Where AI is landing by function: a demand map for AI vendors

16th August 2026 | Insights for vendors

AI demand in the UK mid-market is not spread evenly across functions, and knowing the shape lets a vendor aim. In aibl’s survey of 755 UK mid-market leaders, measurable ROI runs from 58% in technology and IT down to 45% in the customer-facing functions, with each function stuck on a different problem. Match the pitch to where the function actually is.

Technology and IT: the mature benchmark

This is the readiest function, and it sets the ceiling. In the survey, technology and IT leaders report the highest measurable ROI of any function at 58%, with the most mature governance and the lowest shadow AI. Governance has kept pace with deployment here.

For a vendor, that means selling depth and integration, not basics. The failure mode in this function is AI that does not connect to existing systems, so the pitch that lands is integration and scale.

Operations and finance: the disciplined buyer

The most disciplined buyers in the survey, and the highest ceiling. Operations and finance post 96% measurable ROI among the most mature, because they define what a return looks like before they deploy.

Sell the measured outcome here. These buyers respond to a defined metric and baseline, and they reward a vendor who can show the number, not describe the capability.

Marketing, sales and customer experience: active but unproven

The most active adopters and the least proven. These functions report the lowest measurable ROI of the functional pillars at 45%, the highest shadow AI at 64%, and the highest failure rate at 85%, yet the customer-facing gains are real: 64% report better conversion and 62% faster response.

The need here is attribution, connecting the activity to a result. A vendor who sells measurement into the busiest, least-proven functions is meeting the sharpest pain in the survey.

HR, people and L&D: the broadest reach, the sharpest risk

HR runs the broadest AI deployment of any function, but carries the sharpest governance and compliance exposure. It is also the one function where Central IT ownership (59%) beats CEO ownership (45%), because HR AI depends on the technical controls IT already runs.

Sell the controls as much as the capability. In HR, the compliance and governance wrapper is not a nice-to-have; it is the deciding factor, especially around recruitment and employee data.

How vendors use the demand map

Aim the pitch at where each function actually is: integration for technology, the measured return for operations and finance, attribution for the customer-facing functions, and controls for HR.

A generic adoption story lands as noise in every one of them. A function-specific pitch, grounded in where that function is stuck, reads as understanding, and it is understanding that this buyer pays for.

Frequently asked questions

Which business functions get the most from AI?

Technology and IT, and operations and finance. In aibl’s survey of 755 UK mid-market leaders, technology and IT report 58% measurable ROI with the most mature governance, while operations and finance reach 96% among the most mature. They lead because governance and discipline kept pace with deployment.

Which functions struggle most with AI ROI?

The customer-facing ones. In aibl’s survey of 755 UK mid-market leaders, marketing, sales and customer experience report the lowest measurable ROI of the functional pillars at 45%, the highest shadow AI at 64% and an 85% failure rate. The gap is attribution, not activity.

What do HR teams need from AI vendors?

Controls as much as capability. HR runs the broadest AI deployment of any function but carries the sharpest compliance exposure, and it is the one function where Central IT ownership (59%) beats CEO ownership (45%). The governance wrapper around employee data is the deciding factor.

How should AI vendors tailor the pitch by function?

Match it to where the function is stuck: integration and depth for technology and IT, the measured return for operations and finance, attribution for marketing, sales and CX, and controls for HR. A function-specific pitch grounded in the data reads as understanding rather than a generic adoption story.

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