Take 5 Report

Business and process owners: Operationalize context for scalable, enterprise-grade AI

New research finds that AI value will remain stalled until enterprises operationalize an industry- and business-context-first operating model driven by business and process owners.

Enterprise AI investments are growing, but enterprise AI value is not. Most organizations remain stuck in pilot phases, especially within core operations. The issue is contextual, not technical. AI struggles without access to the domain-specific business logic, regulatory rules, and exception handling that are deeply embedded within enterprise workflows. Business and process owners now face the challenge of making this context accessible to AI.

To scale, AI must evolve from generic tools into industry-context-driven, workflow-native systems. This evolution requires infusing domain-specific logic into operational workflows and strengthening the systems, data, and governance layers that make context usable and value trackable.

HFS Research, in partnership with Cognizant and ServiceNow, surveyed 122 business and process leaders across the Global 2000 to understand how organizations are adopting and scaling AI within core workflows, and where verticalized, domain-specific AI can drive stronger outcomes.

The survey uncovered five key takeaways:
    • AI has not delivered intelligent workflows
      Fewer than 20% of enterprises have scaled AI, despite about 40% already using multiple platforms and investing in tools and proprietary LLMs.
    • The industry and business “context gap” impedes decision-grade AI
      More than half of all leaders are not satisfied with the outcomes delivered within core operations, given the generic and bolt-on nature of prevailing tools.
    • Workflows must evolve into adaptive systems for contextual AI
      More than 75% of leaders prioritize domain-specific context, data layers, and regulatory compliance, underscoring the need for verticalized AI that replaces static workflows with probabilistic, adaptive, runtime pathways.
    • Data fragmentation is a key blocker
      One in two enterprises struggles with fragmentation, privacy, security, and compliance constraints while attempting to scale AI within core operations.
    • Governance must evolve to link oversight with business value
      Only one in three enterprises has a governance framework that goes beyond basic policy controls.

The Bottom Line: Enterprises cannot scale AI value through model sophistication or pilot volume; the priority must shift to contextual relevance grounded in industry depth, workflow integration, and decision-grade governance.

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