Before You Buy More AI, Diagnose the Gap You Actually Have
CIO, Tuesday, October 6th, 2026
Enterprise AI's problem is often not model quality but that models have no link to real decisions; diagnose that gap before buying more.
A CIO.com columnist describes a capital allocation review that ignored a good predictive failure-risk model because it had no connection to the decision being made, which he calls the central problem in enterprise AI.
McKinsey's State of AI 2026 finds nearly nine in ten firms use AI regularly and eight in ten see higher individual productivity, yet only about 37% report positive enterprise EBIT impact, with BCG and PwC CEO surveys showing similar gaps.
Before buying more AI, leaders should diagnose whether their gap is capability or the link between insight and decisions.