🔥 Welcome to this week’s edition of Velocity Meter.

AI is no longer just automating tasks—it’s becoming a digital workforce. From Salesforce and Slack embedding AI teammates to Workday onboarding “digital employees,” businesses are redefining how work gets done.

This week, we explore AI’s growing role in market research, customer service, and enterprise operations. As AI transforms from tool to team member, mastering human-AI collaboration will be key to staying competitive.

Let’s dive in.

THE BIG SHIFT

🔄 AI Agents – The Workforce Disruptor

The workplace is undergoing a radical transformation, and it’s not just about remote work anymore. AI agents—autonomous digital workers capable of handling everything from customer service to sales coaching—are taking on increasingly complex tasks, often without human intervention.

⚡️ The Acceleration:

• Salesforce and Slack are pushing AI agents into mainstream enterprise use, redefining how teams collaborate.

• Startups like Sierra are securing massive funding to build AI-driven workforce solutions, signaling a shift in how companies think about human roles.

• OpenAI expects a third of its projected 2025 revenue to come from enterprise automation tools.

• Workday is integrating AI agents as “digital employees,” onboarding them just like human workers.

⚠️ The Challenge:

• AI agents are inconsistent. Unlike traditional software, they don’t always perform the same way every time.

• Workers are unsure how to collaborate with AI. Will they replace employees, or will they truly be an extension of human teams?

• Human interactions in the workplace may decline as AI takes over communication-heavy roles.

✅ The Fix:

• Treat AI agents as team members, not just tools—define their roles and measure their performance.

• Establish governance frameworks to ensure AI operates within ethical and operational boundaries.

• Train employees to work alongside AI, so they understand when and how to leverage digital co-workers.

💡 Bottom Line: AI isn’t just a productivity booster—it’s becoming an integral part of the workforce. The companies that figure out how to manage AI-human collaboration will gain a competitive edge.

📖 Sources: Axios + Semafor

VELOCITY TRENDS

🏗️ Tracking AI’s Impact Across Industries

🗣️ AI is Transforming Consumer Research via Voice

Suzy has launched Suzy Speaks, an AI-powered voice methodology for gathering consumer insights. This innovative approach uses AI-moderated conversations to capture rich qualitative data at a quantitative scale, moving beyond traditional rigid questionnaires.

🔹 How AI is Revolutionizing Conversational Research:

• AI moderation allows for more natural and organic consumer feedback.

• It provides deeper insights that might be missed through traditional survey methods.

• This trend democratizes market research by making it more accessible and cost-effective.

💡 Takeaway: Voice-driven AI is set to revolutionize market research by enabling more authentic and scalable collection of consumer insights.

📖 Source: Trend Hunter

📞 AI Phone Agents are Automating Customer Service

Vida has introduced an AI phone agent designed to transform customer interactions by providing 24/7 availability and seamless call handling. This technology helps businesses manage high call volumes, prevent missed opportunities, and improve overall customer service.

🔹 Benefits of AI Phone Agents:

• They can automate routine tasks like appointment scheduling and follow-ups.

• The platform offers customizable call flows and multi-language support.

• Performance analytics provide actionable insights for refining customer service strategies.

💡 Takeaway: AI-powered phone agents are emerging as a crucial tool for businesses to enhance customer service efficiency and satisfaction by automating call handling and providing continuous availability.

📖 Source: Martech Zone

🛍️ AI Agents and Human Insight are Set to Transform the Shopping Experience

E-commerce is poised for a major shift with the integration of AI agents. These models, combining LLMs and multi-modal processing, will offer unprecedented personalization and operational efficiency, scaling like human assistants but without limitations.

🔹 How AI Agents Will Enhance E-commerce:

• They will create a more frictionless front-end user experience.

• AI agents will contribute to hyper-efficient back-end operations.

• Continuous human oversight (‘humans-in-the-loop’) is crucial for aligning AI agents with brand values.

💡 Takeaway: AI agents are expected to revolutionize the e-commerce shopping experience by providing highly personalized interactions and streamlining operational processes.

