By Soon-Ee Cheah
Remember when the world shifted from paper to computers? Or from desktops to mobile devices?
We're on the cusp of a similar revolution with AI. What once felt like a futuristic, magical tool is quietly weaving itself into our daily lives.
In the same way, we now wonder how we ever lived without the internet; soon, we'll wonder the same about AI.
While there's still plenty of buzz surrounding the latest AI advancements, the real revolution lies in how AI is steadily becoming embedded into our daily tasks.
It's increasingly seamlessly enhancing our productivity, learning, and decision-making. What we’re seeing today isn’t just a phase of hype but the groundwork for a future where AI is as commonplace as the internet itself.
In 2025, AI will no longer be something we discuss in abstract terms. It will be something we interact with as naturally and routinely as checking an email or getting directions.
It will become the "new normal," so embedded in our lives, humming along in the background, that it will hardly be noticed.
Here's how I see AI playing out for small businesses in 2025.
AI becomes invisible
Think about the early days of GPS, when it changed how we get around. Remember the sense of wonder at being able to navigate without pulling out a physical map or stopping to ask for directions? Now, seamless navigation is an invisible tool we rely on constantly — a quiet but essential part of our daily routines.
AI is on the same path. Tasks once seen as futuristic, like automatic meeting summaries or real-time suggestions to improve our emails, are now everyday conveniences and increasingly commonplace. And, instead of engaging with AI through dedicated chatbots, we’ll encounter it passively — woven into conversations and experiences across our devices, applications, and workflows.
AI is moving from a tool that stands out to one that just works, improving our experiences without drawing attention to itself.
The shift will be gradual, but next year, AI will be so seamlessly integrated into our lives we won’t think twice about its presence. It will simply be a tool that helps us get things done — like turning on the lights or autocorrect — without a second thought.
For small businesses, this could mean AI embedded in their accounting software, automatically reconciling transactions or flagging anomalies in real-time, without requiring direct input. It will work quietly in the background, providing insights, making decisions, and taking actions, all while letting us focus on what matters most.
This evolution marks a pivotal moment, where AI isn’t just a tool we use, but how we live and work just becomes more naturally artificially intelligent.
Value over specs
In the tech world, we’ve traditionally been obsessed with specs: processing power, storage capacity, or in the case of cameras, megapixels. But over time, we’ve come to realise these only tell part of the story.
What really matters is how a device fits into our lives and helps us achieve our goals. When was the last time you considered the number of megapixels on a camera? Now, we care more about the photos it takes and the memories it helps capture.
Similarly, AI will shift from being judged by its technical specifications to the real-world value it brings.
It won’t matter if your AI uses the latest LLMs; what will matter is whether it makes your life easier. That’s the new benchmark.
For businesses, this means shifting focus from AI’s flashiness to its outcomes. Asking questions like how can I use AI to improve customer service? How can I save time in administrative tasks? How can I use AI to streamline workflows and reduce costs?
Remember, return on investment (ROI) isn’t just about rands and cents. For small businesses, AI’s non-financial ROI – like freeing up an hour to watch your kid’s soccer game or reducing the mental load of repetitive work — can be just as valuable.
The question for small businesses isn’t just “does this save money?” but also “does this help me live and work better?” AI’s true value lies in its ability to do both.
Regulation finds its balance
As with any major technology shift, regulation will start to catch up. Building trust and striking a balance between protecting users and empowering them is the foundation for AI’s adoption as the “new normal”. For AI, this will mean addressing significant concerns around privacy, bias, and misuse.
There is broad agreement that AI harms should be mitigated and innovation should be supported, but no jurisdiction or country has finished its legislative efforts yet. The European Union leads the way with its AI Act, adopting a risk-based approach to ensure high-risk applications meet stringent safety and fairness standards. And in 2025, we can expect AI regulation to address critical issues like bias, disinformation, copyright infringement, and job displacement.
Businesses will need to prioritise transparency in their AI use — such as disclosing AI-generated content or customer interactions — while keeping pace with emerging compliance requirements. Staying compliant means auditing AI tools for bias, ensuring ethical data practices, and selecting vendors with robust governance frameworks. Proactive measures, like embedding ethics into workflows and investing in employee training, can not only mitigate risks but also build trust with customers and employees, turning compliance into a competitive advantage.
Throughout 2025, AI will still make headlines, thanks to the massive investments fuelling innovation in the industry, but the way we use it will evolve from novelty to routine. It won’t feel like “the future” anymore; it will simply be part of our everyday lives, quietly enhancing our days with the same ease as checking the weather or flipping on a light. This shift from hype to habit will be subtle, but its impact will be undeniable.
Soon-Ee Cheah, GM of AI Products at Xero.
BUSINESS REPORT