Serviceware Forum is an event where experts, customers, and partners discuss current developments in enterprise service management, digital business processes, and the future of work. In 2025, one topic clearly stood out: AI has already moved much closer to everyday business operations than many expected.
Experts from six companies shared their experience about how AI is actually being used today: pragmatically, productively, and often less spectacularly than the public debate around AI might suggest. We have summarized the most important insights from these conversations.
Why the Most Useful AI Projects Often Start Small
“Everyone wants it, but nobody knows exactly how it will work in the end.”
This statement from one of the interviews probably describes the current situation better than many market forecasts. While public discussions often focus on autonomous systems, disruption, and the next major technology leap, the use of AI in companies is usually much more pragmatic.
AI answers service requests. It structures knowledge. It prioritizes tickets. It supports teams with everyday tasks. That may not sound spectacular. But it is becoming increasingly productive.
This is one of the most important lessons from current AI use cases in business: real transformation rarely starts with a major innovation project. It usually starts with a specific problem in daily operations.
Enterprise AI Is Becoming Part of Everyday Operations
The AI transformation does not begin in the innovation lab. It begins where processes slow down. In the service desk. In knowledge management. In ticket processing. In the simple question of how employees can find the information they need faster.
That is why many AI use cases in companies seem surprisingly unspectacular at first. They are not about humanoid assistants or fully automated organizations. They are about routing emails more effectively, answering service requests faster, and reducing repetitive work for support teams.
This is exactly what makes the development so relevant. While many companies are still talking about AI strategies, daily operations are already changing quietly and step by step.
“Which department are we not using AI in?”
At first, the question sounds provocative. In practice, it describes what is currently happening in many organizations quite accurately. AI is moving from innovation project to business infrastructure.
The Biggest Shift Is About Knowledge
Several interview participants came from the field of knowledge management. Interestingly, they did not talk much about models or tools. They talked about knowledge.
Who has access to it? How quickly is it available? What happens when answers no longer depend only on individual experts?
One participant described knowledge as being “essentially democratically available to everyone at any time.” This may point to one of the most significant changes. When knowledge becomes more widely available, roles, decision-making processes, and leadership also begin to change. Managers will increasingly become “moderators, coaches, and perhaps also curators,” as one participant put it.
That may sound abstract at first. But many companies are already experiencing this shift in very practical terms. AI is not only changing processes. It is changing how organizations work.
AI in Service Management Is Changing Work Quietly
This development is particularly visible in service management. Many current examples are not yet about full automation. They are about support and relief. Service teams use AI to process requests faster, improve access to information, steer tickets more intelligently, and improve collaboration between people and systems.
“We gain time for the complex topics that AI cannot handle.”
This idea appeared in many of the conversations. Successful AI applications in companies often emerge where technology supports human work rather than replacing it. That is why the most interesting projects often seem less revolutionary than expected. But precisely because of this, they can change organizations in a more lasting way.
Between AI Hype and Business Value, There Is Integration Work
The interviews also show how much operational work is required behind successful AI projects.
Data protection. Data quality. System integration. Trust. Acceptance.
Almost all companies mentioned the same challenges. What stood out was the recurring sense of uncertainty. Not rejection, but the feeling that technology, expectations, and organizational reality are not moving at the same speed.
“Is there really AI inside where AI is written on the label?”
The question may sound casual, but it captures the current market phase well. Between real value, marketing promises, and experimentation, companies are trying to determine which AI projects actually work in productive business environments.
The Real Change Is Just Beginning
Perhaps this is the most interesting insight from the conversations: companies are not mainly talking about the full automation of entire organizations.
Instead, change is happening through smaller shifts:
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Less routine,
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faster access to knowledge,
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more support in day-to-day life,
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more room for complex tasks.
At the same time, there is growing awareness that AI does not only change processes. It also changes skills, roles, leadership, and collaboration. The conversations at Serviceware Forum 2025 show one thing clearly: AI has already arrived in the enterprise. But not quite in the way many expected.
It is quieter. More pragmatic. More operational.
And perhaps that is exactly why it may prove more sustainable.
Less hype. More value.
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