Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, the hype around generative AI has been on an upwards trajectory. Organisations of all shapes and sizes have raced to leverage the technology for revenue growth, productivity improvements, and to gain a competitive edge.
Having worked to figure out how AI fits into everyday work for the past two years, businesses are now seeing valuable applications of AI in 2025, with dreams becoming a reality for many organisations.
From developing large language models to replicate human-like conversations to using AI tools for predictive maintenance and risk analysis — AI has moved beyond hype directly into the hands of employees and is quickly reshaping how businesses operate.
However, given that AI has now transitioned from novelty to normality in the workplace, businesses must navigate these new waters carefully. They must ensure AI tools not only help drive business success, but also meet the expectations of employees, who are increasingly enjoying seamless AI experiences in their personal lives through tools such as Alexa or Google Maps.
With this in mind, let’s examine how organisations can ensure AI is being leveraged effectively to not only boost business operations but to improve employee experiences.
An AI-powered workplace
In 2025, AI is no longer an experiment. Companies have moved beyond testing and are deploying AI at scale. Agentic AI chatbots can now recommend products and complete transactions autonomously, while AI-powered fraud prevention helps detect and prevent scams. AI isn’t just emerging — it’s here.
Workers are using AI to be more creative. A report by Deloitte found that 70% of workers are open to offloading tasks to AI to free up time and boost creativity. And better reasoning is giving businesses more confidence in AI models. Looking back on AI’s early days, many remember its tendency toward bias and its ability to confidently present falsehoods. To address this, large language models are increasingly including explanations of their reasoning or cite sources.
Then there’s the rise of AI-powered tools in enterprise content management (ECM) systems, making document management smarter and more intuitive. People are so accustomed to AI in their daily lives that they expect similar automation at work. These systems don’t just help to organise and secure business data; they also streamline tedious processes like onboarding and contract management. By automating routine paperwork, AI is freeing employees to focus on more creative, high-value tasks.
Like all technological change, there’s a lot happening, and this is just scratching the surface, but those who can harness AI stand to gain significantly. According to McKinsey, the long-term opportunity that AI presents in added productivity growth from corporate use cases is around $4.4 trillion.
Overcoming cyber risks with ECM systems
But it’s not all good news. While AI has boosted businesses, it has also made malicious cyber activity more prolific and dangerous. Threat actors are using AI to automate attacks, develop advanced phishing and social engineering tactics, and are leveraging deepfakes and generative AI tech to deceive employees and exploit vulnerabilities more efficiently. In response, businesses in 2025 are locking down their data and investing more heavily in information governance.
This is part of the reason businesses are assessing their records management practices and ECMs. Because cyber attackers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to exploit data, businesses are locking down the attack surface by securing their data and documents and ensuring the proper access controls and audit trails are in place. ECMs help organisations centralise digital sensitive documents, providing version control and enhanced security.
Another factor driving businesses toward ECM is data integrity. AI is only as powerful as the data it’s trained on, yet 67% of organisations admit they don’t fully trust their own data for decision-making. Proper data indexing not only improves AI performance today but also lays the foundation for future scalability. These systems allow for automated document management, ensuring data remains structured and accessible.
A strategic partnership: automation with human oversight
AI in 2025 is a lot like hybrid work: By balancing automation with human oversight, businesses and their people can reap the benefits of efficiency while reducing mundane tasks.
Almost 90% of business leaders anticipate that AI will drive revenue growth in the next three years as the number of applications increases. Businesses that automate their processes using tools like ECMs — which can support the fast rollout of automated solutions with drag-and-drop tools or prebuilt templates — should be upskilling and training staff now. According to a report by IBM, 62% of organisations are already using AI to personalise learning content for employees, leading to a more engaging and effective training experience, keeps their critical thinking skills sharp and ensuring they’re ready for further digital transformation.
Businesses are just at the tip of the iceberg of exploring the vast potential of AI capabilities, however, the key to fully harnessing this technology lies in having skilled professionals to lead the way.
Notably, millennials, who make up the largest segment of the workforce, are among the most enthusiastic supporters of AI implementation. As they ascend to leadership roles, they are significantly accelerating AI adoption. Regardless of generational composition, organisations that prioritise employee training and equip their teams with the necessary AI skills are already experiencing the benefits in 2025.
