The 6% Problem: Why Most AI Investments Fail

The one thing you need to know in AI today | AI Ready CMO

McKinsey just dropped their 2025 State of AI report, and most commentaries we’ve seen focused on the wrong numbers.

If we told you that three years from now, a new enterprise technology will show a measurable EBIT impact at 39% of companies, you’d be very interested.

ERP implementations took a decade to show clear ROI. CRM systems are still being debated. Most organizations still can’t tell you if the cloud actually saved money. But somehow, generative AI is being held to a different standard—probably because the consumer tools moved so fast that people expect the same velocity inside enterprises with twenty-year-old workflows and compliance committees.

So 39% isn’t disappointing. It’s remarkable.

But here’s what is worth paying attention to: only 6% of organizations qualify as “high performers”—meaning they’re seeing at least 5% EBIT impact from AI and report “significant” value. After three years, billions in investment, and every consultant in America promising transformation, we’ve go…