95% Organisations Get Zero Return From Using AI Tools, MIT Study Shows

With companies across the globe rushing to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) systems to cut costs and boost profits, a damning new Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study has claimed that most of these projects have not made any impact. The report stated that 95 per cent of organisations that implemented AI systems were getting zero return on the investment.

"Despite $30-40 billion in enterprise investment into GenAI, this report uncovers a surprising result in that 95 per cent of organisations are getting zero return," the report titled, The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025, highlighted.

The study involved surveying 300 AI deployments while the researchers spoke to approximately 350 employees. AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are some of the most adopted models, but only five per cent of integrated AI pilots are extracting millions in value, while the vast majority remain stuck with no measurable profit and loss (P&L) impact.

"Over 80 per cent of organisations have explored or piloted them, and nearly 40 per cent report deployment. But these tools primarily enhance individual productivity, not P&L performance. Meanwhile, enterprise-grade systems, custom or vendor-sold, are being quietly rejected," the report stated.

The failure on the investment was not due to AI models not working efficiently, but because they were harder to adapt with pre-existing workflows in a company. Those adopting the technology were also dealing with a "learning gap" in their workforce, although company executives blamed AI model's performance.

Recently, Taco Bell Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Mathews said the fast-food franchise was slowing down AI rollout at its drive-through restaurants as the technology proved counterintuitive.

Mr Mathews admitted that there are times when humans are better placed to take orders, especially when the restaurants get busy.

"For our teams, we'll help coach them: at your restaurant, at these times, we recommend you use voice AI or recommend that you actually really monitor voice AI and jump in as necessary," said Mr Mathews.

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Apple debunks AI hype

In June, Apple released a study claiming that the new-age AI models might not be as smart as they have been made out to be. In a study titled, The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity, the tech giant claimed that reasoning models like Claude, DeepSeek-R1, and o3-mini do not actually reason at all.

Apple claimed that these models simply memorise patterns really well, but when the questions are altered or the complexity increased, they collapse altogether. In simple terms, the models work great when they are able to match patterns, but once patterns become too complex, they fall apart.