What Are You Counting
Three stories from last week made the same point about AI: the gains are real, and the number you count decides how they look.
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Transcript
The pour
In the week to the 2nd of October, 7,781 items reached our desk, and 73 of them made it into the Daily. That is our latest full week. Before anyone read a word, our rules had already removed 421 of them, and just over half of everything those rules have ever rejected is a discount offer. So here is how 3 of last week's stories connect.
The thread
Last week, 3 stories made the same point about AI from 3 directions. A survey of communications leaders, a review of the big technology services firms, and a study of 100 websites. The gains are real, but the number you choose to count decides how those gains look.
Story 1: AI budgets grow, the proof does not (Ragan, via PR Daily)
We start with the budget and with Ragan's Communications Leadership Council, which asked 30 senior communications leaders about next year. PR Daily carried the results and we ran them on Tuesday. 64% expect their budgets to stay flat or to fall, and the money that is moving is going into AI and automation. More than 200 communicators have now taken Ragan's AI readiness assessment, yet only 22% of them can show an improvement from AI, and 53% have not set a single AI measure. Ragan's advice is plain. Before you automate a task, record how long it takes. That first figure is your baseline, and afterwards, you report the hours you saved and where you spent them. So the gains may well be there. Nobody wrote down the starting point.
Story 2: Faster work shrinks a bill built on hours (Forrester)
On Monday, we ran a review by Forrester's Ted Schadler of how big the technology services firms did in the second quarter. Revenue rose slightly, new contracts were flat, and revenue per employee barely moved. The reason is simple. These firms grew by selling hours, and AI makes the work faster, so the same job needs fewer hours, and a bill built on hours gets smaller. So the firms are changing what they count and moving to fixed prices and to prices based on results. Tata Consultancy Services says the productivity gains it passes on to its clients usually run at 10 to 15%, and Forrester tells buyers to expect new pricing at their next renewal. Change the measure, and the same speed stops being a loss. It becomes the product.
Story 3: AI search converts better, and delivers far less (MarTech)
On Friday, we ran MarTech's report on a study by the search consultant, Marie Haynes, who followed 100 websites over 12 months and more than 145 million visits. ChatGPT sent those sites less than 1% as many visits as Google search did, and even with every other AI assistant added in, the total stays under three-quarters of 1%. A conversion is a visit that ends in a sale or a sign-up. 55 of these sites tracked them, and on those sites, ChatGPT's visitors converted far better, nearly 14% against about 3% from Google. Quote the rate, and AI search looks like the future. Count the conversions, and Google still delivered 27 times as many as every AI assistant put together. Both numbers are true. The one you put on the slide decides the strategy.
What it adds up to
Here is the point for a leader. The value of AI is not hiding. It shows up as hours saved, as new prices, and as a better rate on a smaller base. What matters is that you choose your measure and record its starting point before you spend. There are two things to watch this week. On Wednesday, the 28th, Microsoft and Alphabet report their quarters, and on Thursday, the 29th, Amazon does. Listen for how they describe AI. In users and usage, or in revenue and margin.
The last drop
Which AI number does your organisation trust most? Tell us in the comments. Become a member of The First Click, everything that matters in less time than your first coffee. the-first-click.com
The three stories
The last drop
Which AI number does your organisation trust most?
Credits and sources
Featured artist: resourcedatabase
- The Daily, Mon 19 Oct 2026
- The Daily, Tue 20 Oct 2026
- The Daily, Fri 23 Oct 2026
- Ragan, via PR Daily: AI and automation are driving 2027 comms budgets
- Forrester: for service providers, AI giveth and AI taketh away
- MarTech: ChatGPT sends less than 1% of Google's traffic
- Microsoft investor relations
- Amazon Q3 2026 earnings call
