# Human-in-the-loop cost

The labor and workflow cost of reviewing, correcting, approving, escalating, or acting on AI output.

A cost category most published AI-ROI figures leave out entirely, because it does not show up on an AI vendor's invoice — it shows up as an employee's time. Any return figure that ignores it is measuring gross output, not net value created.

**Related research:**
- [Why AI Isn't Delivering ROI in Logistics](https://measuredvalue.ai/research/bcg-why-ai-isnt-delivering-roi-in-logistics/)