Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming business for years, being used for chatbots, predictive analytics, trend analysis, and other applications. While AI has provided significant value across many industries, much of its promise has yet to be realized in the real world. Indeed, a great portion of the AI hype lies with abstract concepts that remain elusive in enterprise operations.
However, recent trends in Large Language Model (LLM) training, Machine Learning (ML), device design, and Generative AI (Gen AI) are making it possible to use AI in new ways. This blog identifies six predictions of how AI will be leveraged in 2025, pulled from ABI Research’s whitepaper, 101 Tech Trends That Will—And Won't—Shape 2025.
Table of Contents
- AI Computers Will Go Mainstream
- AI Agents Will Solve More Specific Business Challenges
- Tech Companies Will Pay Closer Attention to AI Smart Glasses
- AI integration Within Telco Networks Will Not Materialize
- Cybersecurity Tools Will Increasingly Leverage AI
- “Traditional” AI Will Make a Comeback
1. AI Computers Will Go Mainstream
AI is increasingly embedded into Personal Computers (PCs), unlocking a wide range of novel productivity applications. This makes a compelling case for enterprises, triggering a reduced replacement cycle time for desktop users. Epitomizing this trend, ABI Research expects roughly 6 in 10 PCs sold in 2025 to have on-device AI capabilities.
The growth in AI PCs is largely driven by the expansion of Neural Processing Units (NPUs) across different price tiers, the widespread adoption of LLMs in everyday computing tasks, and Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 12 Operating System (OS). Slated for a release in 2H 2025, Windows 12 is designed for enhanced AI support, particularly for Copilot applications. Qualcomm’s budget-friendly Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip is also helping make AI PCs and notebooks more accessible to diverse customer bases.
“Enterprise adoption (of AI PCs) will be particularly strong, driven by the proliferation of productivity-enhancing Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) applications and the promise of improved employee efficiency.”— David McQueen, Research Director
2. AI Agents Will Solve More Specific Business Challenges
AI agents saw an uptick in activity in 2024, setting 2025 up to be a critical inflection point. We anticipate a buildup of deployments of AI agents as enterprises and solution providers aim to shift toward more contextualized use cases.
Historically, LLMs have failed to provide value beyond being “helpers.” These off-the-shelf solutions are constrained by their training capabilities and knowledge. AI agents address these limitations by targeting specific industries and use cases.
“The democratization of AI agent development will transform the market into an ecosystem of AI factories, where businesses of all sizes can deploy tailored agents trained on their specific data and use cases.”—Reece Hayden, Principal Analyst
A number of companies encompassing the semiconductor, cloud hyperscaler, and Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) spaces are developing solutions that enable businesses to fine-tune models with proprietary data. Some notable vendors are listed below:
- NVIDIA
- Intel
- AMD
- Meta
- Microsoft
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
- Dell
AI agents can even take actions to remedy business problems and make optimal decisions. Their ability to learn from memories allows them to improve operational performance.
While some risks must be considered before deployment, AI agents are transforming how organizations approach AI implementation. The generic, off-the-shelf solutions from yesterday will become the customized, tailored applications of tomorrow. This trend is a game-changer for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) that lack the resources to build their own AI agents in-house.
3. Tech Companies Will Pay Closer Attention to AI Smart Glasses
After Meta Ray-Ban glasses sold more than 700,000 units in 2024, the year 2025 is anticipated to be a big one for AI-enabled Extended Reality (XR) products. AI enhances XR experiences through hyper-personalization and improved intuitiveness. For example, AI smart glasses generate productivity boons by providing real-time translations, navigation assistance, and on-the-job training via immersive mediums.
AI-driven algorithms excel at enhancing gesture recognition, which makes XR interactions more lifelike. From Three-Dimensional (3D) model construction to virtual try-ons within retail, the greater realism afforded by AI integration is a welcome addition across a broad range of sectors and consumer ecosystems.
Heavy-hitting players, such as Google, Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Lenovo, will likely follow Meta’s lead. Indeed, these companies can use their robust technical capabilities to innovate within the AI-enabled AR market. Such developments will lead to the normalization of AI-XR fusion across consumer and enterprise spaces.
4. AI Integration Within Telco Networks Will Not Materialize
AI has shown immense potential in achieving greater network efficiencies and automation capabilities. Between the establishment of the AI-RAN Alliance at Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the successful AI-RAN trial conducted by NVIDIA and SoftBank, 2024 provided much-needed momentum for this technological convergence. NVIDIA and SoftBank’s trial yielded a 219% profit margin when running 67% AI workloads and 33% Radio Access Network (RAN) workloads.
Although significant strides have been made regarding AI-RAN, its commercial deployment is not imminent. Even SoftBank doesn’t expect to commercially deploy AI-RAN until 2026. This milestone is likely a year or two ahead of most of the telecoms industry, given Japanese telcos’ inclination to adopt new technologies earlier than most.
Instead of witnessing the commercialization of AI-RAN in 2025, expect a ramp-up in the number of trials, Proofs of Concept (PoCs), and pilot projects. These activities will help prepare for a large-scale deployment in 2027 or later.
5. Cybersecurity Tools Will Increasingly Leverage AI
Our analysts’ next prediction for 2025 is the growing focus on AI-enhanced security solutions. The demand for AI-supported digital trust solutions is rising as enterprise ecosystems become more complex across multi-cloud and hybrid environments. AI can automate digital trust processes and accommodate crypto-agility needs driven by post-quantum cryptographic challenges. While some vendors already integrate AI into their cybersecurity solutions, ABI Research expects wider adoption incoming. This ensures alignment with enterprise cryptographic priorities and vendor roadmaps.
“ABI Research expects the large-scale emergence of AI-enhanced digital trust products to take off in 2025, commensurate with intensifying cryptographic priorities on the demand side, and in accordance with the roadmaps of prominent players within the digital trust space.”—Michela Menting, Senior Research Director
Key Management Systems (KMS) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solutions will lead the shift to AI-based security solutions. AI will be used to streamline key management, enhance threat detection, and automate device identification workflows. AI will also help analyze cryptosystem vulnerabilities and monitor device behavior, unlocking opportunities in sectors like healthcare and manufacturing.
6. “Traditional” AI Will Make a Comeback
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has shown that over 85% of enterprise projects do not utilize Gen AI—a trend that will be sustained in 2025. After initially staggering hype surrounding Gen AI for a couple of years, early deployments have been underwhelming. For example, some reports indicate a failure rate between 80% and 90% for Gen AI PoCs.
To avoid these risks, businesses will turn to “traditional” AI in 2025. These solutions, while not as potentially transformational as Gen AI, can still solve many business challenges and have a more evident Return on Investment (ROI). For these reasons, Gen AI software solutions should be marketed as augmenting legacy AI tools. These solutions should be seen as complementary to one another, as opposed to any standalone offering.
Stay Tuned for More AI Trends
AI has long been known to be capable of tackling business challenges and boosting efficiencies, but technical shortcomings have limited its potential. Recent advancements have enabled AI to be ingrained into new applications and streamline decision-making processes. These developments will permanently redefine nearly every industry, enabling organizations to increase productivity and offer enhanced customer experiences.
In 2025, ABI Research will continue to keep tabs on the most impactful AI trends and discuss major milestones through the News & Resources tab of the website. Our studies will help predict the future of AI in a thoughtful and data-driven way.
For a closer look at how our analysts expect AI technologies to be used going forward, download the free whitepaper, 101 Tech Trends That Will And Won't Shape 2025.
