Every wave of innovation eventually reaches a turning point. I recently had the privilege of attending AI Expo Africa 2025 with my colleagues Grant Hillary and Tetelo Maake and that shift was clear. The conversation moved from excitement about capability to focus on clarity and intent. It was a reminder that while the pace of innovation is accelerating, clarity is what separates momentum from noise.
A quote from Kim Shulze captured this perfectly:
“AI won’t create value until we’re clear on the why behind the work.”
That line captured the thread that ran through so many talks. We are no longer just asking what AI can do. The question now is why we are using it at all.
From Experiments to Execution
The gap between experimentation and execution came up often. Kim Schulze from ADG shared that 78% of businesses are still in the trial phase with AI, and only 1% have integrated it into daily operations in a meaningful way. The problem is not access to technology or tools. It is a lack of direction. Many organisations are still unsure what they want AI to solve or how it fits into to their goals.
Schulze called this strategic drift. Teams lose pace because they do not adapt quickly enough to shifts in markets, technology, or customer needs. Many rush into pilots or chase the next platform, but the real work starts with bringing leaders into alignment, building capability, and setting clear governance that turns effort into progress.
Agentic AI: From Response to Action
One of the most technical yet eye-opening keynotes came from ServiceNow. Their focus was on what they called agentic AI. This is not AI that only reacts to prompts. It can reason, plan, and carry out tasks across systems. It recognises your role, your context, and your objectives. It does the work with you, not for you.
The human loop still matters, especially when decisions carry consequences. This idea signals a shift from reactive systems to proactive collaborators. It is a quiet but important change in how we think about automation.
Personal LLMs: The Portable Work Identity
Another topic that caught attention was the rise of personal LLMs. These are models that learn from an individual’s work profile, preferences, and skills.
Imagine a professional identity that moves with you from one role to another, carrying what you know and how you work. It could transform how we think about employment, learning, and contracts.
It also raises difficult questions about ownership and privacy. Who controls that digital version of you? How do we protect its use if it follows you across organisations? These questions are not technical. They are ethical and personal.
Agentic Commerce: Selling to Machines, Not People
In the retail space, the discussion turned to agentic commerce. This is the idea of AI-powered shopping agents that manage the buying process on behalf of consumers. This is something that is becoming a reality. Instead of browsing and comparing, a customer will ask an agent to handle it from discovery to checkout.
As Axel Tidemann reflected, “You’re no longer selling to people. You’re selling to their agents.”
That shift changes everything about customer acquisition and brand loyalty. When AI becomes the main filter between buyer and business, visibility and trust take on new meaning. Success will depend on how well a brand communicates with machines that represent human intent.
Clarity as the New Capability
What I took away from the Expo is simple. AI has matured. It is ready to deliver real value. Value depends on vision, though. We need to know why we are using it, what problem we are solving, and who we are designing for.
Without that clarity, even the best systems fall short. Clarity is the new capability. The organisations that move forward will not be those with the flashiest technology. They will be the ones that ask better questions, listen closely, and build with intent.
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