AI Maturity Emerges as Key Driver of ROI, New Protiviti Study Finds

More than half of organizations have yet to achieve full benefits of AI adoption

MENLO PARK, Calif. – July 15, 2025 – Protiviti has released the findings of its AI Pulse Survey on AI Fundamentals, the first in a planned series of AI Pulse Surveys. The initial survey, focusing on adoption and value, identified a high correlation between maturity of an organization’s AI program and recognized benefits.

The study polled more than 1,000 respondents across industries and geographies to understand how AI maturity, challenges and benefits vary based on where organizations stand on an AI adoption curve.

The survey segmented respondents by level of AI maturity across five stages from Initial to Transformation phases:

• Stage 1: Initial (19%) – Organization recognizes AI's potential benefits but has limited understanding and no strategic initiatives. KPIs have not yet been defined.
• Stage 2: Experimentation (32%) – Organization has initiated small-scale AI projects and pilot programs to assess feasibility and benefits.
• Stage 3: Defined (21%) – Organization has integrated AI solutions into existing business processes, enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making.
• Stage 4: Optimization (20%) – Organization has enhanced AI systems for performance and scalability, with continuous improvements based on data feedback.
• Stage 5: Transformation (8%) – AI drives significant business transformation at the organization, but more broadly for the industry or market at large.

“This survey offers clear insights on the true state of AI progress within companies — cutting through aspirations to reveal where they actually stand,” said Christine Livingston, global leader, AI practice at Protiviti. “To move beyond the experimentation phase and realize the value potential of AI, executives must radically redefine what success looks like, shifting their focus from immediate cost savings to strategic growth, revenue enhancement, and innovation. They should also tightly align their data strategies with core business objectives and prioritize building the robust capabilities essential for scaling AI effectively.” 

ROI Growth Tracks Closely with Organizations’ AI Maturity

Findings show a clear link between AI maturity and return on investment. Organizations often do not see quantifiable returns in very early stages but after advancing capabilities and fully integrating AI, organizations see demonstrable value.

• At Stage 2, ROI perceptions improve steadily as 77% report that returns met, slightly exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations.
• By Stage 5, 95% of organizations report high satisfaction with their AI investments, and 75% say AI is exceeding ROI expectations.

Challenges Persist Across Different Stages of AI Maturity

While AI adoption is growing, organizations across all maturity levels face barriers that can slow or stall progress. The most cited challenges, in rank order, include integration with existing systems, lack of understanding on most impactful use cases, lack of skilled resources, data availability and access, and lack of/unclear/conflicting regulatory guidance.

As organizations progress along the AI maturity curve, their top challenges shift:

• In Stages 2 and 3, as organizations educate themselves about AI’s potential and begin experimentation, integrating with existing systems becomes the top focus, rising from 30% to 37%.
• By Stages 4 and 5, integration issues were cited as 28% and 22%, respectively. Additionally, as organizations look to expand the capabilities of their AI solutions in later maturity phases, data access issues begin to dominate, with 20% at Stage 4 and nearly 29% at Stage 5 reporting data availability as their biggest challenge. 

Redefining Success Across the Organization

Organizations define AI success differently depending on respondents’ roles in the organization, underscoring the need for tailored AI strategies aligned to specific departmental goals.

• In sales, 75% of respondents prioritize cost savings while 54% cite customer satisfaction as key success metrics.
• Among compliance leaders, 84% point to employee satisfaction and 80% emphasize productivity.
• Finance teams take a more balanced view, with 57% valuing process efficiency, 55% focusing on cost savings, and 53% highlighting productivity.

“Organizations need to build momentum and experience with AI to progress through the stages and capture the most value,” added Livingston. “The era of slow, piecemeal AI implementation is over. Organizations need to move with speed when it comes to their AI efforts not only to succeed, but to successfully manage risks and turn challenges into opportunities.”

As organizations redefine what success looks like in AI – moving beyond experimentation to measurable business outcomes – innovation hubs play a critical enabling role in rapid prototyping, refining both the technical and functional approach to enablement. Protiviti’s newly unveiled Protiviti AI Studio in Chicago is a collaborative launchpad for organizations to explore use cases, test emerging technologies and access expert-led workshops that drive implementation. The Studio builds on the firm’s AI Center of Excellence and helps teams gain hands-on experience and accelerate progress from concept to execution.

The survey report is available for download here. The webinar is Wednesday, July 30 at 1 pm ET.

Methodology

Protiviti launched its AI Pulse Survey in 2025 to gain insights into how enterprises across various industries currently use artificial intelligence and where they see growth opportunities and challenges. Each pulse survey is designed to cover a specific theme, such as AI readiness and ROI, data challenges, agentic AI, and operational and governance risks.

For the survey on AI readiness, Protiviti garnered more than 1000 responses globally from diverse industries including but not limited to technology, manufacturing, construction, and government. The respondents’ primary job functions included IT, operations, finance, and compliance, among others.