$1 invested in AI, generates a return of $3.5X, says a new Microsoft study

Ask everyone about AI, and most likely Microsoft will be one of the names mentioned in this conversation. And for good reasons: Microsoft has been at the forefront of AI since the concept gained popularity.

Amongst its many AI products, including Copilot on Windows and Microsoft 365, the Redmond-based tech giant says AI is generating almost 4X the budget invested in it.

According to a new study on the impact of AI in companies, Microsoft says AI is quite the opportunity that every company should benefit from.

The Redmond-based tech giant commissioned the study through IDC, and the organization surveyed more than 2,000 business leaders and decision-makers from around the world.

The results are impressive, and it once again shows that AI can make a change in the corporate world as well.

Earlier this year, Microsoft commissioned another study, which showed that startups and small companies could greatly benefit from AI investments. This study, however, brings forward pragmatic data, which might surprise a few skeptics.

Should companies make an AI investment? Definitely, says the new study

The new study shows that AI could become a valuable and even profitable asset to a company in less than 2 years. What’s even more interesting is that AI generates almost 4 times the budget spent on investing in it.

Here are the key findings of the new study:

• 71% of respondents say their companies are already using AI 
• 92% of AI deployments are taking 12 months or less 
• Organizations are realizing a return on their AI investments within 14 months 
• For every $1 a company invests in AI, it is realizing an average return of $3.5X  
• 52% report that a lack of skilled workers is their biggest barrier to implement and scale AI   

Could AI replace humans in the future, as the predominant workforce? That’s still uncertain, however, IDC says that generative AI will add nearly $10 trillion to global GDP over the next 10 years.

Coming back to our times, IDC also says that if 71% of the surveyed companies are already using AI, 22% of the rest are planning to implement AI within the next 12 months. As you can see, AI adoption is only getting started.

You can read more about the study here.

What’s your take on it?