FEATURE incidents towards proactively improving the overall employee technology experience. However, the intelligence layer must be connected to operations. Insight alone has limited value; the real transformation occurs when organisations can translate those insights into faster resolution, smarter automation and continuous service improvement.”
Turning conversations into organisational memory
Collaboration is another area where AI could have a significant impact. Meetings, messages and workplace applications contain vast amounts of organisational knowledge, but much of that information remains fragmented and difficult to retrieve.
Singh said losing context across everyday workflows could create a significant cost for organisations.
“ Losing context across day-to-day workflow can create a significant cost for organisations. Decisions sit inside meetings. Rationale gets buried in messages. Knowledge disappears when employees move roles or leave organisations.”
AI creates the possibility of turning that fragmented information into something closer to a persistent organisational memory.
“ AI can turn that fragmented history into organisational memory. A new team member could understand what was decided, why it was decided and what needs to happen next without searching through months of conversations.”
There is also a more immediate impact on the way employees participate in meetings.
“ There is also a simpler benefit: when notes, actions and follow-ups are captured automatically, people can spend more of the meeting actually thinking, challenging and contributing. AI could make organisational knowledge less dependent on who happens to remember it.”
When AI adds another layer of complexity
The proliferation of AI assistants also presents a potential contradiction. Technology intended to simplify work could instead become another source of digital complexity if employees find themselves moving between multiple assistants, applications and intelligent tools.
El Yahya said the danger was particularly significant when AI adoption lacked a coherent strategy.
“ Yes, and that risk is very real if organisations allow assistants to proliferate without a coherent strategy. DXC’ s research found that business leaders rank insufficient AI leadership and strategic alignment as the second-biggest implementation challenge, behind only integration with legacy systems.”
The emergence of agentic AI also changes what is expected from managers.
“ Managers are no longer simply leading people. They are increasingly orchestrating collaboration between employees and agentic AI. As these systems take on greater responsibility, leaders must guide how people and AI work together, including where human judgement and accountability remain essential. Without that direction, AI could add complexity rather than remove it. Effective leadership will be critical to ensuring these tools deliver genuine value while retaining the human touch.”
Buzzalino agrees that poorly integrated AI could create additional complexity rather than eliminating it.
“ There is a genuine risk that organisations could create additional complexity if AI is introduced without a clear strategy. Many employees already use numerous applications and systems, and adding multiple AI assistants can create confusion if those tools are not well integrated.”
He said the key was to embed AI within existing workflows rather than treating it as a separate technology layer, allowing employees to access insights and complete tasks within the applications they already use.
“ At Epicor, we believe AI should meet users where they work, whether they are managing inventory, coordinating production, supporting customers, or analysing business performance. The focus should be on simplifying processes and improving access to trusted information.”
Ultimately, Buzzalino said successful AI adoption should be judged by how much friction it removes.
“ When implemented effectively, AI helps employees complete tasks more easily, make better decisions and navigate a more seamless digital workplace without adding unnecessary complexity.” • www. intelligentcio. com
INTELLIGENT CIO MIDDLE EAST
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