Traditional ROI Models Don’t Work for AI

For decades, businesses measured technology success through traditional return on investment (ROI) models. These worked when costs and outputs were predictable. In the age of AI, where models evolve and markets shift constantly, that approach falls short. At Cypher 2025, India’s biggest AI conference organised by AIM in Bengaluru, Vikas Behrani, vice president of AI practice and innovation lab at Genpact, urged organisations to rethink ROI. He said AI’s value is fluid, intangible, and always changing. “You have to keep looking at it, innovate, and at the same time recalculate what AI value will mean in the next few years.” Beyond the Obvious Gains Behrani noted that AI returns extend beyond cost savings, automation, or revenue growth. The bigger impact lies in what he call