Why Isn't AI Delivering ROI in Asia-Pacific?

Enterprises across Asia-Pacific have no shortage of AI ambition, or investment behind it. What is proving harder to find is evidence that any of it is working. Data from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that, as of early 2026, over 80% of enterprises find that AI has yet to yield a tangible impact on their operational performance. The technology has left the lab. For most organisations, the returns have yet to arrive.

Technology is rarely the constraint, and increasingly it isn't data foundations or operating models either. How the tools are adopted, and whether they are used well, is what separates the leaders. Australian organisations tend to be pragmatic and ROI-driven, weighing measurable outcomes before scaling. Singapore's regulatory clarity and digital infrastructure position it to move quickly, provided data governance is established early. India's advantage is scale, talent, engineering capability, digital adoption, though sustained value depends on redesigning operating models rather than layering tools onto them. In Japan, the pace is set less by technology than by change management and workforce confidence. The same unevenness appears inside organisations, where adoption varies team by team and role by role. The question for leaders is not whether to invest further, but where the constraint actually sits.

This webinar, hosted by the Financial Times in partnership with Cognizant, will bring together senior technology and business leaders from across the region to examine what separates the organisations turning AI investment into measurable value from those still stuck between pilot and scale.

Attitudes to AI Adoption

Attitudes to AI adoption vary within a single workforce, how should businesses respond to various roles, teams and employees?

Constraints on scaling AI

How are regulation, data maturity and infrastructure readiness impacting AI adoption and scale across the region?

External Expertise

What should organisations be developing in-house, and where does external expertise genuinely earn its place? 

Understand

The big picture, not just the individual strands of the business you work in

Connect

And build relationships with some of the biggest names in your industry

Discover

New approaches and strategies to help win market share

FT Live Digital Dialogues - fully digital 50 minute event experiences delivering maximum engagement. Live webinars provide unique opportunities to engage global senior audiences. All access, digital passes include access to all the live sessions PLUS all sessions on demand for 30 days. Join the conversation.