Demystifying AI: key trends & their impact on your work

What’s the hype about 'AI'?
In simple terms, AI, or artificial intelligence, is about getting computers to do things that normally require human intelligence. Think problem-solving, learning, and understanding. The "AI Business Trends 2025" report from Google Cloud looks at some key ways this is going to play out in the business world.

The big AI trends and what they mean for you.

The report highlights 5 key trends:

Multimodal AI - Understanding more than just words

Imagine AI that can understand not just text, but also images, videos, and audio. This is multimodal AI.

What it means for you: This could mean that if you're working in customer support, AI might be able to analyse a picture a customer sends of a faulty product to understand the issue better. Or, if you're in marketing, AI could analyse customer reaction videos to understand their sentiment about a campaign. It's about AI getting a fuller picture, leading to more accurate and helpful responses.

AI Agents - your new digital assistant

The report talks about AI agents evolving from basic chatbots into more sophisticated systems that can handle complex tasks and workflows. These are becoming multi-agent systems, meaning they can work together to achieve a goal.

What it means for you: Think of these as super-smart digital assistants. They could help automate repetitive tasks, manage schedules, or even assist in more complex processes. For example, in administrative roles, an AI agent might help manage the end-to-end process of ordering office supplies. For customer-facing teams, AI agents could handle more complex customer queries, freeing up your time for more involved issues. Some companies are already using 'employee agents' to boost confidence in communications and 'code agents' to help developers.

Assistive Search - finding information made easy

This is about the next generation of search tools powered by AI. Instead of just typing in keywords, you'll be able to ask more natural language questions and even use different types of media to search. The goal is to shift from just finding information to actually creating knowledge.

What it means for you: Finding that specific document or piece of information you need could become much faster and easier. Imagine being able to search the company database using a voice command or by uploading a related image. AI-powered enterprise search aims to give you quicker access to data, more intuitive searches, and deeper insights. Companies like Moody's Corporation are already using such systems to help their employees analyse information more effectively.

AI-Powered Customer Experiences - making things smooth for customers

AI is being used to create smoother, more personalised experiences for customers, often in ways that feel almost invisible. Customer service and support are key areas for this.

What it means for you: If you work directly with customers, you might see AI tools helping you to understand their needs better, personalise interactions, and resolve issues more efficiently. For instance, AI could analyse customer sentiment to help you tailor your approach or provide quick answers to common questions through AI-powered virtual assistants. The aim is to make the customer journey seamless.

Strengthening Security with advanced AI

As we use more AI, we also need to ensure things stay secure. The report highlights how AI itself is being used to make security tougher and more effective. 2025 is expected to be a big year for AI in security.

What it means for you: While you might not be directly involved in cybersecurity, AI-powered security tools will be working in the background to protect the company's data and systems. This could mean fewer disruptions due to security breaches and a more stable work environment. AI is being used for things like identifying threats and automating security responses.

Final thought...

The "AI Business Trends 2025" report suggests that AI is becoming more integrated into various aspects of business. For operational teams, this means new tools and ways of working that aim to make tasks more efficient, provide better insights, and ultimately improve overall performance. It's not about robots taking over, but more about having smarter digital tools to help you in your day-to-day work.