According to a survey by Salesforce Japan, AI agents reached ROI in Japan in 7 months, faster than the global average, with improvements including higher customer satisfaction reported.
A survey of decision-makers in 20 countries, including Japan, found that the production deployment rates for AI agents were broadly similar in Japan and globally, at 32% and 30%, respectively, while the time required to achieve ROI differed. Japanese companies achieved ROI in an average of 7 months, ahead of the global average of 8 months. Japanese companies reported average improvements of 33.9% in customer satisfaction, a 33.8% reduction in problem-resolution time and a 33.9% reduction in operating costs.
However, all data was self-reported by respondents, and caution is warranted regarding the reliability of the results. The survey also indicated that integrating company-wide data before implementation is not an essential condition for success.
The factors Japanese companies considered important for success were access to trusted data when needed (44%) and a common identity and permissions model (42%).
Embedding AI in workflows is also important. Companies in Japan use an average of 53 business applications, but only 44% have AI natively embedded. Meanwhile, 98% of companies that have implemented AI agents said that embedding them in key workflows creates greater value.
Governance also affects results. Globally, companies with limited governance structures took 7.2 months to achieve ROI, compared with 9.3 months for companies with well-developed structures. Japanese companies that had implemented AI established an average of 2.5 governance measures before implementation and 3.8 afterward, yet achieved results faster than the global average.