Enterprise AI Vendors Face Accountability as Companies Demand Measurable Returns

Companies that adopted generative AI in 2024–2025 without tracking business impact now face budget reviews demanding proof of productivity gains. Uber exhausted its 2026 AI budget by June, then capped spending after its COO linked rising inference costs to no visible customer-facing improvements. Meta similarly shut down its internal AI leaderboard in April after usage metrics became public. The pattern marks a shift: enterprise buyers are pivoting from adoption to ROI verification.