New Research: Manufacturing's AI Boom Is Over, Industry Not Ready to Scale

Almost all global manufacturers measure AI outcomes in some form, yet only 49% measure AI ROI rigorously

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Revalize, a worldwide leader in CPQ, PLM, and CAD software solutions for manufacturers, designers and engineers, released new research around the state of AI adoption. Manufacturers are rapidly moving AI pilots into broader deployment, but their ability to build the data, talent, integration and process foundations needed to prove return on AI investments has not kept pace.

The report, You Can't Scale AI on Ambition Alone, surveyed 500 business leaders at companies in select manufacturing fields across the United States, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The research reveals that manufacturers are continuing to pour investments into AI, but leadership ambition is not aligned with operational reality.

Key findings include:

• The AI Boom is over, the AI era has begun: In Q1 2026, only 36% of manufacturers had reached broad or advanced AI adoption, but just six months later this number rose to 60% with AI integrated across multiple operations or fully embedded in how they work. Only 8% remain in initial AI exploration. The initial wave of AI adoption has settled, moving past experimentation to daily use.
• AI impact is widely assumed but rarely quantified: 50% of global manufacturers report inconsistent or informal tracking of AI outcomes, while 72% say they can attribute business outcomes to AI and nearly a quarter say they are only somewhat confident in its impact. This leaves a significant gap between AI perception and impact.
• Executive AI strategy is miles ahead of operational reality: C-suite leaders are more than twice as likely as senior managers to report advanced AI adoption, signaling top-level strategy may be outpacing what teams can realistically deploy and sustain.
• Tariffs fluctuate, but related AI investment hasn't: When this survey was conducted in July 2026, tariff and compliance costs had fallen from 50% to 39% in the last year. The share of respondents reporting no measurable financial impact quadrupled from 3% to 13%, which strongly indicated at least some geopolitical relief. Planning ahead, 44% of global manufacturers continue to accelerate AI adoption specifically to offset tariff and cost-driven pressure.

"AI adoption in the manufacturing sector is near universal. Now companies need measurable goals to show their investments are delivering results," says Mike Sabin, CEO, Revalize. "Too many leaders are overattributing success to AI without the data to back it up, and that gap between assumption and operational reality won't close on its own. Manufacturers can't successfully scale AI without real processes and alignment from the C-suite down to the shop floor. The organizations that win long-term will be those that treat AI as a disciplined investment, proving its value against actionable goals tied to real problems."

To read the full report, visit here. Revalize will be discussing these findings and their impact at their Virtual Insight Forum on October 28 at 11 AM – 1 PM ET, click here if you'd like to learn more or register.

Note to Editors
Revalize commissioned TEAM LEWIS to survey 500 CPQ, PLM, and engineering modeling and simulation software decision makers at companies in select manufacturing industries with 100 or more employees in DACH (Austria, Germany, Switzerland), the United Kingdom, and the United States. The sample comprised 225 respondents in DACH, 50 in the United Kingdom, and 225 in the US. The survey was fielded from July 7 to July 17, 2026. Respondents were recruited by OpinionRoute, a global market research panel provider. All respondents answered a common set of opening questions and then branched into segment-specific questions based on industry and product focus. Figures cited for CPQ, PLM, and engineering simulation therefore draw on different question sets and are not directly comparable to one another.

About Revalize
Revalize delivers CAD, PLM, CPQ, and simulation software for manufacturers and engineering teams worldwide. Its solutions connect the path from concept to cash, helping more than 16,000 customers reduce complexity, accelerate development cycles, and improve operational efficiency. Revalize is a portfolio company of TA Associates, Hg, and ST6. Learn more at revalizesoftware.com.

About Configure One
Built on more than 20 years of manufacturing experience, Configure One provides a CPQ platform for manufacturers of complex, engineered products. By combining AI-powered product modeling and quoting that draw on a shared Intelligence Platform, Configure One helps hundreds of manufacturers bring new products to market faster, improve quote accuracy, and scale expertise across the organization. Configure One is part of Revalize. Learn more at configureone.com.

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SOURCE Revalize, Inc