Manufacturers are moving beyond experimental AI projects and embedding the technology into everyday business processes, with new SAP research suggesting connected, trusted data is becoming critical to successful adoption.
SAP’s 2026 Engagement Index found that 86% of manufacturing decision-makers believe AI will be essential to acquiring and retaining customers over the next 12 months. More than four in five (82%) said AI is already embedded within business workflows rather than operating as a standalone technology.
The same proportion believe AI is increasing employee productivity without reducing human control, indicating a shift from isolated use cases towards broader enterprise adoption.
For IT leaders, however, the findings highlight the importance of the data architecture underpinning these deployments. Manufacturers increasingly need to connect information spanning inventory, production, suppliers, fulfilment, service and customer interactions if AI systems are to understand operational context and turn insights into useful actions.
Sara Richter, CMO at SAP Engagement Cloud, said manufacturers depend on “thousands of micro-signals every day”, adding that connecting trusted data enables customer engagement to become an integral part of business operations.
The transition is not without challenges. Some 40% of manufacturers identify cybersecurity and privacy as the biggest barrier to scaling AI.
However, businesses appear to be responding by strengthening governance rather than slowing adoption. SAP found 82% have established AI guardrails covering areas including data lineage, personally identifiable information (PII) and points at which human approval is required.
The findings suggest IT teams will have an increasingly important role in balancing automation with security, compliance and accountability as AI moves into business-critical workflows.
SAP also points to European manufacturer DAW as an example of the importance of data foundations. The company has been working to unify fragmented data sources and create a 360-degree customer view, providing a foundation for future AI-driven products, services and decision-making.
Richter said: “Organisations often think about AI first, but competitive advantage starts with connected data.”
