85% Plan More AI Spending. 23% Cannot Measure Returns. The Enthusiasm Outpaces The Accounting, Naturally.
Gartner research reported by The Wall Street Journal found that 85% of functional leaders plan to increase AI spending in 2026, while 23% admit they have no idea what return their investments are generating. Kurkov recommends measuring specific outcomes like time saved, fewer manual steps, lead response time, conversion improvements, or reduced errors. With Black Friday on November 27, a remote hiring expert urges businesses to identify operational gaps now rather than waiting for sales pressure to force the issue.
This illustrates what economists call the measurement gap, and it is a classic adoption pathology. The principle is that technology adoption without outcome measurement is not investment. It is speculation dressed up as strategy. The mechanism is simple: you define the business problem first, then select the AI tool, then track concrete metrics. Time saved. Errors reduced. Conversion lifted. Anything else is theater.
Gartner conducted the survey of functional leaders, with results reported by The Wall Street Journal. Kurkov advises measuring specific outcomes. QuickBooks has produced separate 2026 research suggesting adoption is accelerating.
- Write down one specific business problem you currently have, such as slow lead response time or manual data entry errors. Be precise about the pain.
- Before adopting any AI tool, record your current baseline metric for that problem in a spreadsheet. Hours spent, error count, response time. Whatever is measurable.
- After implementing an AI solution for that problem, measure the same metric again after two weeks. Compare to baseline. If the number has not improved, you have your answer.