Sam Altman and his team at OpenAI have released a 69-page report that challenges a common assumption in the tech sector: that more AI usage automatically drives higher revenue per employee. The study, published on 11 August, examined usage data from dozens of enterprise customers and found no meaningful statistical link between the volume of AI interactions and financial performance.
What the report shows
The analysis looked at two primary usage metrics, messages sent to ChatGPT and the number of tokens processed, and compared them with each company's revenue per employee. After controlling for factors such as company size and industry, the researchers concluded that "Revenue per employee is not meaningfully associated with output tokens per employee or messages per active user once other controls are included."
In practice, the data suggest that large, high-earning firms are more likely to adopt ChatGPT early, but the intensity of their AI use does not appear to be the driver of their financial advantage. Instead, the report notes that early-stage adopters tend to be already well-positioned financially.
Why the findings matter
For executives, the results raise a cautionary note about the return on investment (ROI) of AI deployments. The report highlights a "frontier gap", the idea that firms using AI may pull ahead of non-users, yet the lack of a direct revenue correlation means that the competitive edge may stem more from organisational agility than from raw AI usage.
Senior leaders are also the least frequent users, according to a graph on page 29 of the report. Early-career employees generate the highest volume of AI interactions, a pattern that Sarah Friar, OpenAI's chief financial officer, referenced in a LinkedIn post, urging leaders to listen to the staff closest to the work.
What could happen next
OpenAI's enterprise sales showed a flat usage trend from October to December 2025, before rebounding sharply in early 2026. The company attributes the resurgence to both new client acquisition and deeper engagement from existing customers. In response, OpenAI has appointed Dali Rajic as its new chief revenue officer, replacing Denise Dresser, who left after less than a year. Rajic's mandate includes accelerating adoption and helping firms measure the impact of AI tools.
Analysts suggest that the refreshed leadership could sharpen OpenAI's focus on measurable outcomes as the firm prepares for a potential public offering. Meanwhile, competitors such as Anthropic are gaining ground with products like Claude Code, which saw increased uptake during OpenAI's usage lull.
the report underscores that businesses will need to develop their own metrics for AI effectiveness rather than relying on industry hype. As AI tools become more embedded in daily workflows, the challenge for European firms will be to translate usage into tangible productivity gains and financial returns.