Business

AI for business impact starts here: Proven AI use cases by industry

Published

2 months ago

July 21, 2025

Across industries, business leaders are turning to AI to go beyond productivity—using it to accelerate innovation, fuel growth, enter new markets, and sharpen their competitive edge. As market conditions shift and regulations evolve, organizations are also using AI to boost resilience, improve efficiency, and achieve meaningful cost savings.

That’s why the question isn’t whether to invest in AI—it’s where it will make the biggest difference.

The best place to start? Identifying the AI business use cases that align to the specific needs and priorities of your organization and your industry—because these use cases are what turn potential into measurable outcomes.

At Microsoft, we’ve seen that the most successful AI strategies are grounded in industry context. From financial services and retail to manufacturing and healthcare, organizations are applying AI in practical, targeted ways to solve complex challenges and unlock new opportunities.

Let’s take a closer look at the AI use cases in business that are driving transformation today—through proven industry examples.

Financial services firms transform operations and experiences with AI

Banking, insurance, and capital markets firms are under growing pressure to modernize. They’re expected to deliver more personalized service, manage costs, and stay ahead of evolving regulatory demands—while also providing seamless, secure, and relevant experiences across every interaction.

To meet these expectations, financial institutions are turning to AI business applications to address specific challenges across customer service, compliance, and operations. Key use cases include:

Delivering more personalized customer service through AI-powered agents that can resolve issues in real time and scale human support.
Enabling more relevant and timely engagement by equipping relationship managers with AI tools that provide real-time insights into customer behavior, market signals, and product performance.
Enhancing compliance and fraud detection with AI models that support transaction monitoring and automated regulatory reporting.
Reducing operational costs and improving efficiency by using AI to automate document-heavy tasks like loan processing, claims management, and compliance reviews.

These use cases are already driving results. Aditya Birla Capital, a diversified financial services group in India, adopted AI across its banking, insurance, and asset management businesses. The company increased lead generation through more personalized experiences, boosted contact center productivity by 20%, maintained strong compliance while accelerating digital transformation, and reduced operating costs by over 40% through automation and greater efficiency.

Retailers drive shopper conversions with AI-powered innovations

Retailers are navigating rising customer expectations, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and fierce competition across digital and physical channels. To stay ahead, they must deliver more personalized experiences, operate with greater agility, and equip employees to deliver faster, smarter service.

AI is helping retailers address these challenges with several high-impact use cases across the value chain:

Delivering personalized shopping experiences with AI agents that recommend products in real-time based on customer preferences, behavior, and trend data—boosting conversions, reducing returns, and increasing loyalty.
Empowering store and service employees with AI business solutions that provide instant answers to store procedures and policies, inventory, product details, and customer insights—increasing productivity and enhancing customer service.
Improving supply chain visibility by unifying customer, product, and operational data in AI-powered platforms that enhance forecasting, inventory planning, and targeted marketing.
Strengthening security and resilience through AI-powered threat detection and adaptive protection that defends against credential theft, unauthorized access, and malicious actors.

These AI use cases are delivering measurable results. ASOS, a go-to destination for young fashion lovers, is a standout example of personalization. The retailer uses an AI-powered conversational interface to curate product selections based on shopper preferences and highlight the latest trends—all while maintaining brand voice. This results in increased engagement, higher conversions, and improved customer satisfaction.

Companies like Carvana, an online used car retailer, and Albert Heijn, a leading grocery store chain in the Netherlands, are also seeing strong results with AI-powered shopping assistants that deliver fast, intuitive, and highly personalized experiences at scale.

Manufacturers transform the value chain with AI

Manufacturers are under intense pressure to remain competitive in the face of global supply chain disruptions, rising costs, evolving customer expectations, and the need to meet sustainability goals. To stay ahead, they must improve equipment reliability, increase production efficiency, and accelerate innovation across the entire value chain.

AI is helping manufacturers address these demands with targeted use cases that drive both operational and strategic impact across the value chain:

Reducing unplanned downtime through AI-powered predictive maintenance that monitors equipment health and alerts teams to potential failures before they occur.
Improving product quality and yield by using AI-powered visual inspection and real-time defect detection to catch issues earlier and reduce waste.
Accelerating product development with generative design and AI-assisted coding that shortens engineering cycles and reduces time to market.
Enabling faster decision-making on the factory floor by giving teams access to real-time performance metrics through natural language interfaces and AI agents.

