Business 101 15 hours ago

How Should Companies Measure the ROI of AI Investments?

Faster time to market and faster time to ROI are among the key concerns of Philippine executives whose companies invest in AI.

Faster time to market and faster time to return on investment (ROI) are among the key concerns of Philippine executives whose companies invest in artificial intelligence (AI), which raises the question: what metrics should they look for?

Dharam Gurbani, chief growth officer of Global Growth Markets – EU, UK, APAC, and India at Ascendion, an AI-native software engineering company, speaks more on the topic with The Business Manual.

The first consideration is agent-to-human ratio optimization, which is cost per outcome or productivity multiplier per agent, he said in a June 22 interview.

The second is autonomous workflow governance, or the percentage of tasks that auto-resolve, which reduces the escalation rate.

“There’s also continuous AI capability uplift,” he said. “That means how much we are investing per human in training.”

Lack of talent was cited by 57% of respondents as their most significant barrier to AI adoption, according to the Philippine AI Report 2025 Executive Brief by Swarm, a global consultancy and AI solutions provider.

Over 92% of Philippine organizations used AI in some capacity last year, but 65% remain stuck in proof-of-concept, the report also found. Close to two-thirds (61%) report C-level oversight of AI initiatives, but most adoption still sits on top of workflows rather than inside core systems.

Everyone is starting at the same place in the race for talent, Gurbani said.

Some job functions - such as AI agent architect, AI governance and safety officer, and chief AI officer - did not exist eight to ten years ago.

Companies should ask themselves: how much of the workforce has shifted from doing the work itself to overseeing it? Gurbani said.

“How many have we moved to oversight and judgment? We should monitor that every quarter.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What metrics should Philippine companies use to measure the ROI of AI investments?

According to Ascendion's Dharam Gurbani, key AI ROI metrics include agent-to-human ratio optimization (cost per outcome), autonomous workflow governance (percentage of tasks that auto-resolve), and continuous AI capability uplift — measuring per-employee training investment and the pace of new AI use case deployment each quarter.

What is agent-to-human ratio optimization in the context of AI investment measurement?

Agent-to-human ratio optimization measures the cost per outcome or productivity multiplier per AI agent. It tracks how effectively AI agents are replacing or augmenting human task volume, making it a direct indicator of operational efficiency gains from enterprise AI deployment.

Why are 65% of Philippine organizations stuck in AI proof-of-concept despite widespread adoption?

The Philippine AI Report 2025 by Swarm found that while over 92% of Philippine organizations used AI in some capacity in 2024, most adoption sits on top of existing workflows rather than inside core systems — indicating structural and talent gaps that prevent scale beyond the pilot stage.

How did Ascendion help a Philippine fintech company reduce its product backlog from two years to monthly launches?

Ascendion conducted an end-to-end review of the fintech's people structure, engineering skills, deployment processes, and standardization of coding and architecture. The resulting optimizations enabled the company to move from a 2-year product backlog to launching a new feature or product every month.

What is a 10x engineer, and how is Ascendion applying this model in the Philippines?

Ascendion defines a 10x engineer as a vetted engineering professional with a master's degree, three months of pre-placement training, and compensation about double the standard market rate. The company aims to develop at least 2,000 such engineers globally within two years, with the Philippines as a key hiring market.