ARLINGTON, VA—American manufacturers are eager to adopt artificial intelligence in their factories. In fact, the Manufacturers Alliance Foundation claims that many companies are already using AI today, with a focus on strategic business initiatives.

About 93 percent of manufacturers recently surveyed have launched new AI initiatives in the past 12 months, while another 6 percent are preparing to launch such initiatives.

Manufacturers expect AI to increase their productivity, throughput and quality. And over time, it will also lead to significant revenue benefits.

Manufacturers have integrated AI into the value stream in departments such as design and development, production and maintenance, quality, supply chain management, and warehousing and inventory.

“The implementation of AI is a natural evolution in manufacturing,” said Stephen Gold, president of the Manufacturers Alliance Foundation. “By adding language-based models to already proven machine learning and industrial AI, (applications) can accelerate at a rapid pace. (Manufacturers) face the challenge of turning fiction into a key component of technology that improves operations and business functions.”

Gold says discovering new use cases for generative AI gives manufacturers more opportunities to address long-term change. He also says that despite the learning curve, companies are discovering that AI helps solve existing problems more efficiently.

More than half (55 percent) of respondents prioritize AI initiatives over strategic business goals, while another 24 percent are focused on potential cost savings. At the same time, revenue growth is the most important ROI expectation, followed by improved availability and product quality.