Is AI the future of your business, or just a costly distraction?

Jarrod McKenzie
Sep 18
2 min read

In 2025, 88% of companies are budgeting for AI agents.

But 70% of these will see their investment flop.

Want to know how and why it breaks down?

I’ve spoken with CEOs who hit the same walls within weeks of rolling out AI.

First, the data is scattered. If your customer info lives in 10 different tools, the AI never sees the full picture. There is no single source of truth so the insights are half baked from day one.

Then comes the broken connections. Old systems don’t talk to new ones.

APIs crash. Nothing works the way it should. Teams spend weeks trying to make tools play nice but still end up with gaps.

Finally, there’s the workflow mismatch. AI follows the rules. Your team doesn’t always. People skip steps or make quick calls that no demo ever shows.

That’s when adoption drops and frustration sets in.

The companies actually getting value from AI aren’t the ones chasing glossy “all-in” transformations. They’re the ones laying solid foundations before scaling.

So what actually gets real results?

- Start with clean, unified data instead of trying to stitch together broken silos.

- Map real world workflows (not the idealised version from a playbook).

- Focus on narrow, high ROI use cases, the “boring” stuff that compounds fast.

Think the fintech that use AI to automate compliance checks.

SaaS companies that use AI to eliminate data entry or route support tickets. Professional services firms that automate lead qualification, reduce revenue leakage and improve client onboarding.

These aren’t the glamorous AI tools posted all over social media, but they work and deliver ROI in months, not years.

AI agents thrive with clean data and grounded expectations.

At Mergenia.ai we specializes in this exact process. We help you move past the hype to build an AI strategy that is grounded in your reality.

We identify and clean your data, map your actual workflows and implement high impact AI solutions that deliver on their promise.

Don't burn your cash on your next AI investment.

Get your foundations and data right, and the results will follow.

Ready to build an AI strategy that actually works?

Let's talk about the foundational work that makes everything else possible.

Book a strategic data assessment with Mergenia.ai today.

DM us to start!

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