Visibility and governance will define the next phase of AI investment

Return on AI investment is rapidly becoming one of the most significant pressure points facing the modern C‍-‍Suite.

AI technology has quickly become one of the biggest investment priorities for Australian leaders. From healthcare to professional services and even the public sector, organisations are committing significant resources to AI with the promise of productivity gains and competitive advantage.

As those investments begin to mature, scrutiny is growing around the actual value that AI technologies deliver for businesses. Part of this challenge comes with the costly rise of agentic AI, which comes at a higher ‘token cost’ to the organisation, quickly driving up tech spend particularly where use is unregulated across different departments. Businesses now need to dedicate additional resources to allocating and managing optimal use across the organisation, introducing the concept of ‘tokenomics’.

The cost-control function is critical, as over-two thirds of ANZ organisations report AI funding being reallocated from existing technology budgets, according to the Apptio 2026 Technology Investment Management Report.

While organisations remain optimistic about the potential of AI, many are struggling to connect rising costs with measurable business outcomes, leading some organisations to wind back their use of AI tools after costs have exceeded budgets.

The growing disconnect between budget and outcomes

In recent years, businesses have raced to adopt AI technologies. That urgency has been valuable in driving innovation, but it has also created an environment where investment has often outpaced visibility.

Where AI was once an optional gamble to gain a market advantage, it’s now regarded as an essential investment to remain competitive across local and global industries. This is creating a widening gap between expectation and reality, with the conversation around AI largely centred on potential.

That mindset has fuelled uncertainty among technology leaders, with Apptio’s research finding that 88% of Australia’s senior decision-makers lack confidence in the value that a tech investment would bring to their business. Now, they’re feeling the pressure to prove performance.

This becomes increasingly difficult as AI spending is distributed across multiple teams, business units and technology environments. Costs become fragmented, ownership becomes unclear and measuring value becomes more complex.

Why governance is becoming a business priority

Once AI becomes embedded into business operations, organisations need to be able to understand where costs are coming from and the direct outcomes. This is particularly relevant in large organisations where technology spend is spread across cloud platforms, data environments and functional teams. AI can quickly become a collection of standalone investments that are difficult to govern as a whole.

We’re beginning to see similar patterns in AI as we saw in the early stages of cloud adoption. Initial investments were made quickly to unlock innovation and agility, with costs quickly rising as adoption was encouraged across whole organisations.

Now, technology leaders are facing rising pressure from boards and stakeholders who expect transparency around both costs and outcomes.

Turning data into accountability

To remain accountable, organisations first need a more complete view of their technology investments. Businesses must connect financial data with operational metrics and business outcomes to create a clearer picture of performance. An organisation-wide view helps leaders to make informed decisions; however, that’s often where we see a communication gap emerge between technical teams and executive leadership.

Tools that simplify complex technology data and present it in a business context are becoming increasingly important as complex technologies require decision makers to understand both the performance benefits and consequences of investment decisions.

The next phase of AI maturity

The organisations that will be most successful with AI over the next several years will not necessarily be those spending the most, but the ones with the strongest visibility into investment performance.

As spending continues to grow, accountability will become just as important as innovation. Leaders are no longer asking whether they should invest in AI, but how they can ensure every investment makes sense and delivers measurable value.

Businesses that can answer that question with confidence will be best positioned to scale AI responsibly, maintain stakeholder trust and turn emerging technologies into lasting business outcomes.

Image credit: iStock.com/Alexander Sikov