https://thegaige.com/blog Research, practical guides and product news on AI governance and adoption, written for the people in an organisation who have to make AI work. en Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/whats-new-in-the-gaige-2 https://thegaige.com/blog/whats-new-in-the-gaige-2 With Standard, you get AI governance, a page for everyone and three pulses. With Pro, you also get what each tool is worth and what to do next. Product news Colin Cardwell Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/why-version-2-starts-with-ai-governance https://thegaige.com/blog/why-version-2-starts-with-ai-governance Most mid-sized organisations told us their AI governance came first, and Australia's corporate regulator says directors' duties already extend to AI. Governance Colin Cardwell Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/australia-ai-value-gap-measurement-problem https://thegaige.com/blog/australia-ai-value-gap-measurement-problem More than a third of Australian firms are spending on AI without proof it works, and the firms pulling ahead share one habit: they measure continuously. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/most-firms-cannot-prove-ai-paying-off https://thegaige.com/blog/most-firms-cannot-prove-ai-paying-off In McKinsey's 2026 survey, 80% of respondents say AI improved their own productivity, but only 37% attribute any earnings impact to it. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/depth-not-breadth-what-to-measure https://thegaige.com/blog/depth-not-breadth-what-to-measure Firms with AI embedded in three or more functions use it on no more tasks than firms with one or two, yet 93% report returns against 55% (PYMNTS). Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/enterprise-ai-roi-gap-felt-productivity-not-proof https://thegaige.com/blog/enterprise-ai-roi-gap-felt-productivity-not-proof In ModelOp's 2026 survey of 100 senior AI leaders, more than two thirds of enterprises still judge AI's return on estimates, not measured financial results. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/wasted-ai-spend-climbing-few-firms-track-costs https://thegaige.com/blog/wasted-ai-spend-climbing-few-firms-track-costs In Flexera's 2026 survey, only 31% of organisations had accurate visibility into their AI software, and 59% said money wasted on AI had grown. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/quarter-ai-spend-wasted-nobody-owns-the-bill https://thegaige.com/blog/quarter-ai-spend-wasted-nobody-owns-the-bill Harness found organisations estimate about 26% of their AI costs are wasted, and only 13% have basic visibility into what they spend on AI. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/firms-tripled-ai-spend-most-cant-prove-it-worked https://thegaige.com/blog/firms-tripled-ai-spend-most-cant-prove-it-worked Enterprise spending on generative AI tripled to about US$37 billion in 2025, yet fewer than four in ten organisations can attribute any financial impact to it. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/ai-capability-up-returns-flat-what-to-measure https://thegaige.com/blog/ai-capability-up-returns-flat-what-to-measure Senior AI leaders report two years of flat returns while the models keep improving. Where the gap sits, between the models and everyday work, and how to measure it. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/most-ceos-still-see-no-real-ai-financial-benefit https://thegaige.com/blog/most-ceos-still-see-no-real-ai-financial-benefit Only 12% of the CEOs PwC asked report both lower costs and higher revenue from AI, and they are two to three times as likely to say they embed it extensively. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/only-six-percent-track-ai-roi-consistently https://thegaige.com/blog/only-six-percent-track-ai-roi-consistently Battery Ventures found 62% of enterprises already report AI ROI to the board, yet only 53% can point to a clear return. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/winners-measure-what-ai-earns-not-how-much-they-use https://thegaige.com/blog/winners-measure-what-ai-earns-not-how-much-they-use In Writer's 2026 study, 59% of organisations spend US$1 million or more a year on AI, and 29% report significant returns. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/rising-ai-spend-elusive-returns-kpmg-measurement https://thegaige.com/blog/rising-ai-spend-elusive-returns-kpmg-measurement In KPMG's data, leaders who can see their AI costs clearly are five times as likely to report established ROI, 15% against 3%. About a third can. