Enterprise AI Deals Surge, But Challenges Remain

It’s been a big week for AI in the enterprise. Zendesk unveiled new AI agents aimed at resolving 80% of customer service issues, Anthropic and IBM announced a strategic partnership, Deloitte struck a deal with Anthropic, and Google launched a new AI-for-business platform.

Figure 1. Enterprises Bet Big on AI—Ready or Not.

But it’s not all smooth sailing. The timing of Deloitte’s announcement was awkward, coinciding with news that Australia’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations required the firm to issue a refund after a report contained apparent AI-generated errors. Figure 1 shows Enterprises Bet Big on AI—Ready or Not.

On the latest Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and I discussed the latest AI headlines, contrasting enterprise deals with consumer-focused apps like the new Sora app. While social AI networks may generate revenue in the long run, enterprise deals remain the fastest path to significant returns.

As I noted on the podcast: “Maybe Sora is how OpenAI will make money five years from now, but enterprise is how these companies are making money now.” The Deloitte incident also serves as a reminder that AI models aren’t always ready for prime time—and that oversight still matters.

It’s not that AI should never be used in reports, though you could make that argument. The key is responsibility: if you use AI, you need to verify that the outputs are accurate. You can’t just feed data into a model and call it done while billing hours—you should be held accountable, and failing to do so deserves scrutiny or even fines.

kirsten: Absolutely. Sean, Zendesk also made headlines this week with tools designed to handle nearly all customer service, potentially removing humans from the process. Are we starting to see this kind of automation in everyday life or in industries like automotive service?

sean: Yes, and I%E2%80%99ve covered it a few times. Startups are creating full-service customer platforms, including voice agents and LLMs for emails and texts from dealerships and service centers. It%E2%80%99s promising%E2%80%94not because there aren%E2%80%99t enough people for the jobs, but because contacting customer service is often frustrating. You get bounced around departments, especially in service.

Automation could make it easier to get accurate, timely responses. The question is whether businesses will adopt it consistently. Many technologies—web forms, for example—are deployed but then ignored. Ideally, AI could become the first point of contact for customers, and it looks like we’re about to find out if that actually works.

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, with new episodes released every Wednesday and Friday.

Source: TC

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025), Enterprises are Going All-in on AI, Whether Ready or Not, AnaTechMaz, pp.849