The cost of intelligence: how CIOs can manage AI demand at scale

By McKinsey & Company · 2026 (the email does not specify the exact send date).

This McKinsey Quarterly email, sent by Dan Tinkoff and Lieven Van der Veken, global leaders of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, introduces a new article titled "The cost of intelligence: How CIOs can manage AI demand at scale."

The central message the email itself offers is brief: as AI costs spiral, CIOs need to manage enterprise AI demand to optimize for outcomes, not just cost. The body of the message goes no further than this idea — it includes no figures, examples, company cases or specific recommendations — so this summary sticks to what the email literally states, without adding data not present in the text.

Alongside the main article, the email flags two related pieces under the heading "Also Consider": "Is that AI agent worth it? Agentic economics and the modern operating model" and "Cost versus value: Managing agentic AI system performance." These titles suggest McKinsey is developing an editorial line on the economics and performance of agentic AI systems in the enterprise, although the email provides no additional content about them beyond the headline.

In general, this type of McKinsey Quarterly content tends to target chief information officers (CIOs) and others responsible for AI adoption at large organizations, addressing questions of governance, cost and return on investment in artificial intelligence and autonomous agent projects.