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- Prediction #2: Vertical AI Agents Will Deliver Higher ROI Than Horizontal Solutions
Prediction #2: Vertical AI Agents Will Deliver Higher ROI Than Horizontal Solutions
Why Vertical AI Agents Will Transform Enterprise Value in 2025
Chris Jones
January 15, 2025
If you missed the first prediction, you are in luck, here it is:
In 2025, we'll witness something extraordinary in enterprise AI adoption. While everyone's discussing artificial general intelligence and broad AI agent capabilities, the real revolution—the one that will fundamentally transform how businesses operate—will come from vertical AI agents.
The Vertical Advantage: Why Specialisation Matters
Here's what's incredibly profound: Vertical AI agents, specialised for specific business functions or industries, will demonstrate significantly higher ROI than their horizontal counterparts. This isn't just about better performance metrics—it's about fundamentally changing how enterprises operate.
Think about it. When we saw the iPhone introduced, we didn’t just witness a better phone. We reimagined what a phone could be. Similarly, vertical AI agents aren't just better automation tools—they're completely reimagining how specific business functions operate.
Consider Sierra's approach to customer support in the coding space. They didn't just build another chatbot; they created a specialist agent that deeply understands software engineering contexts. This specialisation allows for nuanced problem-solving that general-purpose agents simply cannot match.
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