Why an impressive demonstration does not secure a budget
A quickly signed contract does not in itself mean lasting AI adoption in the workplace. Users may like a pilot, but it can stall because there is no budget owner, integration is difficult, a security review is required or the method for measuring results is unclear. [1 · Madrona]
It is therefore more useful to sell a single bounded workflow with one group of daily users and one executive sponsor than a broad promise of AI-powered business transformation. [1 · Madrona] [2 · Madrona]
What to agree before a pilot
Before testing begins, the parties need a shared success metric, a designated data owner, a list of security requirements and a predefined decision to proceed to full deployment if the threshold is met. Without these, even a successful demonstration remains an experiment rather than a new budget line. [1 · Madrona]
Measurement should focus on accepted results, the share of workflows completed successfully, human corrections, time to a useful result and total cost including retries and human review, rather than the volume of material generated. [1 · Madrona] [2 · Madrona]
A three-layer pricing model
In the editorial team's proposed model for a vertical agent, a base subscription covers integrations, storage and audit infrastructure. Usage-based pricing helps control the expense of compute-intensive work and makes it predictable. [1 · Madrona]
Outcome-based pricing makes sense only where results can be objectively verified and the method for attributing them to the system's work is agreed in advance. Otherwise, the provider takes on unlimited risk and the customer has an incentive to dispute success criteria. This is an editorial model, rather than a universally proven formula. [1 · Madrona]
Sources
- Madrona — enterprise AI returns on investment — 13 August 2026
- Madrona — Intelligent Applications 40 — 31 August 2026