The Business Case for AI

Learning Objectives Evaluate AI investments using a structured ROI framework Make informed build vs. buy decisions for AI capabilities Identify the highest-ROI AI use cases for your organization Where AI Delivers Real ROI Not all AI use cases are equal. Some deliver returns in weeks. Others take years — or never pay off. The difference is not the technology. It is how well the use case matches your organization's readiness. Fastest returns (weeks to months): Customer service automation — AI chatbots handling tier-1 support inquiries. Typical result: 30 to 50% reduction in support ticket volume. Content creation and marketing — AI-assisted copywriting, email campaigns, social media. Typical result: 2 to 3 times content output with the same team. Document processing — AI extracting data from invoices, contracts, and forms. Typical result: 60 to 80% faster processing. Meeting productivity — AI transcription, summarization, and action item tracking. Typical result: 5 to 10 hours saved per knowledge worker per month. Medium-term returns (3 to 12 months): Sales intelligence — AI scoring leads, personalizing outreach, analyzing win/loss patterns Internal knowledge management — AI search across company documents and policies Code acceleration — AI coding assistants for development teams Data analysis — AI summarizing reports, identifying trends, generating dashboards Longer-term returns (12+ months): Custom AI models trained on proprietary data AI-powered products or features for customers Autonomous workflows (AI agents handling multi-step processes) Predictive analytics for operations, supply chain, or demand forecasting The ROI Framework For any potential AI investment, evaluate these four dimensions:…