Dev.to
7/21/2026

The original title is about AI ROI being invisible, comparing it to email. Let me rewrite this to be punchy and within the rules.
Original: Nobody Ever Calculated the ROI of Email
Short summary
The article argues that AI ROI is being measured the wrong way—like email, its value lives in unglamorous daily tasks that don't show up as revenue lines. A widely cited MIT stat claiming 95% of GenAI pilots fail masks the reality that 90% of employees use AI tools personally while only 40% of companies offer official subscriptions. The author recommends tracking small, honest metrics like time-to-first-draft and inbox processing time rather than chasing transformational pilot outcomes.
- •AI ROI mirrors email's path: value is invisible because it's embedded in daily work, not a line item
- •90% of employees use personal AI tools vs 40% of companies with official subscriptions—a measurement gap, not a technology failure
- •Track small metrics like time-to-first-draft and status-update time instead of moonshot pilot KPIs
Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.
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