Managed AI Operations: Keeping AI working after launch

Executive summary

Fewer than one in five organisations track KPIs for their generative AI solutions, according to McKinsey, even though tracking well-defined KPIs is associated with bottom-line impact.¹
Gartner expected at least 30% of generative AI projects to be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025, citing poor data quality, inadequate risk controls, escalating costs or unclear business value.²
Most of those causes appear after launch: data changes, costs grow, and nobody reports the value.
Managed AI Operations gives each workflow and agent an owner, a monthly report and a list of improvements.
It can run alongside your team, or on its behalf.

01Market context

McKinsey’s March 2025 study found that fewer than one in five organisations using generative AI track KPIs for their AI solutions.¹ Without measures, it is impossible to show value, and difficult to defend the budget.

Exhibit 1 What gets measured after launch

Organisations tracking KPIs for generative AI solutions (fewer than one in five)20%

Generative AI projects Gartner expected to be abandoned after proof of concept by end of 2025 (at least)30%

Source: McKinsey & Company, March 2025; Gartner, 2024. The first figure is shown at the upper bound of “fewer than one in five”.

Gartner’s view of why projects are abandoned points the same way: poor data quality, inadequate risk controls, escalating costs or unclear business value.² Each of these is an operational problem that continues long after launch.

02The challenge

Silent decline. Answers get worse as prices, policies and products change, and nobody notices.
Rising costs. Usage grows and bills grow with it, without a matching view of value.
No one owns it. The project team moves on, and the workflow has no keeper.
No report. Leadership cannot see what AI is doing for the business.

03Our point of view

AI workflows need the same care as any other operation: a named owner, regular checks, a budget, and a short list of improvements each month. We run that discipline so your team can focus on the business.

04What the service covers

Monitoring. Workflows and agents are checked for errors, failures and unusual behaviour.
Maintenance. Knowledge, prompts and integrations are updated as your business changes.
Reporting. A monthly report on the agreed measures, costs and issues.
Improvement. A prioritised list of changes, agreed with you and delivered.
Support. A clear route for your team to raise problems and requests.

Exhibit 2 The monthly cycle

Monitor
Errors and behaviour

Maintain
Knowledge and integrations

Report
Measures and costs

Improve
Agreed changes delivered

Managed AI Operations.

05What you receive

A monthly performance report against the baseline.
Ongoing maintenance of workflows, agents and integrations.
A cost view of AI usage against value delivered.
An improvement roadmap, reviewed each quarter.

06Measures of success

Uptime and error rate of each workflow
Answer accuracy on reviewed samples
Cost per task or conversation
Business measures agreed at launch, such as response time and conversion
Time to fix reported issues

07Risks and governance

Change control. Updates are tested before they go live.
Access. Permissions are reviewed regularly.
Data protection. Handling stays aligned with the UAE PDPL.³
Exit. Documentation is kept current so your team can take over at any time.

This paper is general guidance and not legal advice.

08Illustrative scenario

ILLUSTRATIVE — NOT A CLIENT CASE STUDY

A real-estate brokerage has run an AI enquiry workflow for six months. Portal formats change, two agents leave, and the routing rules fall out of date. Response times creep back up.

Under Managed AI Operations, monitoring flags the rise, the routing is updated within the week, and the monthly report shows response time back on target. The quarterly review adds a new workflow for tenancy renewals.

09Frequently asked questions

Do we need this if our team built the workflow?: Not necessarily. Some clients take it over themselves using our documentation. Others prefer us to run it.
How is it priced?: As a monthly retainer, scoped to the number and complexity of workflows.
Can we stop at any time?: Terms are agreed upfront, and documentation is always kept ready for hand-over.

Managed AI Operations