The advancement of generative AI is driving transformation across business and society, yet companies remain concerned about how to effectively utilize AI in practical operations and the risks it may pose. This paper introduces case studies where autonomous Agentic AI has enabled business process automation, such as in command center operations and craft beer development, along with the latest supporting AI technologies. Furthermore, it discusses international legal trends and risk management technologies aimed at ensuring the safe and secure use of AI.

1. Introduction

In recent years, generative AI has made rapid progress, bringing significant transformation to business and everyday life. A wide variety of AI services are continuously being developed online, with capabilities that are rapidly advancing. In this environment, while many enterprises and organizations express expectations to make greater use of AI in their business operations, persistent concerns remain about how to actually use AI in practice and whether its introduction may involve risks.

To address the challenges posed by today’s digital transformation, NEC is promoting both the research and development of AI technologies and their practical application to real-world business operations. This paper introduces case studies of AI implementation in highly specialized business operations, along with the latest technologies that make such applications possible. Furthermore, it presents guidelines for the safe and secure use of AI, as well as technologies for managing the risks associated with AI utilization.

2. Automation of Advanced Specialized Business Operations

2.1 From question answering to Agentic AI

Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are widely used as question-answering tools. For example, when asked “Tell me about the history of AI,” they can instantly generate detailed responses, making them useful for obtaining information and acquiring basic knowledge. 

However, in actual business settings, tasks required go beyond simple question-answering and often involve more complex processes. For instance, in sales, it is necessary to analyze the customer’s situation, select products that meet their needs, and create clear proposal materials—requiring the execution of multiple steps. In manufacturing, one must forecast market trends and optimize everything from procurement of materials to production planning and shipment management in an integrated manner. For these operations, situational understanding and appropriate decision-making are essential.

What is drawing attention here is AI technology called AI agents, which autonomously carry out specific tasks. NEC refers to this as Agentic AI and is developing AI systems that can autonomously handle complex business operations. This enables more rapid and effective automation of business processes even in fields that require advanced expertise.

2.2 Examples of application to specialized business operations

NEC’s advanced AI technologies have already achieved practical results across a variety of industries. The following are several key examples.

2.2.1 Advancing command center operations

In command centers responsible for emergency response—such as police, fire, and ambulance services—accurate decision-making is required in situations where every second counts. NEC’s Agentic AI for command centers accurately assesses the urgency of incidents by analyzing often-confusing conversations with callers, formulates appropriate response measures based on operational manuals, and presents these to operators. Because this entire process can be performed in real time during the call, operators are able to significantly reduce their response times.¹⁾

2.2.2 Craft beer development

NEC, in collaboration with leading craft beer producer COEDO Brewery in Japan, launched a project to develop a new beer using AI. By integrating AI into the product development process, the team analyzed consumer segments to create personas, selected ingredients, and generated recipe proposals tailored to those preferences. Throughout this initiative, Agentic AI was used to facilitate dialogue and support the brewers in shaping the final recipe. The result of this initiative was the launch of the new product, "The taste of life created by brewers and AI—Agentic AI × Craft Beer," released in April 2025.²⁾

2.2.3 Supporting the creation of environmental reports

NEC publishes Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) reports as an environmental impact assessment report, and for the third edition released in 2025, Agentic AI was utilized throughout the preparation process. Compiling such reports typically requires extensive research time and specialized expertise. However, NEC’s Agentic AI, which incorporates comprehensive environmental knowledge and legal frameworks, was able to investigate multiple information sources and document the findings in the required format, reducing the workload for research tasks by 92%. As a result, personnel were able to focus on uniquely human tasks, such as engaging with local stakeholders, making it possible to efficiently produce high-quality reports.³⁾

2.2.4 Security risk diagnosis

As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, implementing effective security measures for information systems has become a critical challenge for enterprises. NEC has developed various Agentic AI solutions, including a system risk diagnosis tool based on the expertise of security professionals. These solutions support rapid risk diagnosis and the formulation of measures against emerging threats and vulnerabilities.⁴⁾

