Welcome to the SAP Business AI product updates for the first quarter of 2026. Although I'm new to the role of Chief AI Officer, the goal remains the same: support our customers so they can derive real value from AI.

joulesour new user experience, is gaining momentum and is driving improvements for our customers. Customers are already increasing the efficiency of their customer serviceimprove Development processes, accelerate the implementation of projects and much more.

SAP Business AI for finance

Dispute Resolution Agent (for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition)
Beta release

When invoice-related disputes arise, accounts receivable must act quickly without sacrificing accuracy. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition introduces an agent that automates root cause analysis and scans invoices, sales orders, delivery records, pricing agreements, and tax rules to identify the root cause of discrepancies. The agent detects incorrect charges and recommends compliant solutions such as creating credit memos, allowing finance teams to resolve disputes faster, minimize manual investigations, and strengthen relationships with suppliers through transparent, efficient processes.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, AI-powered intelligent home page personalization for applications
General availability

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition users can easily configure their homepage with the applications most relevant to them using AI-powered intelligent personalization. By describing its task in natural language, the system identifies the relevant app, which can then be added to the homepage with a single click. This intuitive feature reduces homepage personalization costs by 33 percent, reduces onboarding time for new users, and improves satisfaction by keeping commonly used tools easily accessible.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, AI-powered explanation of errors
General availability

In the event of system errors, SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition users can rely on a new feature that generates clear explanations and solution recommendations in natural language. This feature converts cryptic error messages into easy-to-understand instructions so that users of all experience levels can quickly resolve issues and continue working. By reducing troubleshooting time by five percent, companies benefit from higher productivity, better data quality and shorter training times for new team members.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, AI-supported creation of customer orders from unstructured data
General availability

Sales reps benefit from a streamlined order creation process in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition that handles unstructured data such as PDF or image-based orders. After uploading a file, SAP Document AI automatically extracts the relevant information and suggests the data for a corresponding sales order request. This automation significantly reduces manual data entry effort, minimizes errors, and improves overall operational efficiency, allowing teams to process orders faster, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, AI-powered processing of payment instructions with SAP Document AI
General availability

Accounts receivable teams can accelerate their workflow with the AI-powered payment instruction processing functionality powered by SAP Document AI in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. The system automatically extracts payment amounts, references and currencies from various invoice formats in multiple languages ​​with a self-learning function that continuously improves recognition accuracy. Companies that implement this feature can reduce document processing time by 70 percent, reduce time spent editing templates by 83 percent, and reduce lost value due to manual processing delays by 40 percent.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, AI-supported explanation of plant key figures
General availability

Asset accounting employees gain clarity when calculating complex assets thanks to a new AI function in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition. The function generates natural language explanations that describe in detail the origin of the displayed values ​​and how values ​​such as depreciation are calculated, e.g. B. the effects of purchases made during the year with certain depreciation keys. This transparency reduces the effort required to analyze asset values, enables faster answers to asset-related questions and helps mitigate compliance risks.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, AI-powered billing rule proposal for asset activation
General availability

Accounting teams in overhead and facilities can now streamline the complex process of creating accounting rules for capital expenditures, eliminating typically time-consuming, error-prone manual configuration. The solution automatically discovers recipients, calculates percentages, and suggests acceptable rules based on contextual data and custom instruction profiles. Companies reduce the effort required to create complete billing rules by 50 percent while improving the accuracy of asset activation and the overall operational efficiency of their financial processes.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP Document and Reporting Compliance for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition, AI-supported error handling for electronic documents
General availability

Tax accountants navigating the growing complexity of e-invoicing regulations in multiple jurisdictions gain an easy way to decipher technical errors without having to wade through complicated XML or JSON formats. Joule, integrated with SAP Document and Reporting Compliance, provides plain language explanations of errors in electronic documents. This enables faster identification of causes and more efficient troubleshooting. Companies can reduce the time spent understanding and resolving errors by 80 percent – from 150 minutes to around 30 minutes. This results in faster processing cycles, reduced risk of penalties and improved cash flow.

You can find detailed information here.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, AI-supported error resolution for cost accounting
General availability

Retail operations managers can now access Joule through SAP Order Management Services. This allows them to query order data and receive role-specific operational guidance on order processing, orchestration, procurement, availability, returns and order fulfillment processes in real time. Joule provides instant insights and recommended actions directly in the workflow, eliminating the need to navigate multiple systems. This enables proactive intervention before problems escalate. The feature provides faster access to transactions, greater responsiveness and accuracy, and lower operational risk, supporting smarter and faster decisions across the entire order lifecycle.

You can find detailed information here.

Jonathan von Rüden is Chief AI Officer at SAP SE.

*Disclaimer: This article describes the expected benefits for companies. All calculations are estimates based on SAP customer case studies, SAP benchmarks and other research. Actual benefits may vary and may be affected by additional factors not considered in this article. The information is provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. SAP assumes no responsibility for any damages associated with the use of this article. On the side https://www.sap.com/legal-notice Please see “Legal Notice” for the terms of use, disclaimers, mandatory disclosures and restrictions applicable to this material.