AI ROI Hinges on Change Costs

Updated: 2025.10.16 5D ago 2 sources
McKinsey says firms must spend about $3 on change management (training, process, monitoring) for every $1 spent on AI model development. Vendors rarely show quantifiable ROI, and AI‑enabling a customer service stack can raise prices 60–80% while leaders say they can’t cut headcount yet. The bottleneck is organizational adoption, not model capability. — It reframes AI economics around organizational costs and measurable outcomes, tempering hype and guiding procurement, budgeting, and regulation.

Sources

South Korea Abandons AI Textbooks After Four-Month Trial
msmash 2025.10.16 74% relevant
The government and publishers spent roughly $1.4 billion yet adoption fell from 37% to 19% in months and the materials were downgraded; this is a textbook case of high AI spend without sufficient change management, product maturity, or workflow integration.
McKinsey Wonders How To Sell AI Apps With No Measurable Benefits
msmash 2025.10.09 100% relevant
McKinsey report: 'for every $1 spent on model development, firms should expect $3 on change management' and '60–80% price increase' for customer service AI; Fortune 100 HR quote on no headcount reduction.
← Back to All Ideas