10 Data + AI Observations for Fall 2025

Data and AI disciplines are increasingly merging, giving rise to new 'data + AI leader' roles. While conversational BI is popular, its success hinges on reliable underlying data, and context engineering is emerging as a key discipline to optimize AI inputs. Teams are also focusing more on embedding quality and vector database monitoring to ensure system reliability. The industry is favoring simpler, integrated model architectures over complex ones, as a gap persists between executive AI hype and the practical delivery of value.