8 ways to generate ROI from AI (by entrepreneurs actually doing it)
Cyril Alain
AI adoption jumped to 35% in 2022 as business owners learned, experimented and iterated their approach with AI processes and tools. It’s easy to waste time going to conferences, reading about advancements and unsuccessfully testing applications. But we want results. Raw adoption numbers don’t tell the real story; actual returns do.
I talked to entrepreneurs using AI right now. Not theorizing about it, not planning to use it someday, but getting real ROI today. Their results paint a clear picture. AI tools aren’t just cutting costs, they’re fundamentally changing how businesses operate and grow.
Real businesses getting real results with AI
AI sales team makes $30 million in 90 days
Isabella Bedoya and Chase Fowler, co-CEOs of Infinite AI, said their team “built an AI sales system that called 65,000 prospects and brought in $30 million for a business lending client.” One of their clients jumped from 200 manual calls daily to 1,800 automated ones, landing two deals on day one.
The system costs $2000 per month and takes 3-4 weekly hours to manage because it uses AI sales employees “that automate the sales process from end-to-end,” explained Bedoya.
You can do this too. Start with AI voice calls and texts integrated into your CRM, and ramp up from there. Track results and measure them until your business has tripled.
Grant writing system saves 30 hours per proposal
Dr. Denise Turley at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports their custom LLM “crafts comprehensive grant responses in minutes, a task that previously took over 30 hours per proposal.”
The system, trained on their internal content, helps teams “save over 100 hours each week across tools.” Their solution maintains consistency by ensuring “all generated content reflects our unique voice and style.”
Ready to replicate this success? Start by training AI on your successful past proposals and documentation, then create templates for different grant types. You could be a few submissions away from millions.
Personal branding system doubles client capacity
Kristina Flynn of StoryEngine says the AI tools she uses “lead clients through my StoryEngine process.” The system cut client work from 30-50 hours to under 5 hours each. “We refine these narratives until they are clear, compelling, and market-ready, a level of clarity that used to take weeks is now achieved in less than 24 hours,” Flynn reports.
She said her monthly revenue has increased by $10,000. Flynn also built K-Bot with Coachvox to generate leads from her social media audience.
Start by creating questionnaires for client intake, then build templates based on your best work. Involve AI to supercharge your output while keeping quality high. Replicate success for everyone you work with.
Fashion trend analyzer drives 30% more engagement
Valeriya Pilkevich, CMO at AI styling platform mixNmatch, built an AI system that “analyzes whether news is relevant for our business” by scanning fashion publications. “We’re saving more than 10 hours a week on research and content creation,” Pilkevich says.
Their Instagram engagement jumped 30% “since we are first to tell our audience about the juicy fashion news.” The setup took just hours using RSS feeds and OpenAI.
The process is simple. Pick your news sources, connect them through RSS, and automate content creation with AI tools. Be faster at sharing information for the benefit of your audience.
AI bookkeeper cuts processing time by 90%
Marie Speakman, AI accounting consultant, created “Jack the AI bookkeeper” which “streamlines financial data entry and processing” and can be an alternative to outsourcing bookkeeping. Jack’s takes on the manual extraction, entry, and initial bookkeeping for every business cost you incur, so you stop paying for human time to do basic accountancy admin.
“The system saves over 30 hours per client monthly by connecting directly to email and chat platforms,” said Speakman. “Clients see accuracy rates “very quickly get from 70% to 100%.” More accurate accounts with fewer outsourcing headaches.
This strategy isn’t reserved for AI experts. Begin with invoice processing automation, then expand to receipt handling and data validation. Save the admin for the robots and create space for your human work.
Podcast production cuts costs by 80%
Krystle Church switched her podcast process to a fully AI-powered system after spotting a major cost-saving opportunity. “I looked at the numbers and we were spending $2,000 monthly on audio editors and content writers,” she says. Her new AI stack changed everything. “Using Descript’s text-to-wave editor, I edit episodes in under 15 minutes – that’s unheard of.”
The system handles everything: removing filler words, adding ads, fixing sound quality. Cast Magic then turns each episode into show notes in her brand voice, needing just 3-5 minutes of review. For social media, she uses Descript’s video editor and Opus Clip to create Instagram Reels automatically.
Start your AI podcast journey: Begin with AI transcription and basic editing, then add show notes automation and social clip generation.
Social media AI boosts workshop sales by 20%
AI educator Claire Farwell streamlined her content system using Descript for video editing and Supergrow for posting. “I’ve put together a super-efficient system that’s been a game-changer for my content creation and posting,” she explains.
The setup saves her 10 hours weekly and runs without daily input. “I’ve seen a 30% boost in LinkedIn engagement, and my Weekly AI newsletter has gained about 100 new subscribers per month,” she reports. Best of all, “Workshop bookings have increased by 20%.”
Want to automate your content too? Start with one channel, get your scheduling right, then expand to others. Focus on consistency over perfection.
AI sales system lands $100k in new deals automatically
Dr. Nici Sweaney, founder of Ai Her Way, built an AI workflow that handles client outreach, proposal prep, and follow-ups, costing just $130 monthly and saving her team 100 hours every month. “We use Lemlist and Instantly for AI-powered outreach and lead management,” she explains. When prospects book, “it all lands in the team member’s inbox, ensuring full prep without manual work.”
The system proved its worth fast: in two months it generated $100,000 in new work from leads they’d never met, closing 50% of deals. “It’s one of our most effective growth strategies and a serious driving force for scaling our business,” Sweaney added.
Ready to automate your sales? Begin with outreach automation, then add proposal generation. Set the intention and choose your first few experiments, then measure results and scale what works.
Getting serious ROI from AI: numbers that prove it’s worth it
These aren’t theoretical case studies or future predictions. Every example here shows real money saved or made with AI tools available right now. From a $30 million sales boost to an 80% cut in production costs, AI ROI is happening and the numbers speak for themselves.
These entrepreneurs started exactly where you are right now. They picked one process, found the right AI tool, and kept refining until it worked. Some spent just hours setting up systems that now save them thousands. Others invested a few months to build solutions that completely transformed their operations.
They started small, stayed focused, and kept improving. Do the same for similar benefits.
