Keep It Real (Part 3): Where Real AI ROI Actually Comes From
By now, most leaders have seen many AI demos.
The problem isn’t inspiration. It’s translation.
Everyone wants ROI, but too many teams still look for it in the wrong place, a new model, a new tool, a better prompt.
That’s not where it comes from.
ROI Doesn’t Start with Models
In 2026, AI tools are not scarce, reliable data is. You can plug in the best LLM on the market, pair it with a polished dashboard, and still get mediocre results if the data underneath is fragmented or untrusted.
Models don’t create value on their own, they reflect whatever foundation you give them. And if that foundation is shaky, the output will be too.
The Power of a Single Source of Truth
The biggest unlock we see across industries is simple: one trusted version of the data.
Not:
One dashboard per team
One definition per system
One workaround per use case
But a shared foundation that every system, report, and model can rely on.
When data is unified, governed, and resolved at the identity level, something important happens, teams stop debating the numbers and start using them.
A Real-World Example
We worked with a financial services organization that had already invested heavily in AI.
The models were solid, were modern, but the results were inconsistent.
The issue wasn’t the AI. Customer data lived across too many systems, with mismatched identifiers and conflicting definitions. So before touching the models, we focused on the foundation unifying profiles and enforcing governance using Salesforce Data Cloud.
The outcome:
Model accuracy improved by 27%
No model retraining
No prompt changes
No new AI tools
Clean, governed data made the AI smarter.
That’s ROI without reinvention.
Testing AI vs. Trusting AI
This is the line most teams eventually hit.
When data isn’t trusted:
AI stays in “pilot mode”
Outputs get double-checked
Adoption stalls
When data is trusted:
AI recommendations get acted on
Automation scales
ROI compounds
The shift isn’t technical, It’s psychological. This is where trust turns experimentation into execution.
Build Before the Wave Fades
The AI hype cycle won’t last forever.
What will last is the gap between organizations that built a durable data foundation and those that chased tools without fixing the basics.
Real ROI doesn’t come from moving fast. It comes from building something stable enough to move forward with confidence.
Final Thought
If you want AI that scales, earns trust, and delivers measurable ROI, don’t start with the model.
Start with the data.
Talk with us and we can begin to help guide you through this.
#KeepItReal #DataCloud #AIGovernance #AIReadiness
