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Vertical AI Goes to Work, Physical AI Steps Into the World

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— Enough Talk. Time to Move.


As of June 2025, AI isn’t just a smart assistant anymore — it’s becoming a real teammate that gets work done.


If GPT was the “AI that talks well,”

today’s spotlight belongs to Vertical AI — the kind that actually shows up to work,

and Physical AI — the kind that can physically get things done.


We used to ask:

“How smart is this AI?”

Now the better question is:

“What can this AI actually do for our team?” “Is it just talking, or is it getting things DONE?”


1. Smart AI? That’s old news.


We need AI that works.

GPT, Claude, Gemini — yes, they’re brilliant.

But once you try to use them in real workflows, here’s what you start hearing:


  • “Huh? That sounds right… but it’s not really accurate.”

  • “It doesn’t fit our process. We still need to redo it ourselves.”

  • “Honestly, it takes more time to use this than doing it manually…”


That’s why Vertical AI is gaining momentum.


This isn’t just “AI” — this is “job-ready AI”


  • A Legal AI flags risky contract clauses and explains why.

  • A Manufacturing AI analyzes real-time data and predicts machine failure.

  • A Marketing AI tweaks ad copy based on live customer feedback.


These aren’t generic chatbots.

They’re specialists — ready to work with your team, not just talk at them.



2. Agentic AI is still hot…


But now, AI is starting to move

Agentic AI is evolving fast.

“AI, summarize this report” → “AI, post it to Slack and send to my manager”

But now we’re seeing the next step:

AI that doesn’t just say things — it does things.

Physical AI is here — and it’s not just robots


  • Figure AI’s humanoid robot can clean up a desk after hearing voice instructions.

  • Tesla Optimus now performs basic tasks in a real factory — moving boxes, assembling parts.

  • Samsung’s K-Humanoid is being tested in manufacturing to handle inspections and safety tasks.


This isn’t sci-fi.

It’s AI with a brain and a body, walking into the real world.



3. So the question now is...


Cool tech, right? But let’s bring it closer to home:

What does this mean for your team? For your organization? For you?

Here’s how the questions are changing:

Old Questions

New Questions

Which AI should we use?

What kind of AI fits our real work?

How smart is it?

How can we divide the work between us and AI?

Will AI replace people?

How can we make AI a teammate — not a threat?



4. Five Moves to Make — If You Want to Be Ready


① Stop looking for “AI that does everything.” Start with one thing it can do well.


Trying to automate everything at once? It won’t work.

Start with one high-impact task and nail it.

“Let’s use AI just for QA automation.” “Let’s start with auto-routing customer complaints.” “Let’s use it to summarize meeting notes.”

That’s where real value begins.


② Don’t just plug in AI — you need to train it with your data


Off-the-shelf AI is nice. But vertical AI shines when it’s trained on your docs, your systems, your language.

You didn’t “deploy AI.”

You trained it to know your business.


③ Build AI that doesn’t just think — it acts


Don’t stop at summarizing.

Make sure your AI can execute tasks inside your systems.

“Summarize this document” → “Format it as a report” → “Send to the right people” “Scan feedback” → “Draft a response” → “Send via email and update CRM”

This means your AI needs API access, workflow integration, and automation triggers.


④ For Physical AI, space design matters


Want robots in your factory or warehouse?

Cool — but is the space ready for AI to work in?


  • Are there sensors?

  • Is there room to move?

  • Are tasks clearly defined for robots and humans?


It’s not just people-first design anymore.

It’s time to think about AI-friendly design too.


⑤ Train your people to work with AI — not compete with it


No matter how smart the AI is,

if your team doesn’t know how to use it, it’s useless.


  • What prompts work best?

  • How do we fact-check AI responses?

  • What should humans still be doing?


Human-AI collaboration is a skill.

You have to teach it — and practice it — across the team.



Here’s what really matters now

AI has entered the age of actions, not just words.

There are plenty of AIs that “sound smart.”

What we need is AI that gets the job done.

But it’s not just about smarter AI —

It’s about smarter humans and smarter teams that know how to use it.


So let me ask you this:

Who’s sitting next to you right now — a real AI teammate? Or just another chatbot pretending to help?

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