These AI use cases are already helping leading manufacturers drive results. On the factory floor, Rolls-Royce, a global manufacturer of power systems for aviation and industrial markets, is using AI to monitor engine health and prevent around 400 unplanned maintenance events annually—saving millions and improving overall reliability. The company also applies AI to improve defect detection, increasing machine usage by 30%, and reducing fault resolution time from days to near real time.

Schaeffler, a global automotive and industrial supplier, uses AI agents and real-time data access to enhance reporting, decision-making, and troubleshooting—improving uptime, productivity, and yield across its operations.

Healthcare organizations improve care and research with AI

AI is reshaping the entire healthcare ecosystem—including how providers deliver care, how payors manage populations, and how life sciences organizations accelerate innovation. Healthcare leaders are working to improve outcomes, reduce provider burden, expand access, and drive research breakthroughs, all while managing rising costs and maintaining compliance.

To meet these demands, organizations are turning to AI to support critical use cases across care delivery and innovation:

Streamlining clinical workflows with AI assistants that surface critical information in real time and automate tasks—giving providers more time to focus on patient care.
Enhancing patient engagement with AI tools that help individuals access health information, schedule appointments, and stay connected with providers.
Supporting clinical decision-making through AI models that improve diagnostics, disease detection, and treatment planning, while enabling more efficient and equitable care models using multimodal AI insights from unified healthcare data.
Accelerating drug discovery and development by enabling researchers to collaborate more effectively, uncover insights from large volumes of data, and reduce clinical trial timelines.

These use cases are already driving measurable impact. At Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH), the medical center’s AI-powered app gives care teams real-time access to thousands of critical care documents—improving efficiency, policy compliance, and the overall quality of care.

Syneos Health, a global biopharmaceutical solutions provider, is applying AI to improve predictive modeling and accelerate clinical trial site activation time by 10%, helping bring lifesaving therapies to patients faster.

Let’s put the right AI use cases into action for your industry

Across financial services, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare, organizations are applying AI through proven use cases that reflect the specific needs and challenges of their industry—and are already seeing measurable impact.

At Microsoft, we’re building on insights from thousands of customer engagements to help you identify where AI can make the biggest impact for your organization and your industry.

See more examples of how businesses use AI to drive impact and growth. Explore Microsoft AI Use Cases for Business Leaders: Realize Value with AI.

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Business

Postal traffic into US plunges by more than 80% after Trump ends exemption | US news

Published

4 hours ago

September 6, 2025

Associated Press

Postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal agency said Saturday.

The Universal Postal Union says it has started rolling out new measures that can help postal operators around the world calculate and collect duties, or taxes, after the US eliminated the so-called “de minimis exemption” for lower-value parcels.

Eighty-eight postal operators have told the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal service to the United States until a solution is implemented with regard to US-bound parcels valued at $800 or less, which had been the cutoff for imported goods to escape customs charges.

“The global network saw postal traffic to the US come to a near-halt after the implementation of the new rules on Aug 29, 2025, which for the first time placed the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on transportation carriers or US Customs and Border Protection agency-approved qualified parties,” the UPU said in a statement.

The UPU said information exchanged among postal operators through its electronic network showed traffic from its 192 member countries – nearly all the world countries – had fallen 81% on 29 August, compared with a week earlier.

The agency, based in Bern, Switzerland, said the “major operational disruptions” have occurred because airlines and other carriers indicated they weren’t willing or able to collect such duties, and foreign postal operators had not established a link to CBP-qualified companies.

Before the measure took effect, the postal union sent a letter to the US secretary of state Marco Rubio to express concerns about its impact.

The de minimis exemption has existed in some form since 1938, and the administration says it has become a loophole that foreign businesses exploit to evade tariffs and that criminals use to get drugs into the US.

Purchases that previously entered the US without needing to clear customs now require vetting and are subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.

While the change applies to the products of every country, US residents will not have to pay duties on incoming gifts valued at up to $100, or on up to $200 worth of personal souvenirs from trips abroad, according to the White House.

The UPU said its members had not been given enough time or guidance to comply with the procedures outlined in the executive order Donald Trump signed on 30 July to eliminate the duty-free eligibility of low-value goods.

