Justifying CX investments in measurable financial terms is becoming increasingly difficult to justify, as budget approvals continue to depend on demonstrating immediate operational savings.
In fact, a recent Gartner stat revealed that only 36% of CFOs are confident about driving AI impact, making it increasingly difficult for AI projects to secure investment based on long-term strategic value alone.
This leaves CX leaders needing to move away from treating customer outcomes and financial outcomes as separate conversations as scrutiny increases.
In conversation with CX Today at Zendesk London Showcase 2026, John Kelleher, VP of Sales UKI at Zendesk, highlighted that although organizations recognize AI's broader potential, investment decisions are still primarily driven by financial justification.
"Whilst people are starting to realise, there's far more value in AI than the cost out, it was still nets out," he explained.
"And where is the cost size? Because I'm going to make an investment here."
The Budgetary Reality of AI Transformation
Despite AI now considered central to modernized CX transformation, the way enterprises evaluate these investments has changed far less than the technology itself.
As organizations recognize its improvements toward customer engagement and revenue growth to free up employees for higher value work, current economic uncertainty and continued pressure to control spending does not secure funding for these long-term benefits.
As the financial approval process becomes even more demanding, AI initiatives must first satisfy cost expectations of executive leadership before they can move forward.
"Fundamentally, any large investments still need to go past the CFO," Kelleher points out.
"Given global conflicts, given all the challenges, so many companies are experiencing so much pressure."
While AI is often discussed as a strategic growth technology, and CX leaders may see opportunities to increase customer retention or create new revenue streams, finance teams are typically focused on measurable returns that can be clearly justified before investment begins.
For organizations that understand AI's broader strategic value but struggle to express that value in financial terms, improvements to CX are often viewed as a secondary priority during investment process because they are not direct operational savings.