The industrial AI shift - trends and predictions shaping 2026

The past year marked a turning point in the global conversation about AI. While 2025 will be remembered by many as the year generative AI slipped into everyday life through chatbots and productivity tools, its most transformative impact was unfolding far from the public eye. In the world’s most critical industrial sectors, AI was not a novelty that landed on our desktops and mobiles, but a catalyst for industrial transformation. Quietly but decisively, Industrial AI began reshaping how the physical world is built, powered, maintained, and connected.

From aerospace and defence to utilities, manufacturing, construction, and telecoms, the organizations that keep societies functioning have moved beyond experimentation and into scaled deployment. 70% of the global workforce doesn’t work behind a desk — AI designed for them is redefining these industries — accelerating the transition toward real-time, predictive, autonomous operations. We are now experiencing the latest Industrial Revolution.

As we approach ...