From buzzword to bottom line: 4 ways AI delivers ROI
Despite £180 million invested in the UK’s AI research and innovation hubs, the gap between supply and demand for AI talent is widening at an alarming rate.
More than half of UK tech leaders now face a serious AI skills shortage, a 114% increase since their last survey in 2024, according to a Nash Squared survey.
SVP Solution Consulting International at Infor.
In this competitive landscape, businesses cannot afford to miss out on any advantage or, even worse, waste money on something that is not being used to its full potential.
By striving to get the most out of their AI initiatives and equipping their employees with the skills to adapt and evolve, organizations can future-proof their workforce and close critical skills gaps.
Here are four ways businesses can truly see ROI from AI across the board. These approaches aim to equip employees with the right capabilities to work effectively alongside AI, while ensuring businesses see a significant return on their AI investments.
Look beyond the AI hype
Even though AI is no longer a new thing, it remains a buzzword that captivates businesses in almost every industry. But the true value is often overlooked, as many companies rush to adopt AI without a clear ROI. True transformation comes from identifying areas where AI can have the greatest impact.
A good starting point is to take a holistic view of the business and identify functions that are overburdened with low-value repetitive tasks, costly operations or slow decision-making.
Although many organizations are still in the early stages of their adoption journey, it can be daunting to expect an end-to-end implementation strategy from the start.
To get the most out of AI, organizations need to take a practical approach: identify problems, determine whether AI can help solve them, test solutions on a small scale, and then scale up successful pilot projects.
This careful assessment and incremental adoption ensures that AI initiatives deliver real, lasting improvements rather than just minor efficiency gains.
Don’t just adopt AI, adapt it
AI adoption does not guarantee overnight success. But businesses that start with a clear roadmap are far more likely to achieve significant results.
The key is to align AI initiatives directly with the company’s top priorities over the next three to five years, whether that’s reducing operational costs, improving customer experience, or accelerating product development.
For example, manufacturers using machines with intelligent algorithms can anticipate disruptions before they even occur, thereby streamlining their operations and tactically optimizing their overall processes.
Similarly, in the food and beverage industry, companies across the supply chain are using AI to predict which products to expand, replace, or redesign, based on massive amounts of data on previous trends.
This long-term approach emphasizes lasting, meaningful results rather than quick fixes, helping companies create AI systems that truly advance their strategic goals. It also requires engagement and continuous learning, such as training teams or refining models in response to changing data and market conditions.
Without a clear plan connecting AI efforts to business priorities, companies risk facing higher costs, longer delivery times, and reduced customer responsiveness. On the other hand, those who integrate AI into a focused and progressive strategy will build a solid foundation to lead their industry in the years to come.
People are driving the real ROI of AI
AI technology is only as good as the people who run it. Although automation often sparks fears of replacement, in reality, people remain essential to harnessing, analyzing and interpreting AI data to make critical judgments.
The real ROI lies in enabling users to use AI confidently and strategically. This means developing skills in areas such as machine learning, predictive analytics and data literacy and ensuring teams know how these tools apply to their roles.
Forward-thinking companies leveraging AI-powered decision-making tools are already seeing improvements in their workforce efficiency and agility, with the most productive investing 26% more in workforce development.
Practical steps include forming alliances with nearby educational institutions, creating internal academies to train current employees, or transferring employees between departments to gain a deeper understanding of the systems.
In the manufacturing sector, national initiatives such as Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) and Make UK’s National Manufacturing Skills Task Force are helping to coordinate technical requirements with future hiring pipelines.
AI will be part of every business, but success depends on how companies prepare their people for change. Companies that train and support their workforce will experience faster adoption, better ROI and long-term competitiveness.
Industry-specific AI that delivers real ROI
There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Just as human strategies need to be adapted, so too must AI applications. Every industry faces unique challenges and generic solutions will rarely unlock their full value.
In retail and fashion, AI can speed up design approvals and help companies adapt their products to changing customer trends. In the food and beverage industry, it is already used to automate label translation and forecast consumer demand.
Despite economic uncertainty that gives some pause, the most forward-thinking companies are strategically deploying AI with intention, thinking long-term, ensuring their employees are engaged and skilled, and focusing on high-impact areas like supply chain optimization and predictive forecasting to deliver greater efficiency, greater agility, and strategically optimized direction.
These organizations set the tone. Their ability to effectively leverage AI becomes a competitive advantage and essentially a game-changer. Companies that understand that investing in both talent and technology will be able to lead the next era of business transformation, setting a precedent for long-term success.
We have introduced the best AI chatbot for business.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel, where we feature the best and brightest minds in today’s technology industry. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you would like to contribute, find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
