Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept but a transformative force reshaping industries and influencing our lives directly or indirectly. Across sectors, businesses are embracing AI to enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, ease employee workloads, and promote better work-life balance. Industry leaders share insights on how AI impacted their domains in the year 2024
Atul Rai, CEO and Co-Founder, Staqu Technologies
2024 has been a watershed year for retail, with AI transforming brick-and-mortar stores into high-tech hubs that offer immersive experiences and hyper-localized offerings. Technologies like AI-powered video and audio analytics and intelligent CCTV systems have amplified the customer experience while reducing CAPEX and OPEX by over 20% in many cases. According to a survey done by EY, retail investments in AI are expected to soar to US$31 billion by 2028, reflecting the growing importance of these technologies. These advancements drive significant cost reductions, enhanced operational efficiency, and improved productivity while reducing issues like shoplifting. Moreover, the potential of Gen AI in the retail sector could elevate profitability by 20% by 2025, further accelerating growth and success, as per the same report.
Dr Tridib Mukherjee, Chief Data Science and AI Officer, Games24x7
AI has become a cornerstone in shaping the online gaming experience, enabling more profound insights into player behaviour and enhancing personalization. While responsible gaming is already a key focus, the next phase of AI’s evolution aims to make these efforts more interpretable, actionable, and equitable. By leveraging predictive analytics and advanced AI models, platforms can analyze vast amounts of data to uncover trends, anticipate player needs, and deliver tailored experiences. These insights help navigate the complexities of dynamic user behaviours, ensuring engaging and fair gaming environments.
Niraj Kumar, CTO, Onix
From a technological standpoint, AI-related skills will be critical in the coming years, requiring more than surface-level knowledge like prompt engineering. Job seekers must develop a solid understanding of AI systems—dive deep into neural networks, transformer models, and optimization techniques. The key engineering skill combines technical expertise with human creativity and critical thinking. While AI will be a powerful tool for innovation, the human mindset and ingenuity will ultimately drive it to create a meaningful impact. AI-driven jobs will gradually grow across all sectors, including predominantly human-centric fields like healthcare and BFSI. In the healthcare sector, AI will bring advancements in diagnostics, medical imaging, and personalized treatments tailored to individuals.
Jeevaraj Pillai, Director, UFlex Limited
AI is revolutionizing the flexible packaging industry by driving sustainability, efficiency, and innovation across the value chain. In the production phase, AI can optimise manufacturing processes by analysing vast amounts of data, thereby improving efficiency, reducing waste, and enhancing product quality. At the end of the life cycle, AI is crucial for waste management and recycling processes. Advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, are transforming recyclability by enabling sorting systems to differentiate between plastic packaging and non-plastic packaging, as well as food-grade and non-food-grade plastics. This breakthrough significantly increases recycling rates and supports a circular economy by recovering high-value materials at scale.
Nipun Kalra, India Leader, BCG X
In 2024, organizations recognized that consuming LLMs was merely the tip of the iceberg. The true challenge—and opportunity—lay in addressing foundational elements such as ensuring data quality, building robust digital assets, and fostering widespread user adoption to realize AI’s potential in enterprise settings fully. It was common to see organizations launch GenAI pilots with initial positive responses stemming from excitement around the technology. However, the journey to delivering impact at scale requires dedicated efforts. The science behind AI will keep evolving in 2025. But here’s the catch: the winners won’t just master the technology; they’ll master the art of integrating it into their contexts, empowering their teams, and creating a culture of innovation. Agentic AI will be integral to Gen AI efforts for 2025. Organizations will build digital workers, and AI agents will take on employee- and customer-facing roles, reshaping how work gets done.
