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI isn\u2019t the new Messiah of wealth. It\u2019s the caterer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:90px; background:#4ecdc4; 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display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> Op-Ed: Getting tough on AI ROI as the real cost benefits hit balance sheets<br \/>\n<br \/>#OpEd #tough #ROI #real #cost #benefits #hit #balance #sheets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return on investments of AI and AI agents is getting much more pragmatic and far&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[8856,3643,3576,542,7300,1748,8004,15178,5016],"class_list":["post-19912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-balance","tag-benefits","tag-cost","tag-hit","tag-oped","tag-real","tag-roi","tag-sheets","tag-tough"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",640,427,false],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5-768x500.jpg",768,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5114f311b8551ad881a926f0002e869c7872c4e5-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}