By Ronik Patel


With technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (Gen AI) at the forefront, the future of work stands at the cusp of transformative change. These technologies will continue to drive groundbreaking innovations, boost productivity, and enhance business agility across industries globally. Findings from a recent study by EY reinforce this belief, highlighting that 75 per cent of companies have adopted Gen AI in some capacity, a sharp increase from 22 per cent in 2023.


Today, AI has been introduced into our workforce as a productivity tool necessary to drive higher efficiency and output by automating tasks, refining decision-making, and enabling innovative solutions. Companies that have integrated AI into their operations report up to 40 per cent increases in productivity.


AI’s Impact On Workforce In 2024


In 2024, we saw a narrative shift with business leaders realising that AI is empowering their workplace by helping create new roles focused on AI collaboration, enabling prompt engineering, and strategic innovation. The initial concerns that came with these technologies — high implementation costs, data privacy risks, potential job role redundancy, ethical challenges and the technology’s reliability in complex decision-making scenarios — were put to rest with the numerous advantages they brought to the business landscape.


Whether in manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, or any other sector or industry, globally, the pros are by far outweighing the cons. For example, robotics and automation are replacing manual work on shop floors and in transactional processes, resulting in improved efficiencies, shorter turnaround times, and increased productivity. At the same time, for more complex jobs that require human expertise and experience, AI adoption enhances efficiency and delivers faster results.


Additionally, the shift was not just about productivity but about ensuring that AI technologies align with organisational values. Advanced AI collaboration tools have transformed employee engagement by specifically addressing three key areas: eliminating geographical barriers, providing real-time translation, and enabling seamless, context-aware communication across global teams.


Harnessing Full Potential Of Gen AI


However, the current challenge most businesses face is the complexity that Gen AI brings into the equation.


AI products, tools, or services are needed to simplify our work, not create complex mechanisms that our workforce cannot comprehend in the first place. The three main reasons for complexity are (i) inadequate understanding of AI-enabled technologies, specifically transformers and Large Language Models (LLMs), AI agents, and the next phase of AI; (ii) finding trusted AI companies offering valuable products and services; and (iii) managing misinformation.


We believe 2024 revealed critical transformations across professional skills development, technological advancement, and workplace AI integration.  Many companies are working toward streamlining AI integration through a three-stage approach: bridging skill gaps, evaluating AI's core capabilities and value, and enhancing human-AI collaboration.


However, for these approaches to aid companies in extracting the maximum value from AI, these stages need to be worked on concurrently, and not sequentially. This will make AI adoption easier and more streamlined for all kinds of organisations, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), digital agencies, as well as large enterprises.


To this effect, in 2024, we have observed notable efforts by companies to double down on various corporate training programs that address dealing with the complexities of this rapidly developing technology. 


Looking at the current state of AI and its involvement in workplace productivity, the vision of fostering a fluid, intelligent ecosystem is a strong possibility. 


What's In Store For 2025?


In 2025, we expect that the standards, measures, and rules for integrating AI into the workplace will become much more approachable. The trend will surely accelerate. Organisations should be prepared to embrace strategic implementation and capitalise on AI’s innovative capabilities, leading to considerable gains.


One of the ways an organisation can do that is by focusing its work approach on these key areas: 



  • Discovering a scalable AI solution that is ready to grow with the workforce. This will ensure that the technology can evolve alongside the company’s expansion, reducing the need for frequent overhauls or investing in new solutions, and fostering long-term adaptability in response to workforce and market demands.

  • Learning what the organisation lacks, and finding loopholes in the workflow that the tool can fix. AI can be tailored to address specific pain points by identifying gaps and inefficiencies in existing processes, thus driving productivity, reducing errors, and enhancing overall operational efficiency.

  • Making a collaborative environment for AI and the workforce to perfect the workflow, service, or solution. This will ensure mutual learning, leveraging AI's computational capabilities together with human creativity and decision-making for better results.


As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, the future of work promises to be shaped by a deeper synergy between AI capabilities and human experience, creativity, and expertise. With AI becoming integral to strategic decision-making and innovation, companies that successfully navigate this transition will not only enhance productivity but also set new standards for workplace culture and employee engagement in the industry.


(The author is the Founder & CEO of Weam.ai)


Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.