Home Insights Are Your AI Licences Paying Back? A 90-Day Utilisation Playbook
Platform AI ROI
Are your AI licences paying back? A 90-day utilisation playbook
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026
Key takeaways
- AI licence value depends on weekly use in specific tasks, not on how many seats are assigned.
- Training alone produces a short spike in use; redesigning two or three tasks per role produces lasting habits.
- In 90 days you can measure, fix and prove utilisation — and go into renewal with evidence.
AI licence utilisation is the share of paid AI seats used regularly for meaningful work. It is the simplest leading indicator of whether your AI investment will pay back — and for many organisations it is lower than expected.
The pattern is familiar. AI add-ons are bought for a broad population, a launch campaign runs, usage climbs for a few weeks and then settles into a small group of enthusiasts. Renewal arrives with the same number of seats and little evidence of value.
Here is a practical way to change that in 90 days.
Days 1–20: measure honestly
1
Build the licence inventory
Seats by product, tier, cost and renewal date.
2
Pull usage data
Most platforms report active users and activity by feature. Look at weekly active use, not monthly — monthly figures hide occasional users.
3
Segment by role
Finance, sales, operations and HR use AI very differently. An average hides everything useful.
4
Talk to users
Twenty short interviews across roles reveal more than any dashboard: what they use AI for, what stops them, what they have given up on.
5
Check data exposure
Assistants can surface anything a user has access to. Identify broadly shared sensitive content before you push adoption further.
Output: a utilisation baseline by role, and a list of blockers.
Days 21–60: redesign the work, not the training
1
Pick two or three high-frequency tasks per priority role
For example, preparing a weekly variance summary in finance, drafting account plans in sales, or summarising supplier issues in procurement.
2
Redesign each task
so the AI-assisted path is the easiest one: templates, prompts built into the workflow, data sources connected, and a clear quality check.
3
Train on the task, not the tool
Short sessions showing exactly how the redesigned task works in that role.
4
Appoint champions
in each team who own the task design and gather feedback.
5
Fix the blockers
found in the first phase — permissions, missing data, unclear policy.
Output: redesigned tasks in use across priority roles.
Days 61–90: prove it and decide
1
Re-measure weekly active use
by role and compare with the baseline.
2
Measure task outcomes
time per task, rework, turnaround — for the redesigned tasks.
3
Rightsize
Identify seats that remain idle and roles where a different tier would do.
4
Prepare the renewal case
with evidence: utilisation trend, value created, recommended seat mix and the next tasks to redesign.
Output: an evidence-based renewal decision and a roadmap for the next quarter.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it fails | Better approach |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling out to everyone at once | Diluted support, low-value use | Start with roles where tasks are frequent and measurable |
| Measuring monthly actives | Hides occasional users | Track weekly active use by role |
| Generic prompt training | People forget within weeks | Train on redesigned tasks in each role |
| Ignoring data exposure | Surprises and forced pauses | Review permissions and labelling before scaling |
| Renewing on seat count | Paying for idle licences | Renew on utilisation evidence |
What good looks like
After 90 days, a healthy programme can answer four questions: which roles use AI weekly, for which tasks, with what measured effect, and how many seats should be renewed. If you can answer those, your licences are on the way to paying back.
Paying for AI seats nobody uses? Estimate your idle spend in two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good AI licence utilisation rate?
There is no universal benchmark; it depends on roles and tasks. Track your own weekly active use by role, set a target with each business owner, and focus on the trend and on the value created in the tasks you have redesigned.
Should we remove unused seats immediately?
Not before you understand why they are unused. Some roles need redesigned tasks, not fewer seats. After a 90-day effort, remaining idle seats are strong candidates for removal at renewal.
Does this apply to ERP and CRM AI features too?
Yes. The same method — measure by role, redesign tasks, re-measure — applies to AI features in SAP, Salesforce and other platforms.