EXL says 70% of AI projects fail because companies can’t embed AI in workflows
The Boston Consulting Group and EXL’s new data reveals most enterprise AI misses the mark. About 70% of AI initiatives fail to scale or deliver value. Forty percent of executives say their AI projects get stuck in pilot mode.
The problem? Companies aren’t integrating AI fully into complex business processes. Sure, big language models and agentic AI tools exist — but if they’re not built into each workflow step, they don’t produce results. 
Insurance shows why. The $7 trillion industry wastes $350 billion yearly on claims and underwriting, with $30 billion lost in auto insurance alone due to errors. AI should fix this, but many insurers can’t crack the code. Off-the-shelf AI tools aren’t tailored for insurance’s complexity, and legacy data silos block progress.
EXL argues the fix is blending domain experts, accessible data, and the right AI tech directly into workflows. It’s not about moving all data to a central lake; modern APIs and ontologies can connect the data where it lives. Then, firms can fine-tune AI models for specific docs and claims tasks.
The process is all about orchestration:
“The real winners in the AI arms race will be those that are able to first dissect the problem they are trying to solve, then cherry pick the right datasets and AI solutions that help them achieve those results as quickly, inexpensively, and accurately as possible.”
That approach is already paying off. EXL reports helping health care save $2.2 billion by cutting erroneous and fraudulent billing — a $180 billion annual drain.
For businesses ready to move beyond experiments into full AI-driven workflows, EXL is pushing a combined domain-data-AI strategy as the answer.
Rohit Kapoor, EXL’s CEO, shared:
“Our approach to assisting organizations in integrating AI into their workflow involves utilizing our domain expertise, data, and AI capabilities that we have built over the years. This enables us to orchestrate suitable horizontal and vertical solutions that help clients achieve value efficiently, accurately, and cost-effectively. We’re continuously innovating both horizontal and vertical stacks to deliver value to clients with speed.”
Learn more at www.exlservice.com.
