Fast-Tracking AI Value: Strategies for Immediate Impact

Just a few short years ago, artificial intelligence was a distant prospect for many organizations. Today, it's rapidly reshaping the business landscape, offering a powerful set of tools capable of driving immediate value. Yet a crucial question remains for business leaders: how can you achieve—and more importantly, demonstrate—a tangible, immediate return on your AI investment?

The key to unlocking immediate ROI from AI lies in understanding which problems it can solve for your business, right now. Read on for strategies and a roadmap to get you there quickly.

About this article

This article is part of our Thrive Blog Series, offering a glimpse into the kinds of trends and insights we’ll be exploring at Thrive 2025 in Austin, August 25-27. Watch for new posts in our Resource Center through August.

Target the right opportunities for quick results

Rather than viewing AI as a complete business transformation project, focus on identifying specific areas where AI can optimize processes, improve decision-making, and enhance customer experiences, all of which contribute to immediate value creation.

One of the most impactful applications of AI for immediate ROI is within customer-facing operations, as highlighted in the following examples.

Conversational AI for sales and support

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their ability to engage with customers.

These intelligent agents can handle a high volume of customer inquiries, qualify leads, and provide instant support, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex issues.

This translates to significant cost savings, increased sales conversions, and higher levels of customer satisfaction, especially as chatbot adoption continues to rise. A recent report from Gartner predicts that by 2027, chatbots will become the primary customer service channel for roughly 25% of organizations.

Predictive analytics for personalization

AI excels at analyzing vast amounts of data to uncover hidden patterns and predict future behavior and preferences. When applied to customer data, these insights become invaluable for creating highly personalized experiences that resonate with individual needs.

Businesses can leverage AI to recommend relevant products, create targeted campaigns, and proactively address customer needs, all leading to increased engagement, conversions, and revenue.

Research from McKinsey reveals that businesses incorporating AI and machine learning into their personalization strategies can experience a significant boost in revenue, with potential gains ranging from 15% to 20%.

AI-driven process automation

Many business processes rely on repetitive, rules-based tasks that are time-consuming and prone to human error. AI offers a powerful solution by automating these processes, freeing up valuable employee time for more strategic initiatives.

From data entry and appointment scheduling to invoice processing and customer onboarding, AI can significantly reduce manual effort and errors, delivering substantial gains in efficiency and allowing teams to focus on higher-value work.

How to generate rapid AI value creation

Embracing AI offers more than just incremental improvements. It presents a significant opportunity to transform your bottom line. Here’s a glimpse into the potential ROI that awaits.

Labor cost reductions—A significant portion of customer service and operational costs stems from labor. By leveraging AI-powered solutions, organizations can streamline workflows and automate tasks, leading to a substantial reduction in labor costs. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2026, contact center labor costs are expected to be reduced by $80 billion due to the adoption of agentic AI.

Productivity and profits—AI has the power to unlock new levels of productivity across the board. Goldman Sachs estimates that over the next 10 years, AI could increase productivity by 1.5% per year. This would translate into a significant increase in profitability, with S&P 500 companies projected to see their profits increase by 30% or more over the next decade, simply by harnessing the power of AI.

Improved cost per customer interaction—Delivering exceptional customer experiences is essential for business success, but it often comes at a cost. AI-powered solutions can dramatically reduce the average cost of customer interactions. While traditional live agent interactions can cost $3.50 to $6.00 each, industry innovators are leveraging AI to deliver more cost-effective solutions. For instance, IntelePeer, a leading provider of AI-powered customer experience solutions, offers its SmartAgent and SmartOffice platforms, enabling businesses to leverage AI agents for less than $0.40 per interaction.

Improved CX—AI is not just about cost savings; it can significantly enhance the customer experience. Conversational AI, for instance, has the potential to reduce the average handling time for customer interactions by as much as 80%, while simultaneously increasing first-time resolution rates by 25%. This means faster response times, quicker issue resolution, and a smoother overall experience for your customers.

From concept to ROI: A practical roadmap approach

Successfully implementing AI into your organization requires a thoughtful, structured approach. Rather than attempting a complete overhaul, a more effective strategy involves a phased implementation that allows you to demonstrate value incrementally and secure buy-in along the way.

Here’s a roadmap to guide your journey and make AI implementation manageable and successful.

Phase 1: Lay the groundwork

1. Identify the "low-hanging fruit—Don’t try to boil the ocean. Begin by identifying specific business challenges that can be readily addressed by readily-available AI solutions. Target those areas where automation, data analysis, or enhanced customer interactions have a high potential for immediate impact. This might involve automating repetitive tasks within your customer service workflow to improve response times, leveraging predictive analytics to optimize pricing strategies, or implementing AI-powered personalization features to boost conversion rates in your e-commerce platform.

2. Start small and scale up—It can be tempting to launch a full-blown AI implementation across the entire organization. However, a more prudent and effective approach is to start with smaller, targeted deployments within specific departments or workflows. This allows you to test different AI solutions, gather data, refine your approach, and—most importantly—demonstrate tangible results and ROI to stakeholders. Armed with success stories and documented improvements, you can then secure buy-in for larger-scale deployments across the organization.

3. Choose the right AI partner—Navigating the complex world of AI can be daunting. Partnering with an experienced AI vendor can significantly accelerate your ROI journey by providing the expertise, tools, and support you need to succeed. When evaluating potential partners, look for providers who offer:

Phase 2: Evaluate potential AI partners—Three things to look for

When evaluating potential AI partners, focus on these three key capabilities. Look for:

1. Industry-specific solutions—Every industry has its unique nuances and challenges. Make sure your chosen AI partner understands the specifics of your sector and can offer solutions tailored to your needs. For example, in the healthcare sector, IntelePeer works with small practitioners to help them with everything from managing appointments to navigating healthcare software and test results to identify the proper next steps in terms of care.

2. Pre-built models—Building AI models from scratch can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Choose a partner that offers a library of pre-built models that can be tailored to your specific use cases. This significantly reduces time to deployment and allows you to start seeing results faster.

3. Flexible deployment options—Every organization has different IT infrastructure and operational needs. Seek out partners who offer flexible deployment options, whether that’s on-premise, cloud-based, or hybrid solutions.

By taking a strategic, phased approach, and choosing the right AI partner, you can unlock the transformative potential of AI and start generating tangible ROI for your business.

See how organizations are deploying AI today with immediate results

Want to explore real-world examples of companies achieving immediate ROI with AI? Join us at Thrive for a session on this very topic, where AI implementation experts from IntelePeer and AppDirect will share:

• Proven strategies to identify and implement high-impact AI solutions

• Real-world case studies showcasing rapid ROI in the healthcare sector

• A demonstration of IntelePeer's proprietary AI, Sam, and its applications

Don't miss this opportunity to gain actionable insights and unlock immediate AI value for your business. Register for Thrive today to join this session, and explore other Thrive sessions while you’re there!

Start building custom-trained AI agents to solve real business problems

Want to go beyond quick wins and build AI solutions that scale? Learn how custom-trained AI agents can help you drive long-term ROI while staying secure and in control in this related blog post. Learn why purpose-built AI agents—not generic tools—solve real business challenges. Discover best practices for secure, effective AI agent development, and how to avoid shadow IT risks.

Check back regularly for more insights

We have many more articles to come in this Thrive Blog Series. Check back often for new posts in our Resource Center through August when the conference starts.