171% ROI on the agents that reach production. And 86% of the pilots never get there.
That gap gets read as a technology problem. It isn’t. The economics are proven… the organizational capability isn’t. Governance, visibility into what the agents actually touch, a success metric someone agreed on up front. That’s where the pilots quietly die.
So the reflex is to go buy a governance platform. The research even says teams with one ship far more often. Fair.
But do this instead first: start with an inventory. What agents do you have, what do they touch, and what does “this worked” actually mean in a number? You can’t govern what you don’t understand, and a tool you plug into a blank won’t save you.
Then treat governance the way a Formula One team treats brakes. Nobody wins a race by ripping the brakes off, right? The good ones are what let the car corner at speed. Design them into the first pilot, not the last slide.
That’s how a pilot stops being a pilot and becomes something you actually ship.
Source: The Agent Production Gap: When 171% ROI Isn’t Enough to Ship
Originally posted on LinkedIn.
RationalAI helps organizations turn ideas like this into results: AI strategy and advisory services. Previous article: Jevons for AI: ‘Paradox’ Is the Wrong Word
