As we step into 2025, it’s remarkable to look back at how 2024 has shaped the generative AI landscape. This year, we saw groundbreaking advancements across industries—from retail to finance, aviation to fashion—alongside significant strides in AI safety and regulation. Here's a recap of the top generative AI milestones that defined 2024:
February
Klarna's GenAI Assistant: Revolutionising Customer Service
Klarna, a global leader in payments, made waves by launching a generative AI assistant to handle customer service queries. The results were extraordinary: in its first month, the assistant managed 75% of customer interactions, responding to queries about refunds, payments, cancellations, and returns in 35 languages. What’s more, it achieved satisfaction scores comparable to human agents while reducing the average response time from 11 minutes to just two minutes. Handling approximately 2.3 million conversations monthly, Klarna projects that this innovation could boost profits by $40 million annually.
March
European Union’s AI Act Receives Approval
The European Parliament passed the much-anticipated EU AI Act, the first comprehensive regulatory framework for AI. Categorising technologies by risk level, the Act aims to ensure ethical AI development and is set to take effect by mid-2026. Businesses worldwide are already preparing to adapt to its implications.
April
Stable Audio 2.0 by Stability AI
Stability AI launched Stable Audio 2.0, an upgraded music-generation tool that empowers creators to produce professional-quality audio tracks with enhanced precision and ease. This innovation caters to both casual music enthusiasts and industry professionals.
UK and US Collaborate on AI Safety
In a landmark agreement, the UK and US governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on April 1, emphasising collaboration in AI safety research and testing. This partnership signals a shared commitment to fostering responsible AI development globally.
May
GPT-4o by OpenAI
OpenAI unveiled GPT-4o, a multimodal model that processes text, images, and audio seamlessly. With its context-aware capabilities, GPT-4o is a game-changer for applications requiring cross-modal understanding, from customer service to creative content generation.
Alaska Airlines: Personalising Flight Searches with GenAI
Since April, Alaska Airlines has piloted a GenAI-powered flight search tool that tailors results to customers' preferences for cost, timing, and trip type. Unlike broader planning tools prone to inaccuracies, Alaska’s solution relies exclusively on its booking data, ensuring precise recommendations. For instance, travellers can request, “I want a four-day mountain vacation in July on a budget,” and receive tailored flight options.
July
Morgan Stanley’s AI Debrief Tool
Morgan Stanley introduced AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief, a solution designed to streamline financial advisors’ workflows. This tool records, transcribes, and summarises client calls, integrates data into Salesforce, and even drafts follow-up emails. By improving efficiency, the tool saves advisors valuable time while providing real-time insights into client interactions.
Mango’s AI-Generated Fashion Models
Fashion retailer Mango turned to generative AI to produce virtual models for its marketing campaigns. This innovation allowed the brand to showcase diverse clothing lines without traditional photoshoots, enabling rapid, localised content creation for markets worldwide.
September
OpenAI’s O1: A Leap in Complex Reasoning
OpenAI’s O1 model made headlines for its ability to handle complex, multi-step reasoning tasks. Excelling in coding, mathematics, and scientific analysis, O1 represents a significant step towards AI systems with human-like problem-solving skills.
Meta’s Llama 3.2: Image Recognition Breakthrough
Meta released Llama 3.2, featuring image recognition capabilities for the first time. Available in sizes ranging from 1B to 90B parameters, the model pushes the boundaries of AI’s ability to process visual information.
H&M’s GenAI Shopping Assistant
H&M launched a GenAI-powered virtual assistant that provides personalised shopping advice, size recommendations, and outfit suggestions. Available 24/7, the assistant also offers a voice search feature within H&M’s mobile app, reducing response times by 70% compared to human agents.
October
Anthropic Introduces Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Haiku
Anthropic announced the release of two new models: the upgraded Claude 3.5 Sonnet and a new model, Claude 3.5 Haiku, alongside a groundbreaking capability called computer use, now available in public beta. These advancements mark significant milestones in AI innovation, offering cutting-edge capabilities for developers and businesses.
November
Coca-Cola’s AI-Generated Holiday Campaign Creates Controversy
Coca-Cola stirred controversy with its AI-generated holiday ads, reimagining the iconic "Holidays Are Coming" campaign. The 15-second spots featured AI-created visuals of festive trucks in snowy landscapes but faced criticism for being "creepy" and "soulless," with distorted imagery and technical flaws.
While Coca-Cola defended the campaign as a blend of creativity and technology, the ads sparked debate about AI's role in creative industries, raising concerns about the balance between innovation and preserving human artistry.
December
Amazon’s NOVA Models
Amazon debuted NOVA, a series of cutting-edge models designed to process text, images, and videos. This launch underscores Amazon’s ambition to lead in generative AI innovation.
OpenAI’s SORA and Enhanced GPT-4o
December also saw OpenAI releasing SORA, a video generation model capable of creating high-quality content. Updates to GPT-4o introduced live video functionality, further expanding its multimodal capabilities.
Google’s Gemini 2.0 Suite
Google DeepMind launched Gemini 2.0, a multimodal AI model with unparalleled accuracy in text, image, and audio processing. Alongside this, Gemini-2.0-Flash-Thinking secured second place in global chatbot rankings, while Veo 2—a video generation model—set new standards with its ability to create 4K content.
Looking Ahead
Generative AI’s impact in 2024 was nothing short of transformative, setting the stage for further advancements in 2025. As industries continue to explore AI’s potential, the coming year promises even greater strides in innovation, efficiency, and creativity.
Download our updated Ultimate GenAI Guide by Calls9 to get access to the latest generative AI models, case studies, insights, regulations and more. Also, don’t miss our latest resource in collaboration with Kalisa “25 Generative AI Use Cases for 2025” to get inspiration on what are the highest value use cases for your organisation and industry.
