New report from Coastal shows that 67% of companies expect to maintain or increase AI spending, while only 21% report proven outcomes
April 2, 2025
Business and technology leaders are continuing to increase investment in AI, despite underwhelming results thus far, according to a new research report from Coastal, a leading Salesforce and AI consultancy.
The report, which surveyed more than 120 senior technology and business leaders from Salesforce-powered organizations, reveals how companies today are approaching AI, data readiness, and governance.
Among the highlights:
- 67% of organizations expect to maintain or increase AI spending, yet only 21% report any proven outcomes
- 43% of respondents expect governance, ethics, and risk to be their biggest challenges with AI over the next two years
- 64% of companies feel they lack a clear roadmap with measurable goals when it comes to AI implementation and adoption
The data suggests that, while companies don’t want to get left behind in the AI revolution, they may not yet be taking all the necessary steps to fully take advantage of the tools and solutions available to them.
In addition to the survey results, the report, AI Isn’t Delivering—Here’s What To Do About It, outlines some of the most common areas where organizations are falling short, with respect to delivering ROAI (return on AI), as well as the structural systems that are required for companies to unlock real impact from artificial intelligence in business.
“Salesforce is innovating at record speed, and its AI products like Agentforce are game-changing. But from our front-row seat in this AI era, we know businesses must focus on getting the foundation right if they want to achieve real AI impact. That means modern infrastructure that feeds data into systems, redesigned processes, and a clear link between every initiative and measurable outcomes,” says Eric Berridge, CEO of Coastal.
As the era of Digital Transformation has given way to the new “Data & AI Modernization Era”, Coastal’s report provides guidance for organizations to scale AI and win, including details around:
- Modernizing core infrastructure to take advantage of AI capabilities
- Developing unified platforms that can move, model, and activate data seamlessly across clouds
- Structuring, measuring, and tying AI initiatives to business value from day one
- Rethinking how work gets done to unlock agentic automation
“Companies with a clear data and AI roadmap are 2.7x more likely to see positive ROI—yet shockingly, 64% don’t have one,” said Berridge. “That’s the work we help our customers tackle every day.”
To access the full report, click here.
Report data was provided by Coastal’s Future Readiness Survey, which was conducted by BlueWhale Research in early 2025, and captured responses from over 120 senior business and technology leaders at organizations using Salesforce.
Salesforce, Data Cloud, Agentforce, and others are among the trademarks of Salesforce, Inc.
