KPMG UK has indicated in a recent update that AI no longer needs traditional return on investment in order to be justified. In fact, 65% of UK based respondents claim that their organization would most likely continue to invest in AI regardless of tangible ROI (return on investment). And the majority or 70% of UK business professionals also agree that AI will continue to be a key priority investment even if a recession comes in the next year.
KPMG also revealed that 94% are now either using or planning to use AI agents but maturity varies somewhat.
KPMG also stated in the report that despite a lot of funds being spent by businesses on AI, traditional return on investment isn’t actually needed for them to see some value in the tech.
Nearly two thirds (65%) of UK based respondents stated that their organization may continue to invest in AI regardless of its ability to accurately measure tangible ROI. This, according to KPMG’s AI pulse survey.
KPMG’s recent survey, which includes a panel of business professionals, including over 100 in the United Kingdom, for their views / perspective on a variety of AI themes/narratives, has launched now with informative insights for the first quarter of this year.
The research study revealed that although many organizations say they can measure returns in specific domains, this does not seem to be the main factor or criteria driving ongoing AI focused investments.
The research revealed that the majority of UK based respondents were confident in their organization’s ability to measure ROI across:
- productivity (76%)
- performance and quality of work (71%)
- speed and accuracy of decision‑making (67%)
- profitability (64%)
But, confidence drops significantly when it comes to “more strategic or indirect benefits.”
Merely 14% said they were confident in “measuring ROI from improved analytics used by the C‑suite in business decision‑making.”
Respondents also indicated that the skills gap and risk considerations such as data privacy and cybersecurity as the “biggest barriers to demonstrating AI‑related ROI (46%), followed by difficulty quantifying indirect or long‑term benefits (40%).”
The most significant challenges to AI strategy in the next year were risk management such as data privacy and cybersecurity (41%), followed by the quality of “organizational data and employee adoption at 32%.”
Despite these potential significant concerns, the majority or 58% of respondents said their organizations are planning to invest over $50m in AI over the next 12 months, with half of these investing over $100m.
And most or 70% of UK business professionals also agree that AI will continue to be a key priority investment even if a recession occurs. In fact, there is no rea connection or correlation between what happens during an economic slowdown and AI advancements. In fact, tech industry participants tend to focus more heavily on tech advancements and product development during market drawdowns.
Dr Leanne Allen, Head of AI at KPMG UK, explained that there is an ongoing shift in mindset by business professionals from thinking of AI as something that must deliver quick returns to one that considers AI as a sort of long-term investment. Industry participants may be realizing that it as a strategic enabler for enterprise‑wide transformation and this is a vital milestone.
