95% of GenAI Projects Fail — Here’s How to Be in the 5%

Avery Brooks
August 27, 2025

Want to be a part of the cohort of successful GenAI projects?

The headline is sensational — and yes, it’s based on the recent MIT study claiming that 95% of GenAI projects fail.

But here’s the truth: GenAI is more successful than people think. Organizations are achieving impressive results, from automated customer support to AI-driven process optimization. The real problem? Far too many projects fail to reach their full potential, stalling out or never scaling beyond a pilot. And the root cause almost never lies with the technology.

It’s the business processes — and the organizational complexity surrounding them — that quietly undermine success.

The Real Issue: It’s Not the AI — It’s the Process

Executives often believe they can “plug in” GenAI and instantly modernize their business. But here’s the reality:

Without this clarity, organizations point AI at the wrong problems, automate broken processes, and create complexity instead of efficiency.

AI can’t transform what you don’t understand.

Why Complexity Kills AI Projects

GenAI initiatives fail for the same reasons most digital transformations fail:

This is why process intelligence — real-time, ground-truth visibility into how work actually happens — is the missing link for sustainable AI success.

Enter ClearWork: From Chaos to Clarity

ClearWork is purpose-built to close the gap between AI ambition and operational reality.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Automatic Process Mapping

ClearWork tracks actual user activity across enterprise applications in real time, providing a data-backed map of “as-is” processes — no interviews, no assumptions.

2. Deep Process Intelligence

Our platform identifies bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and automation opportunities that would otherwise stay hidden, helping leaders prioritize where GenAI can deliver the greatest ROI.

3. Future-State Process Design

With a clear view of reality, teams can confidently design optimized, AI-enabled workflows that integrate human expertise with intelligent automation.

4. Fast, Seamless Deployment

Forget months-long mapping efforts. ClearWork gets you actionable insights in days, so you can launch, iterate, and scale GenAI initiatives with confidence.

The Playbook for Joining the 5%

If you want to be among the organizations that succeed with GenAI, start here:

  1. Map reality, not assumptions
    Use automatic process mapping to capture what’s truly happening across your organization.
  2. Prioritize with clarity
    Let process intelligence highlight where GenAI delivers the greatest impact.
  3. Design for adoption
    Align future-state processes with real-world workflows and human behavior.
  4. Deploy fast, iterate faster
    Shorten the feedback loop and continuously improve with actionable insights.

This isn’t theory — this is the blueprint that ClearWork customers are using to drive transformation with clarity and precision.

The Bottom Line

The promise of GenAI is real. But to realize that promise, organizations must stop treating AI like magic and start building on a foundation of process clarity.

With ClearWork, you gain unparalleled visibility into your operations, empowering you to align AI investments with real-world processes — and avoid becoming just another statistic in that 95% failure rate.

The next generation of AI winners will start with clarity, not chaos. ClearWork makes that possible.

image of team collaborating on a project

Are you ready to move from process chaos to clarity — and make your GenAI initiatives a success story?

GenAI success is grounded in the specific of your organization. When you understand your processes you have the foundation for success. Let's chat!

Let's Chat
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