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There’s a lot of pressure on businesses nowadays. On top of recognising customer needs and optimising internal workflows, they are constantly anxious about securing a competitive position on the market.
Technological advancements in AI have made it accessible for businesses of all sizes. With the clear advantages it offers, skipping AI adoption often becomes synonymous with falling behind in many industries.
How come artificial intelligence holds such immense power? The answer lies in how it’s applied.
AI’s role in business
Five years ago, AI was just an emerging technology available only for niche uses. Today, it’s already a deciding factor in a business’s future.
Automation, AI business analytics, and trend prediction are only a part of what AI already does for businesses worldwide.
The global statistics support this claim:
45% of retailers plan to improve operations by using AI
80% of companies are using AI to improve customer experience
AI-powered tools reduce operational costs by an average of 30%.
Operation optimisation and customer experience improvement aren’t the only applications of AI. Its use cases vary depending on the industry.
AI applications in education
One of the most prominent applications of AI in education is within educational technology (EdTech). Today’s learners expect personalised experiences and the freedom to study anytime, anywhere.
Businesses recognised this need, leading to AI-powered assistants, learning platforms focusing on personalisation, and other learning management tools.
One of the most prominent examples is Duolingo, a language-learning platform which recently announced its transition to becoming AI-first company. Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo, has highlighted AI’s impact on business:
“Developing our first 100 courses took about 12 years, and now, in about a year, we’re able to create and launch nearly 150 new courses.”
It’s not the only EdTech company to benefit from AI: according to Grand View Research, in 2024, the market size of AI in education reached $5.88 billion. Based on the CAGR of 31.2%, it is expected to grow to $22.9 billion in 2030.
Teachers also benefit from AI in education. AI-powered platforms like Google Classroom can automatically send emails, organise lesson materials, and automate reminders, highlighting the importance of teacher support.
Conor Gately, Managing Director (UK) at Altamira, has shared his vision of AI’s future in EdTech.
As we move forward, we must remember that personalised learning isn't just a technical challenge – it's a human one. The question isn't just how we personalise learning through technology, but how we support educators and students through this transformation.
Artificial intelligence in healthcare
One of the first industries to start widespread AI adoption was healthcare. Applications range from diagnosing life-threatening conditions with computer vision to supporting wellness through personalised fitness recommendations.
For example, Miami Cancer Institute uses machine learning tools to determine the likelihood of local failures in treatment after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for small brain metastases. The model helps doctors in assessing local failure probabilities based on prescription dose, age, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), and SRS treatment course.
So, AI’s potential to augment clinical decision-making has not gone unnoticed.
According to Grand View Research, the global market size for AI in healthcare was estimated at $26.57 billion in 2024. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.62%, reaching $135.99 billion by 2030.
Leonardo Castorina, a PhD student in Biomedical AI at the University of Edinburgh, offers this perspective on AI’s role in modern healthcare.
Advantages of AI in commodity trading
In commodity trading, the shift towards real-time analytics and collaborative decision-making has pushed businesses to adopt AI. Here, applications go beyond supply chain and logistics optimisation.
For example, Baiont, a top-performing quant fund in China, uses AI to develop trading strategies. Feng Ji, the CEO and founder of Baiont, has shared his experience of using AI for operations:
“Instead of hiring 50 people to find factors, we use 100 GPUs and one person who writes the algorithm. The result is even better and much faster.”
Financial Times Commodities Global Summit 2025 had a panel where industry leaders talked about AI’s impact on commodity trading.
Cases from different industries show that AI has moved far beyond its origins as a niche technology accessible only to large enterprises. Today, it’s a core engine of process optimisation for both companies and consumers.
So why should you adopt AI in 2025?
See also: How can customers reduce risks when implementing AI
Why 2025 is a turning point for adopting AI
Until recently, businesses had the luxury of hesitation. Early models were prone to errors and hallucinations. They also had poor generalisation and consistency issues. Businesses were right to be cautious.
Nowadays, the situation has significantly improved. AI has become a driving force in almost every industry.
Five years ago, waiting was a safe strategy. Today, you risk falling behind competition.
Competitive advantage
Early AI adopters have already felt its impact. They’ve gained sharper insights, made faster decisions, and unlocked more strategic business outcomes.
For example, Zara used AI to analyse real-time sales and customer feedback. As a result, they slashed unsold stock by 50% and boosted profits by 20%.
Improved forecasting, streamlined workflows, and optimised business management have put them in an advantageous position on the market.
