Survey finds most companies fail to unlock AI's full value; practical use cases are the remedy

A Thomson Reuters survey of 1,800 professionals reveals that 91% believe their organizations are not achieving the expected benefits from AI. The gap between ambition and execution is widening, with many firms struggling to translate experimentation into tangible outcomes. Experts recommend grounding AI initiatives in well-defined production scenarios rather than broad experimentation.

The survey reveals a significant shift in workplace attitudes toward AI over the past eighteen months, moving from eager experimentation to cost-conscious scrutiny. Rising IT expenses and a crowded field of emerging technologies—including agentic models and deep research tools—have prompted organizations to question whether their investments are producing measurable returns. Roth describes this as a classic change management challenge, where the focus must shift from acquiring technology to fundamentally reworking operational processes.

The research also highlights specific gaps in AI deployment. While professionals overwhelmingly demand data protection, authoritative content grounding, and explainable reasoning from their tools, two in five workers lack access to high-quality options. Even among firms with formal AI strategies, a third of employees report those strategies have no visible impact on daily work, suggesting that "tool blast"—an overabundance of options without clear purpose—undermines effective adoption.