Rootstock Software (Rootstock) today announced findings from its 2026 State of AI in Manufacturing Survey, revealing that AI is moving further into manufacturers’ everyday operations. Nearly two-thirds of manufacturers (64%) have progressed beyond exploration, with AI initiatives in pilots or already operating, integrated, or broadly supporting business processes. At the same time, 77% plan to increase budgets or resources for AI-powered tools over the next 12–18 months, underscoring continued investment in the next phase of AI adoption.

The survey also shows manufacturing professionals balancing optimism about AI with concern about its potential impact on jobs. For example, 41% of respondents expect AI to make them more productive, while 61% are at least somewhat concerned it could limit their career opportunities. The results suggest that as AI becomes more embedded in work processes, companies need to consider worker attitudes alongside AI investment.

“AI’s potential isn’t only about what the technology can do—it’s also about how well employees are set up to adopt it,” said Rick Berger, CEO of Rootstock. “With AI, manufacturers have the potential to boost productivity and help employees deliver more value in their work, but realizing AI’s full value requires vision, training, and a commitment to keeping human judgment at the center of key processes. The companies that get this right are thinking about workforce development hand in hand with their AI strategy.”

Among the types of AI being adopted by manufacturers, Agentic AI is gaining traction: 31% of respondents deploying AI say they are already using Agentic AI, which can independently plan and execute tasks with minimal human intervention. Automation remains the most widely deployed form of AI at 52%, followed by Generative AI (49%) and Predictive AI (40%).

“Barriers around AI are evolving. In 2024, skills, integration, and cost were key hurdles. Today, all three have eased, and the top concern is whether AI’s output can be trusted,” said Ohad Idan, VP of Product at Rootstock. “An AI that gets one answer in a thousand wrong can be more dangerous than one that is wrong more often. That’s because people begin to trust AI output and stop checking the results. By the time the mistake shows up in inventory or the books, it’s already expensive.”

Idan added, “The answer isn’t less AI—it’s deploying it responsibly. Today, AI can connect to almost any system to build a more complete view of the business. But when it’s time to act, those actions should run through an enterprise-grade platform with the right permissions, a clear audit trail, and expert-defined business logic for decisions that require consistent, repeatable outcomes.”

Other key findings from Rootstock’s 2026 State of AI in Manufacturing Survey include:

  • AI investment remains strong: 77% of manufacturers plan to increase budgets or resources for AI-powered tools over the next 12–18 months. While that is down slightly from 82% in 2024, 20% plan to keep budgets unchanged and only 3% anticipate some level of decrease. Among those increasing budgets, more than half expect a 10%–25% increase, and almost a quarter expect a 26%–50% increase.

  • Manufacturers see strong value in unified AI: 59% either use separate, specialized AI capabilities across applications or have not adopted AI broadly enough for cross-system integration to be relevant. At the same time, 88% see at least some value in a single, unified AI agent that works across business applications, and 58% rate the concept Very or Extremely Valuable.

  • ERP readiness remains mixed: 86% of manufacturers are at least Somewhat Confident their ERP can keep pace with AI-driven changes in manufacturing, but only 43% are Very or Extremely Confident. ERP also remains among the top four enterprise technologies expected to influence organizations’ ability to adopt and integrate more AI-powered tools.

  • Supply chain disruption is a major AI catalyst: Supply Chain Management ranks as the top technology expected to drive further AI adoption, cited by 46% of manufacturers. Separately, 77% are already using AI, piloting it, or planning investment within the next 12 months to help manage supply chain disruptions and trade uncertainty.

  • Manufacturers want AI with human guardrails: 73% prefer either human-directed AI or AI that can operate autonomously within defined limits and escalate when needed, while only 13% prefer fully autonomous AI. Governance is still developing. Employee training is the most common responsible AI practice at 40%, while 25% report not using any of the practices listed in the survey.

For a complete overview of the findings and insights into the evolving role of AI in manufacturing, download Rootstock’s 2026 State of AI in Manufacturing report: https://clouderp.rootstock.com/state-of-ai-in-manufacturing-survey-2026

Methodology

The survey was commissioned by Rootstock Software and conducted by Researchscape. It includes responses from 588 manufacturing professionals at organizations with 100 or more employees across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

About Rootstock

Rootstock Software provides the leading ERP for product companies, empowering manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors to turbocharge their operations. Natively built on the Salesforce Platform, Rootstock is a modern, future-proof ERP with a fresh user experience. Users appreciate Rootstock’s focus on customer success and its AI capabilities that offer a human-first approach. IT teams value Rootstock’s platform as it minimizes the need to coordinate complex customizations and third-party integrations. All of these factors have contributed to delighted customers. As Rootstock continues to grow, stay tuned to hear about its new customers, career opportunities, and LinkedIn posts.

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