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/trust-deficit-missing-layer-ai-roi-dashboard https://thegaige.com/blog/trust-deficit-missing-layer-ai-roi-dashboard AI tools can give different answers to the same question, and leaders who expect ordinary software are often disappointed by the returns. Why trust in the output belongs beside every ROI figure. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/microsoft-layoffs-ai-spending-what-to-measure https://thegaige.com/blog/microsoft-layoffs-ai-spending-what-to-measure The job cuts came alongside a 30% fall in Microsoft's share price, about US$1.2 trillion of market value in nine months, as spending outran visible return. Research Colin Cardwell Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/vendors-told-you-where-ai-roi-is-won-now-measure-it https://thegaige.com/blog/vendors-told-you-where-ai-roi-is-won-now-measure-it Microsoft is embedding 6,000 employees with its customers to deploy AI, two days after Amazon put US$1 billion behind the same idea. Research Colin Cardwell Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/whats-new-redesigned-reports https://thegaige.com/blog/whats-new-redesigned-reports Every report now leads with at-a-glance gauges tailored to what each pulse measures, the three core pulses each have a clearer job, every pulse has its own colour, and the extension is now on Microsoft Edge. Product news Colin Cardwell Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/whats-new-june-2026 https://thegaige.com/blog/whats-new-june-2026 A roundup of what shipped in the weeks before 1 June 2026: a design refresh, a public sample report, downloadable PDF reports and a cleaner sign-up. Product news Colin Cardwell Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/why-vendor-impact-surveys-arent-enough https://thegaige.com/blog/why-vendor-impact-surveys-arent-enough OpenAI is shipping Impact Surveys in ChatGPT, and other vendors may follow. What a vendor's own survey answers well, and what a view across all your tools adds. Adoption Colin Cardwell Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/compare-ai-tools-like-for-like https://thegaige.com/blog/compare-ai-tools-like-for-like Every AI vendor measures impact its own way, so the numbers don't compare. Here's a five-minute framework to fix that, built around four dimensions any CFO can defend. Adoption Colin Cardwell Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/best-way-to-measure-ai https://thegaige.com/blog/best-way-to-measure-ai Annual surveys, vendor dashboards, SaaS spend management tools, consultant audits and short pulses on a regular cadence: five approaches, what each is good for, and how to pick the right combination. Adoption Colin Cardwell Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/founders-essay https://thegaige.com/blog/founders-essay Three years ago a customer asked us how to measure whether their AI tools were working. We didn't have a good answer, but here's how we ended up with one. Product news Colin Cardwell Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/aggregate-by-default https://thegaige.com/blog/aggregate-by-default Every pulse is anonymous or identifiable, and says which before it starts. When a pulse is anonymous, your name isn't shown with your answers to anyone, admins included, and every figure needs answers from at least five people. Here's what your organisation sees, and why we tell people that a small group or a comment can still point to them. Governance Colin Cardwell Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/normalised-health-scores https://thegaige.com/blog/normalised-health-scores A 3.5× ROI and a 72% satisfaction score are both numbers, but not the same kind of number. Here's why every headline metric in The GAiGE gets mapped onto a common 0-100 scale before it hits a gauge. Product news Colin Cardwell Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/surveys-vs-usage-data https://thegaige.com/blog/surveys-vs-usage-data Usage data answers one question completely: who used each tool. Asking your team adds whether it helped. Here's why the two together beat either one alone. Adoption Colin Cardwell Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/seven-questions-ai-tool-vendors https://thegaige.com/blog/seven-questions-ai-tool-vendors A practical checklist for your next vendor review: the questions that separate "the team loves it" from "the team is paying for it and quietly ignoring it." Governance Colin Cardwell Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://thegaige.com/blog/the-2-5-rule https://thegaige.com/blog/the-2-5-rule How The GAiGE calculates ROI defensibly: the 2.5× extrapolation cap, the use-your-own hourly rate, aggregation thresholds, and where you should push back on our methodology. Product news Colin Cardwell Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT