New Delhi, Oct. 7 -- Artificial intelligence has been a recurrent theme in Indian boardrooms over the past year, with questions about where to begin, how fast to move, and what competitors are doing. Now comes the harder question: is AI improving business performance?

Most companies still rely on measures inherited from traditional software, including tracking pilots, licences, active users, or prompts. These numbers show activity, but not whether customers are better served, employees are more productive, or important work gets done faster. The true value of AI lies in how it impacts the business process through the work completed, the full cost of producing a successful outcome, and the confidence people have in the result.

With AI no...