Everyone claims AI "10x'd" their team. We asked for actual numbers. Here's what real ROI looks like across 75 companies — and where it quietly fails.

Where the ROI is real

  • Content & marketing: 40–70% faster production; the biggest, most consistent win.
  • Customer support: 30–50% of routine tickets deflected or resolved faster.
  • Coding: 20–40% faster for routine work; less for novel, complex systems.
  • Ops & admin: hours back weekly from automating repetitive tasks.

Where it disappoints

ROI stalls when companies buy tools without changing workflows, chase novelty over the boring high-volume tasks, or skip measurement so nobody can prove the gain. The winners picked one painful, repetitive process, automated it, and measured hours saved.

The takeaway

AI ROI is real but unglamorous: it compounds on the repetitive middle of your business, not the flashy edges. Pick your highest-volume annoyance and start there.

Want the benchmark breakdown by function? It's in The AI Briefing below.