Let's be clear: investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) demands measurable business outcomes, not just hype.
Teams often fail their initiatives because they start with the tech, not the problem. To get your AI projects the best funding and deliver real value, you need a disciplined, quantified rationale.
This Business Case Template from a fortune 500 company is designed to kill the technology-first thinking and force you to anchor your investment in proven results.
This framework mandates a four-step analysis that prioritizes the bottom line:
Identify the specific operational constraint. The workflow, process, or task that is consuming time, creating delays, or driving unnecessary cost.
Quantify the impact of that problem. Separate hard savings from soft savings. This is where expected ROI becomes concrete.
Describe how an AI application changes the workflow. Be explicit about what work is removed, accelerated, or improved.
Specify the minimum technology required to support the solution. Tools, models, and integrations follow the problem, not the other way around.
Example 1.
AI Sales Development Representative (SDR)
Scenario: A B2B software company ("LogiTech") struggling with weekend lead coverage.
Description and Rationale
- •Business Impact: Currently, 10% of weekend leads are lost due to slow response times. Improving conversion by just 3% on these leads represents $2.5M in annual pipeline currently being forfeited.
- •Solution: The proposal is to deploy an "Always-On" AI SDR Pilot (90 days) that monitors the inbox 24/7. The AI will instantly reply, ask three qualifying questions (Budget, Timeline, Role), and book meetings directly on Account Executive calendars.
- •Technology: This requires an AI Cloud Employee platform with light integrations into Salesforce (for logging), Outlook (for booking), and Slack (for internal alerts).
Project Cost Breakdown
- •Total Project Cost: $12,500. This covers the 3-month pilot license and setup fee for one AI Agent.
- •Internal People Cost: $0. No new hiring is required; the existing Sales Ops team will absorb the light setup work (approx. 5 hours).
- •Opex vs. Capex: The entire $12,500 is treated as an Operating Expense (Opex) because it is a service subscription. There is $0 Capital Expenditure (Capex) as no long-term assets are created.
Return on Investment (ROI)
- •ROI Assumptions: We assume a conservative lift of converting 20 extra leads per month with an average deal size of $15,000.
- •Hard Savings: This conversion lift generates $300,000 in monthly pipeline. Additionally, the company avoids hiring two weekend-shift SDRs, saving approximately $120,000 annually in salaries and benefits.
- •Soft Savings: Brand perception improves significantly as customers experience modern, responsive service. Furthermore, human SDR burnout is reduced as they no longer have to work "on-call" weekends.
Example 2.
AI Customer Service Agent (CSS)
A fitness app ("FitLife Pro") facing high churn among small-tier users.
Description and Rationale
- •Business Impact: Approximately $500k in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) churns out every year from this segment. Additionally, upsell opportunities are missed because no one monitors usage limits, and the support team is overwhelmed by basic "how-to" tickets.
- •Solution: We propose an Onboarding & Expansion Cloud Employee. The "Onboarding Agent" automates a 30-day email/chat sequence based on user behavior, while the "Expansion Agent" identifies power users and sends automated upgrade offers.
- •Technology: The solution utilizes a Customer Experience AI Agent integrated with Mixpanel (product analytics), HubSpot (email), and Zendesk (support ticketing).
Project Cost Breakdown
- •Total Project Cost: $18,000. This fee covers the pilot for two distinct agents (one for Support, one for Upsell) and includes consultant fees for script optimization.
- •Internal People Cost: $0. The existing Support Lead will review the AI's email drafts as part of their current role.
- •Opex vs. Capex: The full $18,000 is an Operating Expense (Opex) incurred in the current fiscal year. There is $0 Capex involved.
Return on Investment (ROI)
- •ROI Assumptions: We anticipate the AI will engage 2,000 new customers per month and reduce early churn by 10%.
- •Hard Savings: Saving just 50 customers a month represents $30,000 in annual revenue saved immediately. Additionally, the AI handles a workload equivalent to three full-time junior CSMs, representing $180,000 in annual salary savings.
- •Soft Savings: Faster support responses will likely improve App Store ratings. The AI also generates better product data by tagging exactly where users get confused, helping the product team fix UI issues.
