Colombia workers embrace tech as AI spending cools

That matters for Latin America’s corporate spending cycle. Technology investment is one of the few levers companies can pull to offset slower growth, higher labor costs and the need to do more with leaner teams. If workers are already saving time and automating manual tasks, the productivity gains can support margins even when revenue growth is uneven. HubSpot said 74% of respondents save one to three hours a day after implementing these tools, while 55.6% cited automation of manual work as the biggest benefit and 43.2% pointed to better lead generation.

The message from Colombia also fits a broader global pattern: artificial intelligence is no longer being treated as a one-time headline purchase, but as part of a wider workflow redesign. Camilo Clavijo, HubSpot’s Latin America country manager, said companies entered 2024 more aware of AI’s business value but less willing to keep spending at the pace seen in 2023. That suggests the market is shifting from experimental rollouts to budget discipline and return-on-investment scrutiny, which could favor vendors that can show measurable efficiency gains rather than broad AI branding.

For investors, the significance is mixed. Software and cloud companies tied to sales automation, customer relationship management and workflow tools still have a long runway if adoption deepens in enterprise processes. But the slowdown in AI investment raises questions about the pace of monetization and whether the market has been too optimistic about near-term software spending. That tension is visible across the sector: management teams have repeatedly warned that pricing pressure, competition and customer sensitivity can limit margin expansion even when demand for AI features remains strong.

The read-through for Colombia is not that technology enthusiasm has faded. It is that companies and workers are entering a more mature phase of adoption, where productivity benefits matter more than hype. If economic recovery strengthens this year, firms may reaccelerate spending on the tools that prove they can cut time, improve sales efficiency and lift output. For now, the clearest winner is the workplace itself — and the clearest test for vendors is whether AI can keep delivering measurable gains after the boom has cooled.