This week at SAP Connect, we introduced the next wave of business AI innovations to empower enterprises. We unveiled our newest Joule Agents, the concept of role-based AI assistants, and new embedded intelligence throughout SAP Business Suite.
New research shows how business AI delivers ROI
To better understand the opportunity to produce returns on investment from AI, SAP commissioned new global research that was shared at SAP Connect. In partnership with Oxford Economics, we surveyed 1,600 executives in medium and large enterprises across eight countries.
We found that today, on average, organizations are benefiting from a 16 percent return on AI investments—a number they expect to nearly double within two years. In addition to impressive financial returns:
- 94% of business leaders say AI is improving innovation within their organizations
- 87% say AI is improving customer engagement
- 78% believe AI agents have the potential to transform their business operations
New deep research and AI assistants in Joule expand what is possible
These innovations were engineered based on what our customers tell us they need: to act quickly, simplify complexity, and unlock better, data-driven decisions across the lines of business and processes that matter. But most of all, our customers need AI that drives significant, measurable business outcomes.
To help every organization accelerate returns on investment from AI, at SAP Connect we announced powerful new capabilities for Joule, which makes business data and the entire SAP Business Suite immediately accessible through the power of a simple conversation. And because Joule is grounded in your company’s data, it understands context and delivers insights that are specific, actionable, and relevant to your business.
Deep research in Joule, announced at SAP Connect, is a new capability expands what people can do within the Joule interface. It goes beyond quick answers to deliver strategic analysis, reporting, and synthesis in a single, connected experience. It brings together internal SAP data and external intelligence so people can ask complex questions and receive comprehensive research and recommendations—without ever leaving Joule. The deep research capability in Joule will be available in beta this December.
We also unveiled the new concept of role-based AI assistants in Joule, built to partner with people in their specific roles. These assistants connect to the right Joule Agents for the job, removing guesswork so teams can unlock new levels of productivity and insight. Whether it’s a finance leader forecasting working capital, a recruiter evaluating headcount needs, or a planner adjusting inventory, AI assistants surface the right intelligence, at the right time, in the right context. In the background, Joule Agents get work done for you.
These innovations mark the next chapter in how people interact with enterprise systems, helping every role across an organization seamlessly move from inquiry to insight to action.
New Joule Agents autonomously get work done
To help enterprises further accelerate business results, we introduced 14 new Joule Agents at SAP Connect. They help people coordinate, decide, and execute tasks with greater precision. Joule Agents are embedded across core business processes in finance, HR, procurement, and supply chain, in a way that only SAP—with our deep expertise in these functions—can deliver.
For example, rather than navigating multiple systems or running countless manual checks to release an order, a production manager—a key role in the supply chain function—will be able to turn to our Production Planning and Operations Agent, planned for general availability in the Q1 2026. They can simply ask Joule to do it, safely and in real time. The agent will validate and release orders when conditions are met, accelerating production start times and shortening order-to-delivery cycles.
And starting December 2025, with the general availability of Joule Studio, now in beta release, customers will be able to create and deploy custom Joule skills and Joule Agents tailored to their unique business needs. Agent builder in Joule Studio is your command center for designing, building, and deploying enterprise-ready custom Joule Agents using the same powerful SAP technologies—including SAP Knowledge Graph for deep business context, SAP Business Data Cloud for comprehensive data access across SAP and non-SAP sources, and SAP’s central identity and authorization services to ensure responsible agent behavior. These capabilities empower every enterprise to extend, customize, and personalize SAP Business AI solutions.
New embedded intelligence across SAP applications
To help our customers move faster and make better decisions where work happens, we continue to bring intelligence directly into the applications they rely on every day. These embedded capabilities extend the same AI-driven guidance that powers Joule Agents into core SAP solutions, enhancing user workflows with context, clarity, and automation. We will have more than 400 of these AI use cases by the end of the year.
For example, in SAP Engagement Cloud, starting in February 2026, AI will orchestrate personalized interactions across HR, marketing, and service, bringing harmonized data, relevant context, and better business outcomes into every engagement. In the SAP Supply Chain Orchestration solution, planned for general release in the first half of 2026, AI will predict shortfalls and fulfillment risks, helping planners simulate and respond with speed and precision.
Additionally, the rebuilt SAP Ariba source-to-pay suite, arriving in February 2026, brings a modern, cloud-native experience to every stage of procurement. Embedded AI guides people with intelligent recommendations, accelerates contract reviews, and surfaces supplier insights in real time. By simplifying sourcing decisions and improving compliance, it helps procurement teams strengthen supplier relationships and capture more value, faster.
Governing AI with visibility and control
As our customers continue to adopt these AI innovations embedded across their functions, we know they need transparency into how it operates, what it influences, and the value it creates. That is why we provide tools to give them the visibility they need to deploy AI with confidence and scale it responsibly.
SAP LeanIX AI Agent Hub helps CIOs and business leaders see their entire AI agents landscape at a glance. From one dashboard, they can understand where agents are deployed, what processes they touch, and how agents are performing. This allows teams to evaluate effectiveness, identify redundancies, and manage AI like any other enterprise asset: aligned to outcomes, governed by policy, and continuously optimized.
Complementing that, agent mining in SAP Signavio gives organizations a powerful way to analyze how AI contributes to process performance. It reveals how AI agents decide and act, flags bottlenecks and non-compliance, and uncovers where automation adds value and how to fine-tune it for efficiency and impact. Together, these tools bring clarity to what has often been a black box: transforming governance from reactive oversight into proactive optimization.
What’s next for business AI
At SAP Connect, we also shared a view into what’s coming and how our innovations will continue to redefine enterprise productivity. For example, we’re developing an outcome-driven user interface that adapts to context in real time. Instead of navigating menus or searching for data, people will simply express what they want to achieve, and the system will guide them through the right actions, insights, and tools.
We’re also extending Joule Agents beyond software into the physical world—connecting your company’s business intelligence to robotics and industrial systems. This opens a new frontier for automation, combining state of the art electronics that utilize physical AI tools, such as computer vision and collision detection, with AI agents capable of reasoning through complex goals and planning multi-step workflows. Reserve your place at SAP TechEd this November to learn more.
Ready to start your AI journey?
We know AI is top of mind for most business leaders today. In fact, another finding from the research we commissioned with Oxford Economics is that 41 percent of tasks in global businesses will be supported by AI within two years—up from 25 percent today.
As you continue to explore what is possible with business AI, we’ll keep innovating to deliver systems that are intelligent by design, trusted in operation, and, most important, measurable in their impact.
For us, it’s all about what you hope to achieve. We’re proud to partner with you on your AI journey. If you’re ready to take the next step, here are three things you can do right now:
- Learn how to bring the potential of AI into your organization by signing up for our Discover Joule Webinar Series.
- In our Customer Success Collection, get inspired about what’s possible by exploring how leading companies are transforming with AI.
- Watch SAP Connect virtual sessions, now available on demand, to see our latest innovations in action.
There’s more to come. Join us at SAP TechEd on November 4 for the next wave of AI innovations that will transform the enterprise.
Brenda Bown is chief marketing officer for SAP Business AI.
