Freshworks report says mid-market firms waste $16.29 billion a year on AI complexity

• Freshworks research found mid-market companies lose an average 25% of AI budgets to complexity before returns, implying USD 16.29 billion wasted annually in the US.
• Execution lag drives an ROI gap: 72% of executives expect payback within 8 months; 55% report deployments take 6-12 months.
• Operational drag is rising, with 86% of IT leaders citing higher workloads from AI complexity; 80% report noisy outputs causing errors or rework.
• Adoption remains limited despite planned spending increases: 15% have AI integrated across core operations; 36% remain in pilot stages.
• Buying priorities are shifting toward out-of-the-box tools, with 34% prioritizing workflow integration; 54% prefer buying AI capabilities over building.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Freshworks Inc. published the original content used to generate this news brief via GlobeNewswire (Ref. ID: 202605270800OMX_____CNEWS_EN_GNW9726687_en) on May 27, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.