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By Tania Stockbridge | Oct. 23, 2025
A Closer Look at How AI Changes the Way We Work
As business leaders, we constantly look for ways to streamline operations, empower teams, and deliver better results. If you’ve ever wondered how AI could make your frontline team’s workday smoother, more efficient, and maybe even a little less stressful, the Frontline AI Summit offered some exciting answers. Hosted by Zebra Technologies, this event brought together some of the sharpest minds in the industry to talk about how AI is already transforming operations and what’s next.
AI as a Strategic Enabler for Business Growth
Your workforce is your greatest asset, but we all know the challenges of managing a distributed or dynamic frontline team. From labor shortages and high turnover to increasing customer demands, the pressure to deliver can be relentless. That’s where AI comes in. Not as a replacement for human talent, but as an enabler that amplifies it.
At the summit, Yogesh Kulkarni, Zebra’s Vice President of Frontline AI Solution Development explained how frontline needs from AI are uniquely shaped by their fast-paced, high-pressure environments where every second counts and customer interactions are paramount. Unlike other domains, frontline workers require AI tools that assist and actively perform tasks, like updating enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, generating support tickets, or even placing orders, to save time and enhance efficiency.
These tools must integrate seamlessly into workflows, offering real-time insights and automating routine processes such as inventory checks and delivery verifications. Moreover, the diversity of the workforce, spanning multiple languages and cultural contexts, requires AI capabilities such as natural language processing and translation to ensure accessibility and inclusivity. Ultimately, these AI solutions should be designed with frontline needs in mind to foster adoption and empower workers with new augmented capabilities.
Separate AI Hype from Real Business Impact
One of the key takeaways from the summit was the importance of focusing on AI solutions that deliver tangible results. As Tom Bianculli, Zebra’s Chief Technology Officer, pointed out, it’s not about chasing trends or implementing technology for technology’s sake. The most impactful AI applications are those tailored to solve specific business challenges, whether it’s reducing onboarding time for new employees or optimizing workflows in industries under constant pressure to do more with less.
For example, Zebra’s AI-driven solutions help businesses onboard employees faster while maintaining high levels of operational readiness. This is critical in industries like logistics and healthcare, where efficiency and accuracy are non-negotiable. By strategically deploying AI to address these challenges, leaders can unlock new levels of performance and agility for their organizations.
Driving Innovation Through Leadership and Collaboration
Technology alone won’t transform your operations. It’s more about how you integrate it into your organization’s culture and workflows. A recurring theme at the summit was the importance of engaging stakeholders across all levels, from the C-suite to the frontline, to ensure successful AI adoption. Even the smartest AI won’t succeed without buy-in from the people who use it, so leaders must foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, where teams feel empowered to embrace change and leverage technology as a tool for growth.
At Zebra, we understand that intelligent operations start with people. That’s why we design solutions that digitize, automate, and optimize workflows without adding complexity. Our goal is to equip leaders like you with the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions, build connected teams, and drive sustainable growth.
Next Step: Engage with our Leaders
Hearing these stories and insights at the Frontline AI Summit was inspiring, especially how AI is at the core of orchestrating the connected frontline, asset visibility, and intelligent automation to deliver an entirely new generation of operational capability.
Learn more about the summit highlights with Tom and Yogesh by watching our podcast here.
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