The AI pricing question every board should be asking

While AI is currently delivering substantial productivity gains that organisations should actively embrace, many businesses are ignoring the long-term economics of AI implementation.

AI providers are currently in a initial customer acquisition phase, prioritising user growth, market share, and embedding their services into daily operational workflows over immediate profitability.

This strategy mirrors the trajectory of platforms like Netflix, Spotify, and Uber, which initially offered low prices to build market dominance and customer reliance before gradually introducing significant price increases.

With AI, the financial stakes for businesses are considerably higher because these subscriptions quickly become deeply integrated into core organisational systems, making future provider switching exceptionally difficult and costly.

Consequently, company boards and directors must look beyond present-day pricing and evaluate potential costs over a three, five, or ten-year horizon. Rather than focusing solely on an AI adoption strategy, organisations require a comprehensive AI procurement strategy that accounts for the inevitable transition from customer acquisition pricing to profit-driven models - ensuring current technology investments remain financially viable if subscription costs should increase dramatically over time.

Read the full article: "Locking us in: The true cost of AI could catch organisations unprepared", By Nick Yager, The Post. 28 July 2026.