Are you seeing ROI from your GenAI?

Are you seeing ROI from the investments you've made in GenAI?

GenAi isn’t just experimental—it's a business imperative. Organizations, particularly those in consumer-facing industries, are increasingly exploring its potential to transform operations, personalize customer experiences, and optimize workflows. 

However, despite the widespread acknowledgment of its capabilities, many business leaders are struggling to answer a critical question: Where is the ROI?

If you feel stuck trying to turn your GenAI initiatives into tangible results, you’re not alone.

The GenAI paradox 

Leaders recognize the potential of GenAI but remain uncertain about how to deploy it strategically. According to EY’s Reimagining Industry Futures survey, only 35% of ICT executives are actively investing in GenAI, while 33% are planning investments during the year. Additionally, nearly 68% of consumer companies are building proofs of concept, yet none have deployed GenAI for enterprise-wide, business-critical processes.

This leaves companies in a catch-22. The consensus is clear—GenAI has the potential to transform industries. Yet a significant percentage of leaders (36%) express confusion about where and how it can create meaningful value. Similarly, 35% of respondents cite concerns about governance and oversight, hindering progress in adoption at scale.

Challenges in Unlocking GenAI’s ROI

Some of the greatest barriers to seeing GenAI’s value boil down to:

• Lack of clarity on strategic use cases
• Fear of misaligned governance and compliance
• Disparate data systems that hinder efficient AI deployment
• Uncertainty about creating tools that meet both current and future business needs

With this high level of uncertainty, it isn’t surprising that many businesses are still stuck in the pilot phase, hesitant to commit resources to large-scale implementation.

But stagnation comes with its own risks. Businesses that delay in fully utilizing GenAI run the risk of falling behind competitors who are actively weaving AI into their core business operations.

Defining a clear objective for AI initiatives 

It’s not simply about implementing GenAI—it’s about deploying it in a way that drives real and measurable results. To determine how GenAI can create value, ask these essential strategic questions:

1. What are our immediate priorities?

  For sectors like retail, GenAI can handle customer service automation. But is it more critical to improve the front-end customer experience, or to optimize operational back-end systems such as supply chain efficiency?

2. Should we focus on current customer satisfaction or new market growth?

  Consider whether you’re using GenAI to hyper-personalize experiences for existing customers or to attract a new demographic altogether.

3. What does ROI mean for us?

 Is success measured by cost reductions, revenue growth, operational efficiency, or some combination of the above? Being deliberate about success metrics ensures that the AI implementation is guided toward clear, measurable goals.

The critical role of data infrastructure

A significant reason many enterprises fail to extract value from GenAI is a poor data foundation. Even the most advanced AI models falter without seamless access to clean, connected, and live data.

This is where modern data solutions like Incorta come into play. By integrating and analyzing data in real time from multiple sources, Incorta provides businesses with the full visibility they need. A unified data infrastructure ensures that GenAI apps aren’t just "smart," but also "actionable," reliably delivering insights that matter.

Data is key to GenAI’s success

• Scalable Data Integration: With varied data systems often operating in silos, integrating data across platforms is critical for AI to function effectively.
• Real-Time Access: Without instantaneous access to live data, decision-making feels like driving while looking in the rearview mirror.
• Actionable Insights: Data insights only matter if they are easy to implement across teams and workflows.

An optimized, data-driven infrastructure is essential to deriving maximum ROI from GenAI investments. Incorta’s platform provides the necessary foundation to move GenAI deployments from early-stage pilots to enterprise-level innovation.

Practical Applications for Immediate Results

Now, it’s time to mobilize your AI. Here are some practical applications where GenAI can yield immediate returns for your business:

1. Customer Service Transformation

GenAI-powered chatbots and support tools go far beyond answering FAQs. They can offer personalized shopping recommendations, handle complex customer queries, and even analyze sentiment to predict customer satisfaction trends. This translates to reduced response times, happier customers, and fewer operational costs.

2. Data-Driven Operations

Demand planning, inventory optimization, and supplier relationship management are ripe for GenAI disruption. By analyzing historical trends alongside real-time data, AI models can predict supply needs with precision, mitigating risks and optimizing inventory management.

3. Marketing and Personalization

GenAI can generate dynamic product descriptions, optimize A/B tests, create personalized campaigns, and even predict user intent. This improves ad targeting, reducing marketing costs while boosting engagement.

4. Employee Enablement

Generative tools can improve workflows, from automating repetitive tasks to offering on-demand training resources for employees. This addresses retention challenges and boosts productivity.

5. Strategic Decision-Making

AI tools empowered with advanced analytics can help businesses make quicker, smarter decisions powered by data. From spotting product trends to evaluating competitive benchmarks, these tools bring a layer of agility to the decision-making process that manual analytics can’t match.

By aligning these GenAI applications with your business priorities, ROI becomes not only achievable but scalable.

Mobilizing Your GenAI with Confidence

AI integrations aren’t going away - to start seeing a return, it’s fundamental to start from a solid data foundation. Every successful GenAI strategy needs two core pillars:

1. Clarity in Objectives – Understand the "why" behind implementation.
2. A Unified Data Approach – Ensure access to seamless, real-time data from all sources

With a solution-oriented approach powered by tools like Incorta, businesses are better positioned to deploy GenAI and start realizing its value today—not five years from now.

The question isn’t whether GenAI has potential—it’s whether leaders are ready to harness it effectively. The quicker your organization can build clarity and confidence in its AI investments, the faster you’ll see a tangible return.

Are you ready to bridge the gap from potential to performance? Learn more about how Incorta provides the data access you need for your next GenAI breakthrough.