Published

Deleting the ROI Calculator

Abstract

We removed a working feature because it hardcoded a 75% improvement rate that nobody had measured. It converted well. That is exactly why it had to go.

The feature

An interactive calculator that estimated a client's return from AI adoption. It was one of the better-converting elements on the site.

It also contained a fixed 75% improvement rate, a fabricated baseline, and a third invented figure on the case studies page. None of them came from anything. They were chosen because they looked reasonable.

Why delete rather than soften

A disclaimer would leave the numbers doing their work while moving the responsibility to the reader. A range would be the same thing with extra steps. The only honest versions are a real measurement or nothing.

We had no measurement. So: nothing.

The standard we adopted

Only three numbers are permitted on the site: the ones we can actually count. Everything else is derived from them or omitted. The rule is in the repo guidance and it is enforced by review, not by tooling.

What it cost

Some conversion. We do not know how much, because we did not keep the feature long enough to measure it cleanly, and we consider that an acceptable price for not putting invented figures in front of prospects who might later audit them.

BibTeX

@article{desk2026deleting,
  author    = {Ejentic Research Desk},
  title     = {Deleting the ROI Calculator},
  year      = {2026}
}