.png)
After attending Zoholics Sydney last week, one observation stood out more than any individual product announcement.
A year ago, it felt like every technology company (including Zoho) was racing to position AI as the answer to every business problem. Bigger models. Bigger promises. Bigger headlines.
Zoho's approach over the last 12 months appears noticeably different.
Rather than chasing the latest AI trend, Zoho seems to be focusing on smaller, targeted AI capabilities embedded directly into existing business processes. Less "look what AI can do" and more "here's how this task gets done faster."
Throughout the event this year there was a recurring theme of practical AI. Features designed to solve specific problems, integrated into the applications businesses already use every day.
There is also a lot of real investment constraint on display here, Zoho are subtly telling their user base that their investment in AI isn’t about trying to keep pace with the huge models and providers.
One phrase that particularly resonated with me was the idea of AI "push to code."
Instead of AI existing as a separate tool that users must consciously interact with, the goal appears to be embedding intelligence directly into workflows, applications, automations, and business logic.
The distinction is subtle but important.
The first generation of business AI often required users to leave their workflow, open a third-party AI assistant or extension, ask a question, then bring the result back into their application.
Zohos’ direction is moving towards AI becoming part of the application itself rather than a separate service or tool that runs alongside the main business applications.
The AI doesn't sit beside the process.
The AI becomes part of the process.
For Zoho partners and customers, this could be the more significant long-term story.
While large foundation models will continue to dominate headlines, the real business value may come from hundreds of small, targeted AI capabilities that save a few minutes here, automate a decision there, or improve data quality without users even noticing.
It's not the most exciting story from a marketing perspective.
But it might be the most commercially valuable one.
As someone working closely with businesses implementing Zoho solutions, I left Zoholics with the impression that Zoho is taking a measured approach to AI adoption. Less focus on creating another chatbot, and more focus on embedding intelligence into the software businesses already rely on.
Sometimes the most effective technology isn't the technology you notice.
It's the technology that quietly helps work get done.
