Creating an ROI Model with AI
Ekphrastic can use AI to create the foundation of an ROI model or calculator from a description of your business case.
Instead of starting with a blank model, describe what you want to evaluate and Ekphrastic will generate the initial inputs, calculations and outputs for you.
You can then review and refine the generated model for your specific opportunity.
Start a new AI model
From My ROI Models & Calculators:
Select + New.
Choose the option to create your model using AI.
Enter a description of the business case you want to model.
Submit your request to begin generation.
Ekphrastic will begin creating the model from your description.
Describe the business case
The information you provide gives Ekphrastic the context it needs to create the model.
A useful description should explain:
What solution or initiative you want to evaluate
The business or operational problem being addressed
Important volumes, costs or performance measures you already know
Expected improvements or benefits you want to model
Any important assumptions or constraints
The more relevant context you provide, the stronger the initial model foundation can be.
Include the numbers you already know
If you already know important business values, include them in your description.
For example, these might include:
Transaction or interaction volumes
Employee numbers
Current processing times
Labour costs
Current performance rates
Expected improvements
Technology or implementation costs
Providing known values helps Ekphrastic create a starting model that is more relevant to your scenario.
You can still review and change assumptions after the model has been generated.
Be clear about what you want to measure
It can also help to describe the outcomes you want the model to demonstrate.
For example:
Labour savings
Productivity improvements
Cost avoidance
Revenue impact
Reduced processing time
Improved operational performance
Return on investment
Payback period
You don't need to define every calculation yourself. Describe the business case and the outcomes that matter.
Example request
A request for an AI-generated model might look like this:
Create an ROI model for an AI application that automatically summarises customer service calls. The contact centre handles 1.5 million calls per year and agents currently spend an average of 150 seconds completing after-call work. The application will reduce the time required for this activity. I want to model agent hours saved, labour cost savings, application costs, net annual benefit, ROI and payback period.
This gives Ekphrastic information about:
The solution
The current process
The scale of the operation
An important baseline
The benefits that should be evaluated
You can provide more or less detail depending on what you already know.
While your model is being generated
Ekphrastic displays a five-stage progress experience while AI generation is taking place.
You may see stages such as:
Evaluating
Creating Inputs
Creating Outputs
Generating Formulas
Finishing
Keep the generation process open while Ekphrastic completes the model.
Note: The progress stages indicate that generation is underway. They should not be interpreted as separate technical processing results.
When generation completes
When AI generation completes successfully, the new model is added to your ROI Models & Calculators workspace.
AI-generated models are automatically published when generation completes successfully.
From there, you can review the model and decide what you want to refine before using it with a customer or opportunity.
Review the generated model
AI generation is intended to give you a strong starting foundation rather than remove the need for business judgement.
Before using a generated model, review areas such as:
Input assumptions
Default values
Calculation logic
Outputs and KPIs
Costs
Expected improvements
Business terminology
Customer-specific context
The generated model provides the structure. You can then refine it using your own knowledge of the opportunity.
Refine the model in ROI Studio
Use ROI Studio when you want to work on the model in more detail.
ROI Studio is where you can refine the model's inputs, outputs, formulas and presentation.
For example, you may want to:
Adjust assumptions
Change default values
Refine calculations
Add or remove metrics
Adapt terminology for a customer
Improve how results are presented
Detailed ROI Studio guidance is covered separately.
Publishing and sharing
Because AI-generated models are automatically published after successful generation, they can be previewed from your workspace.
Publishing does not automatically create a share link.
When you're ready to send the model to someone, use Share and choose whether you want a tracked or untracked link.
For more information, see:
Publishing Content
Sharing Content
Tracked vs Untracked Links
If generation doesn't complete
If AI generation fails or doesn't produce a completed model, try submitting the request again.
Before retrying, check that:
Your request clearly describes the business case
Important context hasn't been omitted
You have sufficient AI usage available
If the problem continues, see AI Generation Problems.
AI usage
Creating models with AI uses your account's AI allowance.
Your available usage depends on your account and plan.
If you reach your AI usage limit, Ekphrastic will prevent additional AI generation until usage becomes available again or your entitlement changes.
For more information, see Understanding Usage & Limits.
AI-generated foundations. Human refinement.
The purpose of AI generation is to remove the blank page and accelerate the creation of a business case.
Ekphrastic creates the initial model foundation. Your knowledge of the customer, opportunity and business case is what turns that foundation into a model ready for use.
A useful workflow is:
Describe → Generate → Review → Refine → Share
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