AI ROI
Same salary. Different AI value.
The exercise reframes AI value around what a person produces and who consumes it. A freed hour in one role is not the same as a freed hour in another.
The problem
AI spend has outpaced measurement.
Seats get bought, tools get tried, and the renewal question arrives before the company can show what changed. The missing piece is a scoreboard tied to real workflows.
What we measure
Manual assembly time
Decision wait
Reporting breaks
AI spend with no scoreboard
Governance readiness
The method
Assessment in four steps
01
Baseline the workflow
02
Map who consumes the output
03
Rank the highest-value AI targets
04
Set the control gate before rollout
Governance gate
Proof format
View case study templateROI reframing exercise
Illustrative model. Not a quote.
Inputs
Same pay, different value path
Illustrative model. Not a quote.
Result
Value multiplier: 8.57x
The same freed hour changes value when the output is consumed by more people or used in higher-stakes decisions.
| Role | Multiplier | Illustrative annual value |
|---|---|---|
| Individual contributor | 6.12x | $41,310-$68,850 |
| Analyst or specialist | 8.57x | $57,848-$96,413 |
| Manager | 12.24x | $82,620-$137,700 |
| Executive | 19.58x | $132,165-$220,275 |
| Revenue or client-facing role | 24x | $162,000-$270,000 |
The monthly illustrative range for the selected role is $4,821-$8,034. The point is not the dollar claim. The point is where AI time savings matter most.
Start with the work that has an audience.
The best AI target is rarely the task with the most minutes. It is the output that reaches the most people, feeds the largest decision, or changes the customer conversation.