Are You Actually Getting ROI from Using AI at Work?
A recent Gartner study found that fewer than 10 percent of AI initiatives deliver measurable business value at scale, even though AI adoption continues to accelerate across SMBs. Having consulted for Fortune 500 organizations, I have seen the same pattern repeatedly. Tools are deployed, licenses are purchased, but usage and impact remain unclear.
For SMBs in the Long Island and Melville area, this gap is even wider. Enterprise firms have analytics teams and governance frameworks. Most SMBs do not. That makes it difficult to answer a simple question: is your investment in AI actually paying off?
The Hidden Cost of Unused AI Tools
Microsoft Copilot promises productivity gains across email, documents, meetings, and collaboration. But value only exists if employees actually use it consistently and correctly.
Every unused Copilot license represents wasted spend. If a business pays $30 per user per month for 25 employees, that is $9,000 per year. If only half the team actively uses the tool, $4,500 delivers no return.
Beyond licensing, there is a larger opportunity cost. Every hour your project manager, accountant, or engineer spends manually drafting content or searching for information is an hour not spent serving clients or moving projects forward.
Why AI Adoption Stalls Inside SMBs
In large enterprises, AI rollouts include adoption tracking, benchmarks, and structured change management. SMBs often skip these steps due to limited resources.
Common blockers include:
No visibility into who is using AI tools and how often
Lack of training tied to real workflows
Unclear expectations around AI usage
Employee hesitation due to privacy or monitoring concerns
Without data, leadership is left guessing. Guessing leads to stalled adoption and wasted investment.
How Microsoft Is Addressing the Visibility Gap
Microsoft recently introduced usage benchmarking for Copilot through Viva Insights. The goal is simple: give organizations insight into whether Copilot is being used and where adoption is falling behind.
From a business perspective, this matters because it answers three critical questions:
How many employees actively use Copilot
Which Microsoft 365 apps generate the most AI value
How your adoption compares to similar organizations
This type of visibility has existed in enterprise environments for years. SMBs are only now gaining access to similar insights.
AI Governance Matters More Than Ever
AI visibility raises an important concern: governance.
According to Microsoft, usage data is aggregated and anonymized when used for external benchmarking. Still, SMB leaders must be proactive about setting expectations.
AI adoption should focus on enablement, not surveillance. The goal is to identify where training or process improvements are needed, not to penalize individuals.
Without governance, businesses risk shadow AI usage, inconsistent workflows, and data exposure. These risks are especially high in finance, accounting, professional services, engineering, and architecture firms where sensitive client data is involved.
Turning AI Insights into Business Impact
Data alone does not drive value. Action does.
High-performing SMBs use AI insights to:
Identify teams that need targeted training
Align Copilot usage with specific business outcomes
Standardize workflows across departments
Reduce manual effort in high-cost roles
Measure productivity gains over time
This is where enterprise thinking meets SMB execution. Structure does not require massive budgets, but it does require discipline.
What SMB Leaders Should Do Next
If your organization is investing in AI tools like Microsoft Copilot, the next step is ensuring adoption, governance, and ROI.
Start by answering three questions:
Do you know who is using AI tools today
Can you tie usage to productivity or time savings
Do you have clear guidelines for responsible AI use
If the answer is no, the risk is not just wasted licenses. It is falling behind competitors who are already operationalizing AI effectively.
Final Takeaway
AI is no longer experimental. It is a business capability. SMBs that treat it as a checkbox will struggle to see results. Those that measure, govern, and support adoption will gain a real competitive advantage.
If your business wants help assessing AI usage, building governance, or aligning Copilot with real workflows, New Edge IT Services can help you apply enterprise-level strategy at an SMB scale.
Contact us to start turning AI investment into measurable impact.