2.2.5 Internal practice as Client Zero

By serving as its own first customer (“Client Zero”) in AI technology innovation, NEC is actively validating the value of its technologies. The latest version of NEC’s core AI technology “NEC cotomi,” has already been deployed internally, enabling all employees to utilize it in their daily work. In addition, NEC is expanding AI applications to sales activities and other back-end operations, and aims to share the insights gained from its own experience with customers.⁵⁾

2.3 Foundational technologies for specialized business use

2.3.1 NEC cotomi v3: Core AI technology for the AI Agent era

Since the release of its initial version in 2023, NEC has continued to advance its core AI technology “NEC cotomi.” The latest version, NEC cotomi v3, launched in July 2025, is designed for the AI Agent era and incorporates the following features:⁶⁾

2.3.2 Understanding the context of diagrams and tables

Specialized business documents contain not only text but also non-textual information such as diagrams, charts, and tables. NEC has developed technologies capable of understanding these complex document structures and accurately extracting information based on contextual relevance. This enables rapid processing of large volumes of manuals and market research materials, making it possible to efficiently utilize them for summarization and analysis.⁷⁾

2.3.3 NEC cotomi Act: Learning from the browser operation patterns of experts

Within business knowledge, there exists tacit knowledge that is not explicitly documented in manuals or rules, and this has become one of the factors hindering the automation of specialized business processes. To address this challenge, NEC has developed a technology called NEC cotomi Act, which learns the browser operation patterns of experts and makes this know-how accessible to all employees. This helps prevent excessive dependence on individual expertise and facilitates the transfer of know-how.⁸⁾

2.3.4 Supporting the development of business-specific AI

Generally, developing AI requires large amounts of high-quality training data. When creating AI tailored to specific business operations, it is necessary to prepare training data relevant to those operations; however, the volume of business data is often limited compared to what is available on the internet. NEC has developed technologies that support the efficient creation of business-specific AI, even from such limited business data. As a result, the use of AI can be expanded to highly specialized operations unique to each company.

3. Safe and Secure AI Utilization

3.1 Legal Frameworks and Guidelines

As AI becomes increasingly widespread, its impact on society continues to grow. There are rising concerns about the risks of placing unconditional trust in AI outputs and the potential harm to businesses from malicious use. In Europe, strict regulations such as the EU Artificial Intelligence Act have been introduced, while in Japan, more moderate regulations are being implemented through the AI Business Operator Guidelines established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Japan’s AI Safety Institute (AISI) also developed the Guide to Evaluation Perspectives on AI Safety based on these guidelines, establishing objective standards that AI systems should comply with to ensure safe usage. 

Anticipating the broader societal adoption of AI, NEC has proactively established internal structures for AI governance, including the launch of the Digital Trust Strategy Division in 2018 and the formulation of the NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles in 2019. Furthermore, NEC has endorsed the AI Business Operator Guidelines and continues to apply and update these guidelines within its internal AI governance framework.⁹⁾

3.2 Technical guardrails for AI

One of the items in the AISI Evaluation Guide is the prevention of false or misleading information output. However, verifying such information typically requires additional effort from AI users to substantiate the output, which has been a challenge. At NEC, we have developed technology that not only automatically checks whether AI output contains false or misleading information, but also proposes appropriate corrections. This relieves companies from the burden of manually verifying every AI output, enabling them to use AI with greater confidence. Going forward, NEC plans to develop and provide AI guardrails that cover all of the AISI evaluation criteria, including this technology.¹⁰⁾

4. Conclusion

The advancement of generative AI holds significant potential for improving operational efficiency and creating new value. This paper has discussed examples of AI applications in highly specialized operations, the foundational technologies supporting them, as well as the legal frameworks and guardrail technologies necessary for the safe and secure use of AI. 

NEC is driving the advancement of AI utilization in business and society by focusing on the development of Agentic AI technologies and their application to real-world operations. Going forward, NEC will continue to ensure AI reliability and strengthen governance, aiming to achieve both business process automation and the enhancement of human creativity.

While AI technologies continue to evolve rapidly, their effective use requires responsible design and operation. NEC aims to contribute to the realization of safe and sustainable AI utilization through both technological innovation and the building of social trust.

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