📖 Source: Total Retail

VELOCITY STATS

#️⃣  AI’s Business Impact by the Numbers

AI isn’t just being adopted—it’s becoming the backbone of modern business strategy. The question is no longer if AI will reshape industries but how fast companies can adapt before they’re left behind. The latest data reveals just how deeply AI is embedding itself into operations, from workforce productivity to marketing efficiency.

📈 75% of knowledge workers now use generative AI (GenAI) in their workflows, highlighting its widespread adoption (Forbes)

💻 AI integration at Salesforce has increased software engineering output by 30% (Slashdot)

📢 90% of marketers plan to increase AI integration by 2025, reinforcing AI as a must-have tool for competitive businesses (MarTech Series)

⏳ AI-fluent professionals save an average of 25.2 hours per week, demonstrating major efficiency gains (Digital Information World)

📝 Marketers using AI save an average of 12.5 hours per week, improving productivity and workflow automation (HubSpot)

🧠 Thought bubble: We’re reaching the AI tipping point—where resistance is no longer just a strategic misstep, but a direct hit to competitiveness. Companies delaying AI adoption aren’t just missing out on incremental gains; they’re actively ceding market share to those moving faster.

IN THE NEWS

📰  5 AI Headlines You Need to Know

📌 Anthropic CEO Predicts Superintelligent AI by Next Year: Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of AI startup Anthropic, predicts that superintelligent AI, capable of surpassing human intelligence in most fields, could emerge as soon as next year. Anthropic aims to create AI that transforms society by automating complex tasks, akin to the impact of the industrial revolution.

📖 Source: The Times

📌 Amazon’s Alexa AI Overhaul: Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, Panos Panay, discussed the significant overhaul of Alexa with the launch of Alexa Plus. The new AI-powered assistant aims to improve user interaction beyond simple commands to more complex, multi-step tasks, reflecting a strategic shift to enhance natural language processing capabilities.

📖 Source: The Verge

📌 Ad Verification Firms Target Mid-Market Advertisers with AI: Ad verification companies like Integral Ad Science are investing in AI to attract mid-market advertisers. By enhancing automation and self-serve capabilities, they aim to provide better performance metrics and support for companies generating between $200,000 and $1 million in revenue.

📖 Source: Digiday

📌 A.I. Start-Up Anthropic Closes Deal That Values It at $61.5 Billion. The announcement follows new fund-raising efforts from rivals like OpenAI, which is set to close a deal that values the company at $300 billion, and Elon Musk’s xAI.

📖 Source: NY Times

📌 Cities embrace traditional and generative AI to become future-ready. Cities around the world are racing to adopt AI to drive productivity and efficiency and boost their economies, according to a global study of 250 cities conducted by ServiceNow and Deloitte, in collaboration with ThoughtLab, a leading provider of thought leadership research

📖 Source: Financial Post

FINAL TAKE

📈 The Urgency of AI Adoption: A CMO’s Perspective.

As a seasoned marketing innovator, Shiv Singh makes a compelling case that AI is currently underhyped, especially within the marketing world. His message is direct and pertinent for businesses across all sectors: those who want to remain relevant must adapt quickly and wholeheartedly embrace AI tools.

• Singh stresses the critical need for marketers and business leaders to move beyond mere curiosity and actively integrate AI into their strategies and operations.

• The potential benefits of AI are vast, but realizing them requires a proactive approach and a willingness to evolve traditional ways of working.

• The alternative to embracing AI is stark: Singh warns that companies failing to do so risk being left behind in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.

💡 Takeaway: The time for cautious observation is over. To ensure future success and maintain a competitive edge, businesses must heed Shiv Singh’s call to action and prioritize the adoption and integration of AI technologies now.

📖 Source: No Brainer Podcast

📩 Need Help Navigating AI?

At Velocity Road, we help middle-market companies seamlessly integrate AI into their operations—driving efficiency, scaling automation, and enabling smarter decision-making. Whether it’s strategy, implementation, or change management, we ensure AI delivers real business impact.

Let’s explore how AI can transform your business—schedule a consultation today!

📩 Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get The Velocity Meter straight to your inbox!

See you next week,

— The Velocity Road Team