Lara Ewen, writing for ESG Dive, reports on new Gartner research that belongs in every AI budget meeting. Three-quarters of board members expect AI cost savings from higher productivity, yet 97% of organizations cannot cut expenses through productivity alone. Gartner also found that 78% of leaders are not aligned on where AI actually helps.
Legal departments hear the same pitch: buy the tool, shrink the outside counsel bill, maybe trim headcount. Gartner’s own analysts say the savings are not there yet and the bigger prize is doing new things with the time AI frees up. That matches what CLOs told us about the 2030 law department: capacity, not cuts. The lawyers who turn that time into real work are the ones getting hired, which may be why there are so many AI counsel jobs. Our future-proofing guide covers the skills.
As Gartner’s CV Viverito put it: “Ultimately, organizations will not generate cost savings from AI at this point.”
Read: Companies are not saving money with AI, Gartner finds at ESG Dive