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Business focus: AI investment priorities shift to customer service and marketing
Nearly half of business leaders (45 percent) identify expanding team capacity through digital labour as a key objective, second only to upskilling existing staff.
Business leaders are prioritising customer service, marketing, and operations that drive product development as key areas for Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment over the next 12 to 18 months, a new report by Microsoft reveals.
The report, which explores evolving business work trends, attributes this focus to the scalability of AI, particularly in functions where its impact is expanding rapidly.
It also highlights workforce transformation as a central theme, with AI-specific skilling and digital labour emerging as top strategic priorities.
Organisations are increasingly training existing staff in AI competencies while exploring ways to supplement human teams with AI tools.
“Seventy-eight percent of leaders are considering hiring for AI-specific roles to prepare for the future,” the report notes. “Top roles under consideration include AI trainers, data and security specialists, AI agent developers, and AI strategists in marketing, finance, customer support, and consulting.”
Nearly half of business leaders (45 percent) identify expanding team capacity through digital labour as a key objective, second only to upskilling existing staff. In some departments, the next new hire might not be a person—but a digital colleague.
Additionally, 28 percent of managers are contemplating hiring AI workforce managers to oversee hybrid teams of people and AI agents, while 32 percent plan to recruit AI agent specialists responsible for designing, developing, and optimising these digital tools.
“As agents increasingly become part of the workforce, we’re witnessing the rise of the ‘agent boss’—professionals who build, delegate to, and manage AI agents to amplify output, work smarter, and scale faster,” the report states.
“From the boardroom to the front line, every employee will need to think like the CEO of an AI-powered startup.”
The report also reveals a shift in the talent landscape. Startups are outpacing major tech firms in hiring, growing their headcount by 20.6 percent year-on-year compared to big tech’s 10.6 percent. Much of the talent appears to be migrating from large firms to startups, suggesting a deeper transition in where innovation and opportunity are taking root.
“As incumbents adapt and challengers scale—mirroring the dynamics of the dot-com era—the rules of talent and competition are being rewritten in real time. The message is clear: adapt or risk being left behind,” Microsoft warns.
Survey respondents highlighted why they prefer using AI tools over consulting colleagues. Chief among the reasons were the ability to generate unlimited ideas on demand, 24/7 availability, and the speed and quality of machine output.
Interestingly, human-related shortcomings—such as impatience, the need for detailed explanations, or subjective judgement—ranked lowest among reasons for using AI. This suggests that people are not looking to replace human interaction, but to enhance it.
While 52 percent of users view AI as a command-based tool for completing tasks, 46 percent see it as a thought partner—someone to engage in conversation, brainstorm with, or help spark creative thinking.
To get the most out of AI agents, Microsoft advises that employees adopt a ‘thought partner’ mindset and build new skills, including how to iterate with AI, decide when to delegate, craft effective prompts, and refine AI outputs.
“The biggest benefits will come from rethinking workflows, improving decision-making, and elevating the overall quality of work,” the report concludes.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s efforts to join the global AI race face several challenges, according to a recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report.
These include a shortage of skilled talent, insufficient incentives to attract youth, data scarcity, underdeveloped tech infrastructure, and widespread public apathy towards AI applications.
