Return on investment of artificial intelligence

Understanding AI’s ROI in professional services

An ROI framework for AI should measure efficiency, quality of outputs, and strategic benefits. Professional organizations need an AI platform to prove that it can reliably automate routine tasks, enhance productivity, deliver superior customer satisfaction, increase revenue, and reduce costs.

In the latest Future of Professionals Report, more than half (53%) of professional organizations stated that they’re seeing ROI from their AI investment. Among its other insights, the report makes it clear that AI ROI needs to measure more than cost savings, the focus of “traditional” ROI.

ROI beyond cost savings

These organizations are measuring AI ROI by quantifying both tangible and intangible benefits. These measures are often interrelated in many cases.

Tangible metrics do include cost savings, of course. These savings are due largely to productivity gains. Other significant tangible benefits include:

• Time savings. AI-driven automation is freeing up professionals from manual work, allowing them to focus on higher-value activities while improving their work-life balance, with many organizations reporting savings of five hours per week.
• Error reduction. By automating research and other mundane tasks, AI tools can reduce the incidence of manual errors.
• Risk mitigation. Risk and fraud professionals in various industries are using AI to prevent fraudulent activities. This strategy can also apply to corporate legal and tax sectors, as AI can reduce the risk of litigation or tax penalties.
• Efficiency. Through time savings, faster response times, and error reduction, AI is helping professionals streamline workflows.

Future-oriented organizations are also incorporating AI’s intangible benefits in their ROI calculations. These are capabilities that have a less direct impact on the organization’s bottom line. But they still offer valuable ways to measure AI’s payback:

• Accuracy. With the benefit of reducing errors, an AI platform designed for professional use cases can generate outputs with proven reliability. Moreover, thanks to AI-powered automation, they can be generated at high speed.
• Client experience. Clients are constantly demanding more from their professional services providers. Organizations using AI strategically can deliver work as clients need it. They can also introduce new services that can add business value to both the client and the organization.
• Decision quality. By analyzing large volumes of data and quickly identifying relevant information and optimal solutions, AI can strengthen strategic decision-making and enhance the expertise of professionals.
• Talent retention. AI can demonstrate measurable benefits to an organization’s ability to attract and retain high-quality professionals. It can help them improve their work-life balance by relieving them of tedious manual work. Additionally, AI-powered learning programs can accelerate their training and skills development.

The four layers of strategic AI adoption

According to the Future of Professionals Report, professional organizations can achieve the greatest ROI by engaging four layers in an AI adoption roadmap.

Strategy

Organizations that establish a detailed strategic initiative for AI adoption are almost four times more likely to experience revenue growth and other benefits compared to firms without such a plan. This strategic advantage pertains to in-house departments and government agencies as well as professional firms.

Leadership

If leaders are willing to advocate passionately for it and address professionals’ concerns, they can drive successful AI adoption. Organizations whose leadership has added AI skill sets to their teams, incorporated AI strategy and oversight into their governance, and pursued thoughtful investment are reaping ROI rewards.

Operations

Organizations enjoying notable success in their AI adoption projects are adjusting their workflows, processes, delivery models, and pricing to optimize the technology’s applications in numerous professional use cases. These organizations are also adding new roles and skills, either by training existing staff in AI proficiency or hiring AI specialists — or both. AI platforms also allow organizations to offer high-value advisory and strategic consulting services to their clients.

Individual users

AI’s impact on professional practices is already proving to be transformational. For many practitioners, that’s an attractive prospect and many are ready to adopt AI into their work. For others, it’s nerve-wracking.

To optimize ROI on their AI investment, organizations will want to build a culture that encourages change and lowers anxiety. Firms and departments that give individual users room to improve, a depth of organizational AI understanding, regular AI utilization, and personal goal setting will move their professionals into the forefront of skill development and increased productivity.

Importance of intentional AI adoption

The report makes it clear that professional organizations can measure the ROI of AI adoption. However, this metric is only useful if the adoption is intentional and strategic.

Research from Thomson Reuters shows that organizations with deliberate and well-thought-out AI strategies will gain a variety of benefits, see a widening competitive gap, and are twice as likely to experience revenue growth.

Prevent disconnect
Alignment between organizations and individual users is crucial to AI ROI. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents with personal goals for AI adoption noted they aren’t aware of their organization having an AI strategy. At the same time, 38% of professionals surveyed whose organizations do have an AI strategy said that they don’t have any personal AI use goals.

Without intentional adoption on both sides, organizations are at risk of a mismatch between organization-wide and individual goals. This disconnect increases the likelihood of inconsistent and inefficient individual AI adoption. As a result, the organization may struggle to implement its AI strategy effectively, which in turn makes demonstrating ROI more challenging. 

Alleviate reservations about AI
A successful adoption strategy must address the factors and concerns that have kept professional organizations from investing in AI, while also prioritizing ethical AI usage along with technological literacy and proficiency.

They can encourage adoption among reluctant professionals by assuring them that AI won’t replace them. Instead, professional-grade AI tools can enhance their expertise and make their practices more productive and intellectually satisfying.

Prepare for the future
Pursuing these approaches can help these organizations achieve significant AI ROI and prepare them for the future, such as using agentic AI in the execution of multistep professional workflows.

Whether it’s a freestanding firm or an in-house department, an organization should keep these capabilities in mind as it conducts due diligence on AI tools.

AI ROI requires the right platform

Implementing a successful AI strategy requires dedication and the right skill sets. But not all AI solutions on the market can provide the level of ROI that professional organizations are seeking. They need an AI solution that is professional-grade and has best-in-class security.

At Thomson Reuters, we have both and much more. We base our strategy on four foundational pillars: high-quality data, domain and technical expertise, stringent security measures, and ethical considerations.

That’s why professionals who begin using CoCounsel today will be ready to navigate their ROI journey with confidence.