Capabilities in AI continue to advance, with business leaders remaining optimistic about its potential in the coming year. However, along with the promises come the perils. In the first of this two-part feature, SMEhorizon presents a range of predictions that show what AI could bring in the 2025.
The second part explores what challenges HR and security could face in this new landscape, and what businesses can do to prepare themselves.
From experimentation to execution
2025 will be the year of the AI Pivot. It marks the shift from seemingly endless AI experimentation to executing AI at scale. Organizations must integrate AI into their business strategies to stay ahead of the competition, moving beyond isolated pilot projects to achieve real, measurable business outcomes through structured approaches, governance, quality data and scalable fit-for-purpose infrastructure.”
- Sandra Ng, Group Vice President and General Manager for IDC
It looks like we might be hitting the hype saturation point with generative artificial intelligence (AI). After two years of hype, there are clear signals that we’re probably headed into the low that follows the high—where public perception of AI shifts as the gap between expectation and reality becomes more apparent.
This isn’t new. History is full of what seem like false starts, where new technology burns bright and fizzles just as quickly. Predicting the timing and impact of technological advancements is challenging, but anticipating which technologies will truly capture public imagination is even harder. These technologies set expectations and influence how society adapts.
Sometimes, “technology failures” lay the groundwork for transformative ideas, though their full impact may emerge years later. Thanks to a convergence of societal changes and new capabilities, I foresee that 2025 will set the stage for a dynamic decade of technological advancement.
- James Bergin, Executive General Manager – Technology Research & Advocacy at Xero
The next year will see ASEAN businesses transition from AI experimentation to full-scale implementation, as they work towards a future where humans and agents drive customer success together with AI, data and action.
- Sujith Abraham, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ASEAN, Salesforce and Gavin Barfield, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Solutions, ASEAN, Salesforce.
With companies of all sizes gaining access to advanced AI tools and technologies that were once reserved for large enterprises with significant resources,the democratization of AI is happening faster than expected.
Overall velocity will continue with the advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs), AI-as-a-Service platforms and user-friendly AI software, allowing small and mid-sized businesses to harness the power of AI to enhance decision-making, streamline operations and deliver personalized experiences to customers.
This shift will level the playing field, enabling businesses to integrate AI into their processes without the need for extensive technical expertise or massive capital investment.As a result, B2B AI will become a fundamental part of business strategy across industries, driving innovation, improving efficiency and offering new growth opportunities.”
- Nat Natarajan, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, G-P
As AI continues to drive demand for high-end logic process chips and increases the penetration rate of high-priced high bandwidth memory (HBM), the overall semiconductor market is expected to have double-digit growth in 2025. The semiconductor supply chain – spanning design, manufacturing, testing, and advanced packaging –will create a new wave of growth opportunities under the cooperation between the upstream and downstream industries.
- Galen Zeng, Senior Research Manager at IDC Asia/Pacific.
The rise of AI Agents
Unlike chatbots and copilots, AI agents can autonomously navigate tasks and make real-time decisions directly in the flow of work — moving from mere assistance to taking action based on live data and context, marking a major step forward in enterprise AI.
In 2025, purpose-driven AI agents designed to address specific workflow needs and provide measurable benefits will help organisations move beyond experimentation to achieve tangible outcomes. For this to happen, generative AI needs to be grounded in the right data and delivered in the flow of work to offer meaningful impact.
- Gavin Barfield, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Solutions, Salesforce ASEAN
AI agents are no longer a figment of the imagination; they are becoming a reality in the financial world. These digital assistants are poised to support many routine tasks, such as underwriting loans, adjusting claims, and generating risk reports. This will not only boost efficiency but also free employees to focus on more complex and strategic work, adding value where only human expertise can.
Moreover, AI agents will play a key role in driving revenue growth. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI can build a deep understanding of each customer’s financial situation, goals, and preferences. This understanding will enable banks to deliver hyper-personalized experiences, including tailored product recommendations, proactive financial advice, and even anticipate future customer needs. The experience would extend across all customer touchpoints, creating truly personalized and connected omnichannel banking.
- Mark Micallef, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Google Cloud
Leveraging the AI wave
In the race to operationalise AI, the winners will be those who forgo DIY solutions in favour of out-of-the-box solutions that offer superior speed, deployment, and accuracy. Businesses that adopt out-of-the-box solutions can focus on AI deployment and achieve immediate impact and value. In contrast, those who attempt to “DIY” their AI often face setbacks in the form of hidden costs and a slow realisation of AI capabilities.
Having the right data foundation is also key to maximising ROI from AI investments. Organisations need to consolidate structured data, such as customer transaction records, and unstructured data, such as customer emails, product information, and corporate policies, to build a unified view of their customers.
Without it, AI cannot deliver accurate, contextualised, and trusted outputs. In this regard, zero-copy capabilities will ensure companies maximise their existing assets while minimising data preparation costs.
- Sujith Abraham, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ASEAN
While AI offers significant opportunities, it also poses risks to industries such as music, news, and customer service. The firm explains in the report that organisations are focusing on balancing AI adoption with governance and control to protect sensitive data, reduce costs, and ensure AI performance. By 2026, more companies will run localised AI models to improve cost-effectiveness and maintain control over their AI initiatives. Privacy and security concerns top the list of factors influencing AI investment decisions, with 65% of respondents citing it as a key consideration.
- Info-Tech Research Group
AI drives innovation in ASEAN and opens the pathway for local talent to develop AI tools tailored to meet the region’s unique needs – whether it is Small Language Models (SLMs) that support native languages like Singlish or Taglish, or advanced models that tackle specific challenges like anti-money laundering.
With a population of over 650 million, including individual markets with over 100 million people, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and a combined GDP comparable to major economies, there is a massive opportunity for AI developers in ASEAN.
The growth of the AI industry in the region will not only attract established global tech giants to set up operations and company headquarters locally but also catalyse the birth of home-grown startups. With that, we’ll see a migration of strategic roles typically available in the West to this part of the world, creating new opportunities for the future workforce.
- Sujith Abraham, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ASEAN