Without AI, your business won’t catch up or even overtake the lead in the market.
Market responsiveness
Customer expectations constantly evolve, keeping up with every subtle change is nearly impossible.
AI changes that. It shifts your business from reacting to anticipating, helping you stay ahead of trends rather than catching up.
With predictive insights, adaptive marketing, and smarter resource allocation, AI empowers you to lead, not follow.
An interesting example of how it’s done comes from KFC’s parent company, Yum Brands.
They used AI to tailor email campaigns based on timing, behaviour, and engagement patterns. As a result, this approach turned routine outreach into dynamic, data-driven conversations, which led to more purchases and lower churn.
Better workflow and new opportunities
AI is often seen as a tool for automating repetitive tasks, but its impact goes far beyond that. True efficiency doesn’t just come from reducing costs, but from redesigning workflows, uncovering smarter processes, and rethinking how work gets done.
In this way, AI redefines how businesses operate.
For example, Microsoft used AI to rethink how work gets done. They created CoreAI with the goal of redesigning internal workflows and saved over $300 million in the process.
The cost of hesitancy
Delaying AI adoption leads to slower processes, missed opportunities, and wasting budget on operations that could already be streamlined.
Yahoo serves as a reminder of what can happen.
They didn’t lose to Google overnight. Its decline was gradual and largely because it failed to adapt. While Google doubled down on AI to deliver faster, smarter, and more relevant search, Yahoo stuck with a fragmented, ad-driven approach and underinvested in algorithmic improvement. They ignored the rise of AI and today they lost their position on the market.
According to Gartner, by the end of 2025, companies with AI will outperform competitors by approximately 20% in terms of productivity and profitability.
Without AI, businesses won’t have a chance to catch up and, in some cases, even stay in the market.
Steps to future-proof your business with AI
As AI adoption becomes more valuable, many businesses rush to implement it, often without a clear plan. This approach is risky: 85% of AI initiatives fail. Here’s how to avoid becoming a statistic.
Identify pain points
Every business has to deal with mountains of paperwork or endless customer queries. While it’s an important part of the workflow, it is very tedious and takes up almost all of your team’s working hours.
Tasks like these are the prime candidates for AI automation.
Automate paperwork processing with AI tools and streamline customer service by using AI-powered chatbots. This way, you will optimise workflow and free up employees to focus on more meaningful tasks at the same time.
Educate your team
One of the most common misconceptions about AI is that it will replace everyone’s jobs. Help your employees understand that AI is an assistant that empowers them.
Understanding the basics of how to operate AI tools, their abilities, and limitations is key to efficient usage. Build awareness through additional training, upskilling, and workshops.
Promote curiosity about new technologies to reduce resistance to change and increase practical cooperation between your employees and AI tools.
Start small, then scale
Begin with a pilot project defined by clear goals and success metrics. Developing a minimum viable product (MVP) helps validate assumptions and identify room for improvement early.
However, understand that AI progress is often nonlinear and subtle. As Natalia Semak, Altamira’s Chief Delivery Officer, explains.
AI progress is nonlinear, often hidden, and sometimes counterintuitive. The truth is, improvements might be invisible, but the plateaus are part of the process, not a sign of failure.
Choose the tools you need
In most cases, you don’t need complex systems, but one that fits your workflow. Here, you have options:
Using off-the-shelf AI tools
Collaborating with AI experts to build custom AI-powered tools.
Off-the-shelf AI tools are cheaper but can’t address niche issues. Custom AI tools, on the other hand, are tailored specifically for your business.
Whether you find a reliable partner to build a custom solution or opt for off-the-shelf software, AI tools will give you a great initial push, creating a strong foundation for further expansion.
Final words
AI is no longer new or unknown. It’s a strategic lever that separates success from failure. However, rushing adoption without a clear plan can backfire. Carefully plan your AI integration process, educate your teams, and start small to build momentum.
In 2025, adopting AI isn’t about chasing trends, but stepping up to your competition and even gaining an advantage.
How Altamira can help
If you are looking to future-proof your business by adopting the latest AI tools, want to assess your current tech stack, or build a prototype to validate assumptions, we guarantee a stress-free experience with zero-headaches approach.
Zero-headache software partner. We constantly learn, try out new methodologies and tools to push boundaries of what’s possible with AI.
Tangible value in days. Visualise and test your ideas from the start of our contract. Our first clickable prototypes are ready in days, not weeks.
Growing with you. We focus on our personal growth through continuous improvement in our processes and practices.
Get in touch and future-proof your business with AI today.
