AI ROI Calculator
See what top performers actually achieve—not vendor promises. Estimate realistic returns from AI implementation based on your industry, company size, and workforce mix.
Based on AI4SP research: 180,000+ real-world use cases across 18 industries, in 70 countries.
Tell us your sector, team size, and investment level. We'll show you what organizations like yours achieve when AI adoption is employee-led, with central support for training, change management, and governance—rather than mandated from the top down.
This approach succeeds 80% of the time, versus 18% for IT-driven rollouts. In 2025, we guided 8 global organizations to 70%+ employee adoption—resulting in ~4,000 shared agents and ~$50M in measured impact within 6 months.
Select Your Industry
Choose the sector that best matches your organization.
Company Size
Enter total employee count (10–100,000).
Please enter a number between 10 and 100,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the AI ROI Calculator measure?
The AI ROI Calculator estimates realistic returns from AI implementation based on your industry, company size, and workforce composition. Unlike traditional calculators that assume all time saved converts directly to output, ours uses AI4SP's New ROI Framework—showing how saved time flows into five value streams: direct productivity, quality improvement, innovation, learning, and wellbeing. You receive a conservative, defensible ROI figure based on what top performers actually achieve in year one.
How long does it take to get results?
About 2 minutes. You'll select your industry from 18 sectors, enter your employee count, adjust role distribution percentages to match your workforce, and choose an investment level (Starter, Growth, or Transformation). Results appear instantly with no waiting.
What do I receive in my report?
You receive a comprehensive personalized report including: adoption benchmarks for your sector (comparing average vs. top performers), projected annual time savings, a visualization showing where saved time actually flows, measured financial impact with ROI multiplier, shared agent projections showing what organizations like yours deploy, and an AI-generated executive briefing that explains what the numbers mean. You can download everything as a PDF for stakeholder presentations.
Is my data private?
Yes, completely. No login, no registration, no company name, no email, no personal information required. Your inputs generate an instant report—we don't store individual calculations or track who you are. We collect only aggregate, anonymous usage patterns to improve the tool. For complete details, read our AI Transparency Report.
Why is this different from other AI ROI calculators?
Most ROI calculators use a simple formula: hours saved × hourly rate = ROI. This consistently overstates returns because it assumes 100% of saved time converts to additional output. Research shows this never happens—people reinvest saved time into quality improvement, strategic thinking, learning, and work-life balance. Our New ROI Framework accounts for this reality, producing conservative projections executives can actually defend. We show you the full picture while calculating ROI using only the most measurable value streams.
What is the New ROI Framework?
The New ROI Framework recognizes that AI creates value in five streams, not just one. When AI saves time, that time flows into: (1) Direct Productivity—additional measurable output, (2) Quality Improvement—fewer errors, deeper analysis, better outcomes, (3) Creative & Strategic Work—innovation and competitive advantage, (4) Learning & Capability Building—skills development for future productivity, and (5) Wellbeing & Retention—reduced burnout and lower turnover. Traditional ROI counts only the first stream. We display all five but calculate financial ROI using only the two most defensible: Direct Productivity and Quality Improvement.
Where does your data come from?
All benchmarks derive from AI4SP proprietary research: 180,000+ real-world AI use cases across 18 industries in 70 countries. This includes sector-specific adoption rates, role-based time savings, investment cost patterns, and agent deployment outcomes. Our findings align with independent 2025 research from McKinsey, Stanford HAI, the St. Louis Federal Reserve, and BCG—all documenting similar patterns in AI productivity and adoption.
Who is this calculator for?
Business leaders evaluating AI investment who need realistic expectations. Executives and CFOs preparing business cases who need defensible numbers. Board members who want to cut through vendor hype. Anyone wrestling with the question "What should we realistically expect from AI?" The calculator is calibrated for organizations of 10 to 100,000 employees across 18 industries—from small businesses to global enterprises.
What industries are supported?
The calculator covers 18 industries with sector-specific role categories, wage data, and adoption benchmarks: Accommodation & Food Services, Advertising/Marketing/Design, Consulting, Education, Engineering & Construction, Finance & Insurance, General Business, Healthcare Services, Information & Communications, Legal & Accounting, Manufacturing, Nonprofit (Foundation), Nonprofit (Operating), Professional Services, Retail, Technology, Transportation & Warehousing, and Wholesale.
How should I use this for enterprise planning?
For organizations over 5,000 employees, the calculator applies realistic adoption ceilings reflecting phased deployment. No enterprise deploys AI to 50,000 employees simultaneously—year-one projections account for typical rollouts across 2-3 business units. Use the results as a data-backed starting point for budget conversations, vendor evaluation, and stakeholder alignment. The projections show what top performers achieve, not guaranteed outcomes—actual results depend on implementation quality, training investment, and change management.
What are "Shared Agents" in the report?
Shared Agents are AI-powered workflows and assistants that started as individual solutions—built by employees to solve their own problems—then scaled to serve teams, departments, or clients. This grassroots-to-scale pattern emerges naturally when organizations enable (rather than mandate) AI adoption. Subject-matter experts in accounting, sales, legal, or operations build what they need; the best solutions get noticed; a small central team helps scale winners. The calculator projects how many shared agents organizations like yours typically operate within 12 months.
Why does grassroots adoption outperform top-down mandates?
Our research shows 80% of top-performing organizations chose employee-led AI adoption with light central coordination—not IT-mandated rollouts. This works because employees are already experimenting with AI tools; top performers channel this energy rather than fight it. Bottom-up adoption aligns with how AI is naturally being used. Top-down mandates create resistance; enablement creates momentum. The most successful approach: give employees access and permission to experiment, identify early adopters, and create a small central team for governance and best-practice sharing.
What do the investment levels (Starter, Growth, Transformation) mean?
Starter: Grassroots beginning—employees get access to AI tools, learn through self-directed exploration and peer sharing, minimal central oversight. Low cost, low risk, high learning. Growth: Structured program—multiple AI tools tailored to roles, formal training programs, dedicated internal lead coordinating adoption. Transformation: Enterprise commitment—premium licenses, custom integrations, comprehensive training with coaching and certification, external consulting support, central AI team coordinating across business units. Larger organizations typically require Growth or Transformation levels to achieve benchmark results.
How is AI used in this tool?
The calculations use deterministic formulas based on AI4SP research data—no AI involved in the math. The Executive Briefing section uses large language models (Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, or OpenAI) to generate a personalized narrative explaining your results. Your inputs are processed but never stored. No personal data is required or collected. For complete technical details, read our AI Transparency Report.
Who provides this tool and why is it free?
The AI ROI Calculator is provided free by AI4SP, a research and advisory organization focused on practical AI implementation. We built it because questions about realistic AI ROI expectations arrive constantly—and there was no neutral, data-backed resource to point people toward. The tool demonstrates our research depth while providing immediate value. Organizations that want to move beyond benchmarks to implementation can engage AI4SP for deployment roadmaps, change management, and governance design.
Can I trust these projections for budget planning?
The projections show what top performers in your sector achieve by year one—not guaranteed outcomes or theoretical maximums. Use them as a data-backed starting point, not a promise. Actual results depend on implementation quality, training investment, change management, and organizational readiness. We deliberately use conservative calculations (only the two most measurable value streams) so executives can defend the numbers. The tool does not replace strategic planning—it provides a credible benchmark before deeper analysis.