Only 1 in 4 HR leaders can show AI ROI with hard data: Keka

As organisations invest more heavily in artificial intelligence, only 23% of HR leaders can currently demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of their AI initiatives using hard data, according to live audience polls conducted by Keka during the sixth edition of Keka HR Katalyst – The Summer Edition.

The findings suggest AI adoption is moving into a new phase where business leaders are increasingly focused on accountability and measurable outcomes rather than technology deployment alone.

The virtual conference, held on July 23, 2026, brought together nearly 8,000 HR professionals and business leaders and featured more than 25 speakers from organisations including Adani Group, Reliance Jio, LSG Sky Chefs, Raymond, PVR INOX, Victoria's Secret & Co. and Ather Energy.

Most HR leaders struggle to measure AI returns

According to Keka's live polls, proving the business value of AI remains a major challenge for HR teams. Key findings include:

• Only 23% of HR leaders said they can demonstrate AI ROI using hard numbers.
• Nearly three in four respondents said they either measure AI's business impact only partially, have not established clear ROI, or are not measuring it at all.
• 53% said their organisations are still experimenting with AI while its financial return remains unclear.
• 50.5% identified selecting the right success metrics, rather than adopting the technology itself, as the biggest barrier to proving AI ROI.
• 48.8% said they could provide only rough estimates if asked by their CFO to explain the returns from HR technology investments.

According to Keka, the findings reflect a shift in organisational priorities from AI implementation to measurable business value.

AI governance raises concerns over accountability

The conference also explored how organisations are approaching AI governance as the technology takes on a larger role in business decision-making.

According to the audience poll:

• 58.6% said their biggest concern about giving AI greater authority in leadership decisions was the loss of human accountability.
• Only 3.8% said they would fully trust AI to make leadership decisions independently.

Keka also found opinions remain fluid, with half of the audience reporting they changed their perspective after participating in the conference discussion on AI governance.

Leadership challenges extend beyond technology

The event highlighted wider organisational issues affecting business performance.

Among the findings:

• 33.3% of respondents identified leadership decisions as the biggest reason organisations lose performance, ahead of organisational culture, operating habits and structural issues.
• 42.3% said workplace flexibility is the most difficult Gen Z expectation for employers to meet.

Across multiple sessions, speakers emphasised that AI is more likely to amplify existing organisational strengths and weaknesses than solve underlying business challenges.

One recurring message throughout the conference was that competitive advantage will increasingly depend on how organisations measure AI's impact and redesign leadership and performance around measurable outcomes.

Focus shifts from adoption to business outcomes

Commenting on the findings, Tapan Acharya, Chief Revenue Officer at Keka, said organisations spent the past two years concentrating on AI adoption, but attention is now shifting towards proving business impact.

He said HR leaders are increasingly asking how AI improves organisational performance rather than simply how it can be deployed, describing this as the next stage of workplace transformation.

The conference, themed "The Performance Shift: Rebuilding High-Performance Organisations in the Human + AI Era," featured more than 15 sessions covering AI strategy, leadership, organisational design, talent, performance and workforce transformation.

According to Keka, the findings underline a growing expectation for HR leaders to demonstrate measurable returns from AI investments while balancing technology adoption with human accountability and stronger business performance.