Most AI investments fail, but human-centred innovation can change the outcome

AI continues to dominate strategic roadmaps, boardroom conversations, and transformation budgets. Yet despite the investment surge, most companies are struggling to realise meaningful value from their AI initiatives. Gartner’s latest analysis reveals a stark reality: only one in 50 AI investments delivers transformational value, and only one in five delivers any measurable return on investment. In other words, even as AI promises to reshape industries and workforces, the current odds of it reshaping an organisation’s performance remain slim.

This gap between aspiration and impact is widening. CEOs continue to expect AI-driven growth, even as employee experience, culture, and operational realities tell a different story. Behind the disappointing ROI figures lies a recurring theme that extends far beyond technological capability: successful innovation requires rethinking processes, behaviours, values, and culture, not just plugging in new tools. Above all the questions we should be asking is what problem are we actually trying to solve and are we asking the right people and looking at the right data to solve it?  

At the Clear Company, this resonates deeply. Our work in developing inclusive cultures demonstrates that sustainable transformation, whether digital, cultural, or organisational, is driven by people, data and processes as much as by technology. AI success is no different.

The missing ingredient: A human-centred approach to innovation

If we look at what we know works in any aspect of business transformation, it’s clear why a people-first approach matters most.

1. Culture determines adoption

When employees fear being replaced, lack confidence in the tools, or feel excluded from decision-making, adoption stalls. Conversely, inclusive cultures, where employees are encouraged to experiment, understand the “why”, see personal benefit, and feel supported, accelerate transformation.

2. Inclusive processes drive better outcomes

Diverse teams are more likely to identify bias, design equitable workflows, and predict downstream consequences. This is essential when deploying AI models that learn from historical data and can replicate inequities if left unchecked. Likewise having different viewpoints on process pain points and process mapping can ensure the end solution works for all and all are bought in to the solution.

3. Governance must prioritise transparency and equity

It’s perhaps fair to say that many companies lack clear ethical frameworks, consistent decision-making rights, or inclusive oversight mechanisms, particularly when it comes to new and emerging technologies and people-management tools. This exposes teams to legal, reputational and operational risks. A governance structure built on transparency and inclusion not only protects organisations but also increases employee and customer trust in AI-augmented decisions. Governance needs to determine where human decision-making is essential and where AI can lift the burden using robust, equitable and inclusive instruction.

From hype to value: A framework for meaningful AI transformation

To move from 98% of businesses failing to achieve transformational AI value to the successful 2%, leaders must centre their strategy on people, culture, and process, not just technology. A sustainable, inclusive AI transformation requires four core steps:

1. Diagnose cultural, process, and capability barriers

Too often we don’t accurately diagnose the problem, instead jumping to implement solutions (often new shiny technology). Go beyond technical audits to identify behaviours that resist change, processes rooted in legacy ways of working, and inequities or biases in workflows. It also helps businesses identify capability gaps across leadership and teams.

Only with this baseline can organisations build AI solutions that not only fit their real operational context but help to move it forward and see real return on investment in behaviour and process change.

2. Build inclusive AI readiness

Training, communication, and engagement must be accessible and inclusive. Employees need to feel part of the transformation, not subject to it. Too often when it comes to technology and training, it’s driven by a compliance mindset rather than incentivising and engaging people to learn and experiment and practically see the benefits in a training space. Gartner’s research on AI value leakage reinforces that misaligned workforce behaviours, not technical failures, are a primary cause of poor ROI. Use employee resources groups and DEI leads etc to help you test and recommend accessibility around your technology stack (including AI).

3. Start small, prove value, and scale thoughtfully

Gartner emphasises the importance of starting small to build momentum, especially when budgets and integration capacity are limited. Successful pilots create confidence, capability, and clarity about where AI can truly add value. This approach also enables employers to identify any programmed or learned biases in AI tools being rolled out before they have a lasting effect on employees.

4. Establish clear, equitable governance

Define decision rights, data standards, ethical principles, and transparency mechanisms. Ensure diverse representation in governance groups to mitigate risks and improve decision quality. Ask technology suppliers for their DEI testing and ethical approach to development of solutions.

A need for transformational thinking

The promise of AI will remain unfulfilled until organisations shift their focus from technology alone to the broader ecosystem in which it operates. As Gartner’s analysis shows, most AI investments fail not because the tools lack capability, but because the culture, processes, and values surrounding them are unprepared for change.

By embedding inclusion, human-centred design, and sustainable process transformation at the core of their AI strategy, organisations can finally unlock the value they seek. Let’s learn from early adopters successes and mistakes and achieve meaningful, measurable, and lasting impact, with people at the heart of change.

This is where the Clear Company helps organisations thrive: by ensuring that innovation is not only technically sound but also culturally sustainable, inclusive, and built to last.