{
  "id": 17192048,
  "title": "EXCLUSIVE: Is AI overhyped or misunderstood? Why productivity fails to drive real business growth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/exclusive-is-ai-overhyped-or-misunderstood-why-productivity-fails-to",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-30T06:50:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/technology/software-and-internet/2026-10-30-is-ai-overhyped-or-misunderstood-why-productivity-fails-to-drive-real-business-growth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made a significant impact on modern society, with its influence becoming increasingly visible in various aspects of daily life. However, the extent to which AI positively or negatively impacts business growth remains a topic of much debate. Once limited to generating synthetic images for marketing, AI is now being recognized for its potential to revolutionize enterprise operations when utilized with a clear purpose. In an exclusive interview, Paul Bunting, co-founder of growthguru.ai, clarified that AI productivity gains are real, but companies must direct saved time towards meaningful commercial opportunities to drive revenue growth. While 80% of surveyed companies report improvements in individual productivity, only 37% attribute AI directly to their organization's bottom line, indicating a misunderstanding of AI's role in business success. With many executives expecting AI to drive revenue growth by 2030, only 24% have a clear view of where these future returns will come from. Bunting argues that AI should be deployed to uncover urgent commercial opportunities and capture high-value market openings before competitors do. To achieve this, Growthguru.ai has designed specialized AI agents that focus on specific commercial levers, such as vendor incentives, go-to-market strategies, vendor certifications, and enterprise updates. As AI technology evolves, concerns surrounding AI-enabled crime and legal accountability continue to emerge. Bunting emphasizes the importance of holding criminals using AI for financial fraud accountable for their actions, while also ensuring enterprises are held responsible for any operational or financial damage caused by their AI implementations.",
  "summary": "While artificial intelligence boosts individual productivity, businesses struggle to convert saved time into actual revenue amid mounting risks of AI-driven fraud and accountability challenges.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}