Rollouts Fall Short Despite Record Investments
Companies poured $37 billion into artificial intelligence in 2025, according to Menlo Ventures. Yet the vast majority of those rollouts have delivered little to no return on investment. Adoption rates remain low, productivity has flatlined, and ROI is still just a concept on a presentation slide.
“Organizations treat AI like installing new software and hand it to the IT department,” said a senior analyst at Menlo Ventures. “But deploying AI is a workforce strategy, not a technology rollout. It requires behavior change and a new operating model.”
The Core Mistake: Automating Broken Workflows
The most common error, experts say, is automating existing processes instead of redesigning them from scratch. Leaders often ask, “How can we do this job faster with AI?” when they should be asking, “If we were building this from scratch today, what would humans do, what would AI do, and what should we not do at all?”
One example: M&A due diligence. Document review that once took weeks can now be completed in days when workflows are rebuilt around what AI does best—synthesizing and surfacing insights at scale. Learn more about workflow redesign.
Stop Automating the Old Ways
“Instead of upgrading broken processes, companies just speed them up with AI,” said a West Monroe strategist. “We urge clients to pick three to five high-impact workflows—not job titles or departments—and redesign them entirely. That’s where the value lies.”
Adoption Requires More Than Training
Upskilling from a central learning department is too slow for today’s pace. “Slow isn’t an option,” said a workforce transformation expert at West Monroe. “You need to find and activate your champions—people already experimenting with AI.”
The firm’s approach: bring together evangelists, empower them to test and learn, and give them agency, time, and tools. “Grassroots energy will get you farther faster than any corporate-wide training program,” the expert added.
- Leadership must model behavior—if executives won’t use AI, no one else will believe it matters.
- Make it fun—West Monroe uses corporate-wide leaderboards, AI challenges, and innovation bonuses to drive adoption.
Background
For years, businesses have viewed AI as a technological upgrade—a tool to be installed by IT. But the failures of the 2025 spending surge reveal a deeper truth: AI transforms how work gets done, and that requires cultural change. Without redesigning ways of working, engaging champions, and ensuring leadership commitment, even the most advanced models yield little.
What This Means
AI’s promise depends on a workforce and culture transformation. Companies must stop treating it as a software installation and start seeing it as a human capital strategy. Those that fail to embrace continuous learning, champion networks, and workflow redesign will continue to burn billions with nothing to show for it.
- Upskilling must be decentralized and champion-led.
- Competitive incentives and leadership visibility drive real adoption.
- Redesigning workflows is more important than automating old ones.
“It’s our responsibility not only to employ people but to keep their skills current so they remain employable,” concluded the West Monroe strategist. “The winners will be the ones who invest in culture, not just technology.”