Small but mighty: Why specialised language models are driving the future of enterprise AI

By Ashok Panda, Vice President and Global Head – AI & Automation Services, Infosys

In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, large language models (LLMs) often grab headlines for their impressive capabilities and scale. But in the enterprise world, where data privacy, performance efficiency, sustainability, and domain specificity matter, a quieter revolution is underway. Small language models (SLMs) are emerging as powerful, practical alternatives, purpose-built for the next wave of enterprise AI.

SLMs excel at specific tasks with high precision. They are optimised for efficiency and consume fewer computational and data resources.

Purpose-Built for Precision

What sets SLMs apart is their ability to focus. While LLMs offer general intelligence across broad topics, SLMs are tailored for specific domains and workflows. This makes them ideal for enterprises looking to embed intelligence into business processes with high accuracy and explainability.

Research and field implementations consistently show that smaller models, when ...