The CIO’s Guide to Generative AI - Everything you need to know to see positive ROI

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

The CIO’s Guide to Generative AI explains how technology leaders can convert GenAI opportunities into measurable positive ROI. It reviews the current GenAI landscape, differentiates AI from GenAI, and highlights why uncertainty around AI usage is declining as adoption accelerates. The guide outlines opportunity areas, risk and opportunity cost considerations, and a practical approach to optimize resource allocation across people, process, and technology for successful implementation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Current GenAI landscape

Areas of opportunity

Opportunity cost and risk

Time horizon

Optimize resource allocation for positive results

Outcomes you can expect

The future of GenAI

About Andela

eBook The CIO’s Guide to Generative AI Everything you need to know to see positive ROI Table of contents Introduction 3 Current GenAI landscape 4 Areas of opportunity 6 Opportunity cost and risk 7 Time horizon 9 Optimize resource allocation for positive results 11 Outcomes you can expect 14 The future of GenAI 15 About Andela 16 2 | The CIO’s Guide to Generative AI Introduction The CIO’s Guide to Generative AI (GenAI) aims to answer one simple question: How do you capitalize on GenAI opportunities to see positive ROI? Whether it’s leveraging GenAI to streamline operations and increase productivity internally, or creating competitive differentiation, the question of “How do we do this in a way that delivers ROI?” is a common one. In a recent Gartner survey, CIOs expressed their expectations for the role of technology in the coming years. They anticipate a decrease in the involvement of both full-time and part-time employees in technology work, as robotic automation and AI augmentation take on a larger share. However, when asked about the current utilization of AI within their business, the top response from CIOs was uncertainty, with 38% stating that they were “not sure.” Interestingly, when asked to estimate the usage of AI in five years, the number of CIOs who were unsure dropped to 18% . This suggests that while CIOs may not fully understand the current landscape of AI implementation, they anticipate a significant increase in its use in the future. Now is the time to fortify your AI ambition and build real solutions for your everyday problems to drive efficiency and competitive differentiation. In this guide, we explore GenAI’s diverse applications, resources necessary to get the job done, and the strategic considerations that CIOs must weigh for successful implementation. Whether you’re considering pilot projects, optimizing existing workflows, or envisioning a transformative GenAI roadmap, this will guide your organization towards a future where innovation and ROI walk hand-in-hand. 3 | The CIO’s Guide to Generative AI For every $1 companies invest in AI, they are realizing an average $3.50 in return * IDC 3.5x Current GenAI landscape This year’s top strategic technology trends are either driven by AI, or supported by an evolving AI-influenced world. However, thereis a difference between AI and GenAI. • AI applies advanced analysis and logic-based techniques, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and automate decisions, and take actions—ultimately deploying machine learning to complete an action that a human has done in the past. • GenAI refers to AI techniques that learn a representation of artifacts from data and use it to generate brand-new, unique artifacts that resemble, but don’t repeat, the original data—this can include text, images, videos, audio, structures, computer code, synthetic data, workflows, etc. As of November 2023, GenAI is at the top of its hype cycle for emerging technologies.1 We believe it won’t take long for GenAI to greatly impact product development, customer experience, employee productivity, and innovation. Gartner predicts by 2026, more than 805 enterprises will have utilized GenAI APIsand models and/or deployed GenAI-enabled applications in production environments. This represents a significant increase from less than 55 enterprises in 20232, which raisesan important question for CIOs: how will you capitalize on the current moment to lead your company’s integration of GenAI? 805 enterprises will have utilized GenAI APIs and models and/or deployed GenAIenabled applications by 2026 It’s not just about staying on-trend with new technologies, but also driving business outcomes. IDC found that for every $1 companies invest in AI, they are realizing an average $3.50 in return. The leading adopters, about 5% of organizations worldwide, are realizing an average of $8 in return.3 Companies that recognize

FAQs

What is the main ROI-focused question the guide addresses?

How do you capitalize on GenAI opportunities to see positive ROI. It emphasizes achieving ROI through efficiency, productivity, and competitive differentiation.

How does the guide distinguish AI from GenAI?

AI uses analysis and logic-based techniques such as machine learning to interpret events and support or automate decisions. GenAI learns representations from data and generates new, unique artifacts that resemble but do not repeat the original data.

Why does the guide say timing matters for CIOs adopting GenAI?

It notes rapid growth in enterprise usage of GenAI APIs, models, and deployed applications by 2026, while current adoption varies and uncertainty is common. This creates a window for CIOs to lead integration and capture business outcomes.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Connor