Reflection — 46% of AI pilots die before production: knowing when to stop is a leadership decision

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, 42% of companies abandoned the majority of their AI initiatives in 2025, up from 17% a year earlier; on average, 46% of pilots are stopped before they reach production. That figure does not measure a failure of the technology: it reveals an absence of portfolio discipline. Most projects are launched without a predefined stop criterion and survive on inertia, until costs make the decision instead of the steering committee. The organizations moving forward run fewer pilots, but with explicit measurement thresholds and exit conditions. For an SMB or mid-market company, the useful decision happens at launch: set a quantified stop criterion for every AI project — adoption, cost, or timeline — and enforce it in committee.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, “Voice of the Enterprise: AI & Machine Learning, Use Cases 2025,” March 2025 (1,000+ companies, North America and Europe).