The Chief Executive Officer of PressOne Africa, Mayowa Okegbenle, has delivered a powerful message to the academic community, stating that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven it is far more than a passing trend but is now a fundamental driver of business success.
Keynote Address at Prestigious Anniversary
Okegbenle made this declaration as the keynote speaker at the 25th anniversary celebration of the School of Computing at Babcock University. The event, held on 22 November 2025 at the university's BUTH 600-Seater Auditorium, gathered faculty, students, and key industry figures.
He was invited due to his extensive practical experience and the department's confidence in his ability to offer valuable insights. His presentation, titled 'The Past, The Present, and The Future of Artificial Intelligence,' explored the evolution of AI and its growing impact on business, the nature of work, and society at large.
From Human Teams to an AI Powerhouse
Okegbenle shared the real-world journey of PressOne Africa in leveraging AI to overcome customer operations hurdles. He explained that the company's initial strategy of scaling up with large human customer service teams was not sustainable.
This challenge prompted them to investigate if AI could provide consistent, high-quality service on a large scale. Their exploration led to the creation of Juliet, an intelligent AI employee developed by PressOne.
The results were transformative. Okegbenle revealed a striking statistic: In Juliet's first week, human agents still handled about 50 per cent of customer conversations. Today, that number has plummeted to below five per cent.
He emphasized that Juliet now consistently outperforms any human team the company could have potentially hired, serving as a concrete example that AI is a core business driver, delivering tangible value and efficiency.
Launching the Next Generation of AI Innovators
As part of the milestone celebration, Okegbenle had the honour of launching two significant initiatives for the department: the Babcock Compendium and a new Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
These projects are strategically designed to bolster advanced research and provide hands-on learning opportunities in the field of intelligent systems, ensuring students are equipped for the future of technology.
