Avoid Imitating AI: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu Cautions Tech Professionals That Artificial Intelligence Could Hinder Progress If…
“AI can improve product experiences (like Grok in X), but I wouldn’t rely on AI for generating new content. AI can assist customer support agents in working more efficiently, but it’s foolish to let AI take the place of human agents. Furthermore, it is unwise for a human to simply copy and paste AI-generated text to a customer without disclosing its origin,” he stated.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) discussing his personal use of AI as of August 2025, Vembu revealed that he engages with AI chat tools two to three times a day and has the top five AI applications on his phone. He characterized himself as a “moderate to heavy” user and pointed out several benefits and potential drawbacks.
Vembu indicated that AI has drastically cut down his web searching by 80%, providing a quicker learning method. He also employs several AI systems to analyze and critique one another’s outputs, which he believes enhances comprehension.
According to Vembu, AI can improve product experiences and help customer service teams respond more rapidly. Nonetheless, he cautioned against completely replacing human agents with AI or passing off AI-created responses as human-made without proper disclosure.
Vembu stated that code generated by AI must undergo thorough compliance, privacy, and security reviews — processes that are “neither easy nor enjoyable” for developers. He warned that neglecting these steps constitutes poor professional practice. He added that these checks may eliminate much of AI’s time-saving benefits in coding, potentially slowing down development in some cases. Vembu encourages Zoho developers to utilize AI for learning and problem-solving, but not as a complete substitute for human judgment. He mentioned that the company will continue to experiment and adapt its strategy as real-world evidence unfolds.
