Gartner ThinkCast
Beyond ROI — The 3 AI Business Outcomes Every Leader Must Understand
Mar 25, 2025
Mary Mesaglio, a Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner and an authority on AI business outcomes, dives deep into the transformative impact of AI on organizations. She highlights the three essential dimensions of AI value: Return on Employee (ROE), Return on Investment (ROI), and Return on the Future (ROF). Listeners will discover how these concepts interconnect and influence decision-making, talent retention, and strategic investments moving forward in the evolving AI landscape.
12:30
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AI Summary
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Quick takeaways
- Organizations should balance their investments across Return on Employee, Return on Investment, and Return on Future to optimize AI value.
- Understanding the unpredictable costs associated with generative AI is essential for preventing financial miscalculations during AI implementation.
Deep dives
Understanding AI Business Outcomes
Organizations must recognize three primary types of business cases for AI: return on employee (ROE), return on investment (ROI), and return on future (ROF). ROE focuses on enhancing personal productivity through AI tools, emphasizing employee engagement and well-being rather than financial returns. ROI pertains to applying AI in existing processes to improve efficiency and measurable outcomes, where clear business metrics are established. Finally, ROF involves strategic bets on innovative AI projects, accepting that most may fail but aiming for game-changing results.