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Business

Samsung Electronics to utilize AI in 90% of business by 2030 – 조선일보

Published

4 hours ago

September 6, 2025

The Editors

Samsung Electronics to utilize AI in 90% of business by 2030 조선일보

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Business

Reshuffle of junior ministers raises fears over future of Labour’s workers’ rights bill | Labour

Published

8 hours ago

September 6, 2025

Aletha Adu

Keir Starmer has sought to tighten his grip on his government with a wave of junior ministerial changes that has sidelined allies of the unions, raising questions over the future of Labour’s workers’ rights package.

The reshuffle has been used by Downing Street to signal a tougher stance on immigration in an apparent bid to take on Reform UK, with Shabana Mahmood – a self-described social conservative rising star – now in charge of the Home Office, supported by Sarah Jones who returns to her former policing brief.

Justin Madders, the employment rights minister, was one of the first on the junior benches to be sacked on Saturday. Despite being seen as one of the architects of Labour’s “new deal for working people”, Madders’ departure was not formally announced in No 10’s list of appointments. Instead, he revealed the news himself.

“It has been a real privilege to serve as minister for employment rights and begin delivering on our plan to make work pay,” he said on X. “Sadly it is now time to pass the baton on – I wish my successor well & will do what I can to help them make sure the ERB is implemented as intended.”

Madders’ removal, along with Rayner’s forced departure from her two government positions and post as Labour’s deputy leader, removes the key figures who helped design Labour’s employment rights bill – a policy unions praised as the government’s most ambitious commitment to workers’ rights in decades.

Starmer will also not attend this year’s TUC conference, a decision that has intensified concerns and rumours among unions and some inside Labour that the government is distancing itself. Rayner was the cabinet minister closest to the unions, and Madders had been given the job of turning the new deal into legislation.

Justin Madders, one of the first junior ministers sacked on Saturday, was seen as one of the architects of Labour’s ‘new deal for working people’. Photograph: Mark Kerrison/Alamy

Peter Kyle, a close ally of Starmer, was promoted to lead the business department on Friday, meaning he will oversee the employment rights brief.

Allies of Rayner who remain in government believe a fight is looming over workers’ rights. With Rayner and Madders gone, they believe Kyle has the ability to water down the bill – a package they feel many from the centre of the party were never comfortable with. The issue is likely to become factional, given polls show stronger employment protections remain popular with voters flirting with Reform UK.

The package had promised sweeping reforms including day one rights for workers, a ban on zero-hours contracts and stronger protects against fire-and-rehire. A union chief told the Guardian: “Rayner was the closest minister to the unions and her team have played an important role in pushing key parts of the employment rights bill through government.

“The commitment to the bill is there from Keir so I’m less worried about that, but more worried about the broader sense of who actually understands the unions, and has the personal relationships.”

Ellie Reeves has been shifted from her role as party chair to solicitor general and will no longer attend cabinet. She has been replaced by Anna Turley. Georgia Gould, from Labour’s 2024 intake, has been promoted to education minister.

For Starmer, the cabinet reshuffle was about showing decisive leadership in the midst of a major crisis, to which as his chief secretary, Darren Jones, alluded. But this junior reshuffle for many shows a broader ideological return that sees the government more cemented under centrist control, and potential fights with the unions along the way.

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Meanwhile, the shake-up at the Home Office will be taken as a sign of strength by many within government. Mahmood, the new secretary of state, will lead a refreshed team that now includes Sarah Jones, a former shadow minister who has long wanted to return to the brief. Jones has been described by some as serious about public safety and police reform, and is well regarded in industry after her work on steel and the industrial strategy within the business department.

Dame Diana Johnson has been replaced by Jones and will now serve as a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions, while Dan Jarvis will remain a minister in the Home Office and has also been made a Cabinet Office minister.

Jason Stockwood, the former chair of Grimsby Town football club, will take a seat in the House of Lords to become investment minister as part of Starmer’s ministerial shake-up. He was Labour’s candidate for Greater Lincolnshire mayor but was beaten by Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns.

The local government minister Jim McMahon has been sacked and will return to the backbenches, along with Maria Eagle, the defence minister. Catherine McKinnell resigned as minister of state for school standards, which included overseeing Send reform. She said she declined the opportunity to stay in government.

Darren Jones dismissed the idea that Rayner’s departure could expose divisions within the Labour party, after Nigel Farage said “splits” will open.

“Nigel Farage is wrong there,” Jones told Sky News. “The Labour party is not going to split and there won’t be an early election.”

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