Balancing Act: AI Returns Grow as Risks Outpace Oversight

Enterprises worldwide are seeing tangible benefits from artificial intelligence investments, yet governance frameworks struggle to keep pace. This is according to new research by SAP and Oxford Economics, which surveyed 2,600 executives across 13 countries.

The study found that companies plan to spend $28 million on AI initiatives this year—a significant increase from last year’s $26.7 million—with an expected return of 21%. Notably, agent-based AI is showing particular promise, with ROI expectations reaching 17% (up from just 10% previously).

The Growing Governance Gap

Despite these positive trends, only 3% of respondents reported being fully prepared for the deployment of AI agents. Key governance gaps include:

• Limited human oversight: 38% lack processes to monitor agent activity
• Insufficient access controls: Only 63% have established permissions
• Widespread shadow AI usage without central visibility

“Measuring business value from IT investments is challenging, and AI is no exception,” noted Sean Kask, Chief AI Strategy Officer at SAP. “The governance issue currently poses the greater problem as new risks emerge faster than we can address them.”

Regional Insights

German companies lead in AI investment, allocating an average of $40 million annually—more than any other country surveyed. This reflects both higher costs and a particularly strong adoption rate among German businesses. While satisfaction with ROI is currently at 47%, most German companies believe they’ve only tapped into a fraction of AI’s potential.

The study suggests this pattern is global: as organizations gain experience, they recognize new applications—particularly through agent-based systems—but often encounter implementation hurdles along the way. Only 33% of companies currently track AI performance with executive-level KPIs.