Business leaders are rapidly losing patience with their AI ventures and now expect measurable ROI within months, not years, according to new findings from Emergn.

The business services firm’s Global Intelligent Delusion Study found that as AI has shifted from a behind-the-scenes experiment to a core driver of revenue, the C-suite has become far more demanding about the speed and scale of returns.

Polling more than 750 CEOs, CTOs, and COOs across the UK and US, Emergn found 57% agreed organisational expectations for AI are growing faster than its ability to deliver, presenting a real problem for the 77% who intend to generate new revenue from AI within the next year.

According to the study, leaders are now applying commercial scrutiny to what was, until recently, a speculative investment, and AI is coming up short.

Almost a third (29%) of firms said that AI has yet to live up to expectations, while 34% reported that their projects are taking longer than anticipated to deliver results, leaving executives facing mounting pressure from their boards that are no longer interested in funding open-ended innovation.

Emergn said that despite 100% of respondents having made investments in AI, fears are growing that these projects will ultimately fail if the human element is not addressed soon.

Over half (55%) of business leaders agreed that they will be unable to achieve their AI objectives without human talent in problem framing, outcome-focused design, and market integration, expertise which is becoming more difficult to find.

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Without it, execution is faltering. Emergn found that despite strategic alignment, leaders are reporting slipping timelines, capability gaps, and mounting pressure to deliver tangible results, with increased spending not enough to transform AI from a cost centre to a revenue engine.

“AI is no longer about experiments. It is about results. Leaders expect systems, capabilities and teams that can deliver measurable impact at scale,” said Alex Adamopoulos, chairman and CEO of Emergn.  

“The winners will be the ones who turn AI into growth, with AI contribution margin as the new scoreboard.”