Are projects ready for AI — or for the value it generates?

Artificial intelligence is increasingly entering project environments. Recent research has emphasized the importance of developing organizational and project readiness for AI adoption. However, from a project management perspective, readiness to deploy AI technologies does not necessarily guarantee that these technologies will generate meaningful project value. Building on the recent debate on AI readiness, this essay argues that an important conceptual gap remains between the adoption of AI tools and the realization of value in projects. Drawing on the project value literature, this work introduces the notion of AI value generation, defined as the capability of project organizations to translate AI-enabled insights into value definition, value delivery, and value capture across multiple stakeholders. By distinguishing between AI readiness and AI value generation, this work highlights a new research frontier for understanding how artificial intelligence can effectively contribute to project success and stakeholder value creation