Nowadays, everyone is reaping the rewards of mainstream AI use. At the click of a button, everything from a quick banana bread recipe to an explanation of quantum mechanics in digestible terms is available.

Of course, this is not lost on entrepreneurs, who are quickly learning how to harness this power to help their businesses flourish. Dan Thomson, Founder of Sensay is one such example. His company Sensay are creating AI powered digital replicas to revolutionize workplace operations and free up employee time.

From tech startups, through to healthcare and retail, it’s clear that AI is making waves across almost every industry as we enter 2025. Here are some of the ways that it’s helping to drive productivity and improve operations.

AI can analyze vast amounts of data and generate insights by identifying trends and patterns in the markets.

AI is being used to transform the health industry with this. AI algorithms can predict disease outbreaks by analyzing healthcare data across regions and identifying demographics most at risk. Chronic conditions (eg. diabetes and heart conditions) can also be flagged in patients earlier as AI can analyze their medical history and lifestyle factors.

Not only does this increase productivity in the healthcare industry but it actively improves chances of saving lives by enabling doctors and nurses to be proactive with early interventions.

Automating repetitive tasks is improving productivity by cutting both costs and time taken for tasks.

The retail industry proves this – AI is assisting tasks such as inventory management and customer service. For the first, predicting demand and suggesting ways to optimize stock levels and reduce the risks of overstocking or selling out. AI chatbots can also handle customer inquiries 24/7, answering frequently asked questions and improving customer experience while saving time for other employees.

AI founder and CEO of Sensay, Dan Thomson is taking this one step further by creating digital replicas of employees that can preserve company knowledge and complete tasks so that human employees can claim more of their free time back.

AI revolutionizes online learning experiences – this can be applied directly in any industry to transform employee training. LinkedIn Learning, for example, uses algorithms to assess skills and recommends courses and materials that are directly relevant to their needs. This precise training maximizes potential in employees and enhances the development of their skills.

AI streamlines screening of applicants, saving time for employers and enhancing workforce planning. AI tools can scan CVs and assess the applicants’ qualifications and skills – ranking them based on their potential fit for jobs. Platforms such as HireVue use AI in video interviews to analyze responses, tone and body language, helping recruiters make more objective decisions – and also supplying applicants with immediate feedback to use for their own personal development.

This reduces biases, prioritizing hiring based on raw skills as opposed to demographic information which ensures a more meritocratic selection process. However, recruiters must balance this method with human input in order to find the best candidates.

AI, by its very nature, is always learning and therefore is a key tool to drive new digital marketing strategies by providing highly targeted and personalized advertising. AI uses data analytics to understand a wealth of consumer data, including browsing history, social media activity and interests – this can then identify specific customer needs and wants. Facebook and Google Ads have led the way in using this technology to deliver hyper-targeted ads to users – automatically adjusting content, timing and placement in accordance with the user’s location or interests and even real-time contexts such as time of day and current trends.

AI is far removed from futuristic sci-fi tech – and is already being used to revolutionize how businesses are run at all levels, transforming working culture and entire industries in the process.