Digital Trends 2025: AI Influences Everything

Legendary television producer Dick Clark once said: “I don’t set trends. I just find out what they are and exploit them.” His genius was to tune into the signals of change and connect with them to create value. Regardless of where you are in the business landscape, trends can give your strategy leverage.

G2’s data signals trends that will speed up, disrupt, and redefine technology and business as we know it. Our data comes from user reviews, platform data, buyer surveys, and our own generative AI persona: Monty. Together, they fuel a pipeline of insights you can tap into to produce your own success stories.

In this trends report, you'll see how AI developments are the driving force behind the growth of the cloud market, which in turn will create an expanded surface threat for businesses. At the same time, advances in generative AI quality will help use cases ranging from code generation to accounting automation go net positive in productivity and ROI.

In some cases, such as retail and information security, the pace of improvement isn’t keeping up with demand, putting more pressure on vendors to step up innovation efforts to sustain growth. Traditional methods of sales outreach, such as email marketing, face obsolescence as AI’s prolific nature outstrips its ability to maintain the personal touch buyers increasingly require.

Finally, the regulatory zeitgeist continues to emphasize AI safety, from privacy protections to the reduction of bias in recruiting. This will trigger software vendors to bring new solutions to market and continue to invest in research to solve big problems without creating externalities.

As you look through this collection of trends and predictions for next year, ask yourself: “How do they impact my ecosystem? How do they help me prioritize what our team should be looking out for next year?”.

Much like Dick Clark, you may discover ways to mine G2’s data for Solid Gold in 2025.

G2 research analysts examine 2025's digital trends

Here are our predictions for what lies ahead in B2B software and services in 2025, fueled by G2 data and supported by third-party research we’ve curated:

Artificial intelligence and cloud

Because of increased pressure to show return on investment, companies will drive to 50% more utilization of purchased AI products in 2025. - Matthew Miller

As AI automates emails, its effectiveness without personalization is in question. To keep emails from becoming obsolete, new innovations must revive genuine engagement with people. - Marina Schlosser

AI code generation tools will overcome the production-readiness hurdle and drive higher productivity gains than other AI use cases in 2025. - Adam Crivello

AI will be the primary driver for the growth of cloud computing in 2025, driving about 35% of its growth in the next 2 years. - Rachana Hasyagar

Sales and marketing

A lower volume of sales outreach will result in better conversion. Sales used to be a numbers game—spray and pray; in 2025, all successful sellers will use intent, signals, and AI prioritization to drive outreach. - Blue Bowen

Ethical advertising that's personalized and privacy-conscious will become the standard for digital ad strategy in 2025. - Victoria Blackwell

Security

While vendors push new solutions and “innovative” technologies to solve future security problems, most threat tactics will simply be revisions to old actions that still work for the majority of attacks, especially against small businesses. - Dr. Chase Cunningham 

AI feature integrations in security compliance products will fuel an increase in compliance-vetted software purchases. - Brandon Summers-Miller and Lauren Worth

HR and finance

As worldwide legislation for AI in recruiting software ramps up, AI bias auditing services will soar in popularity in 2025 and beyond. - Grace Savides 

Accounting software organizations will increase investments in AI chatbot technology by more than 5% to fine-tune it and make it more efficient, user-friendly, and secure. - Nathan Calabrese

Retail and commerce

AI in retail isn't fully mature. By 2025, vendors will have to better understand AI's nuances to enhance products and boost customer adoption. - Subhransu Sahu and Gabriel Gheorghiu