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.

Currently available in 35 solutions, Joule will continue to serve our customers where they need it: in the applications they use and with a deep understanding of their business context and data. That's why we're integrating Joule into additional applications in the first quarter – from SAP Datasphere, where it can now perform tasks or explain specific functions, to SAP Intelligent Clinical Supply Management, where users can use natural language to retrieve critical data and navigate to relevant applications.

Joule Agents, like the tender analysis agent, increase customer revenue growth by extracting key requirements and highlighting risks in complex documents. Project managers, in turn, save time setting up projects with the new project setup agent in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. There are also many other agents, which are explained in more detail below.

Agents are emerging as an important new user group of – and enablers for – enterprise software. They encounter humans as the only other non-deterministic operators while expanding the scope and usefulness of enterprise software. Our agents will continue to deliver trusted, repeatable and verifiable results with every interaction.

We now have more than 40 specialized agents and more than 2,400 Joule skills. Thanks to the agent-to-agent protocol, our agents can be used in SAP systems as well as in systems from other providers. As the number of agents in both areas grows, the SAP AI Agent Hub already provides customers with the necessary infrastructure and guidance to manage, control and explore agents in this new ecosystem.

Some highlights from the first quarter of 2026:

• SAP Joule for Consultants is a conversational AI solution that provides expert guidance on cloud transformations and is based on the SAP knowledge base. To improve trust and traceability, references are now displayed in their own page area and can be grouped for better clarity. Administrators can enable web search so Joule can access public content. The sources remain clearly identifiable. For tailored responses to issues for which the system may not contain custom documentation, advisors can now upload up to ten PDF or text files directly into the chat. This is complemented by the integration of content from the SAP Enterprise Architecture Reference Library, which provides more comprehensive and accurate answers to complex queries.
• SAP Business AI for the supply chain minimizes interruptions and simplifies planning. The Project Setup Agent allows project managers to quickly set up new projects by leveraging data from previous initiatives. SAP Integrated Business Planning users can now create complex formulas in Microsoft Excel using natural language. SAP Digital Manufacturing can transform complex manufacturing problems into clear descriptions. Joule also helps SAP Integrated Product Development users create problem reports and requirements models using simple natural language commands.
• SAP Business AI for finance offers greater efficiency and insights into important processes. Joule now translates complex electronic invoicing errors into simple language. Dispute Resolution Agent automates root cause analysis for invoice disputes, while payment advice processing significantly reduces document turnaround time. Unstructured data like PDFs can now be automatically converted into customer orders, and accountants can access natural language explanations for complex fixed asset calculations. Users can personalize their homepage and easily understand system errors using natural language in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.
• SAP Business AI for Procurement and Customer Experience improves the entire commercial processes through new functions. In procurement, the automated creation of service descriptions in SAP Fieldglass shortens the time for defining service scopes. With the catalog optimization agent, e-commerce managers can continuously improve the quality of product data. In retail, managers get instant, conversational responses from Joule to order management data.
• SAP Business AI for IT and developers puts the latest tools right at the fingertips of developers and data scientists, giving them more control. Joule is now generally available in SAP Datasphere, meaning users can navigate the platform, get answers, and complete tasks using simple, conversational language. The Generative AI Hub in AI Foundation continues to expand, providing developers with access to the latest models, including OpenAI GPT 5.2, Gemini 3.0 Pro, Anthropic Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 4.6. Developers also benefit from enhanced features such as advanced prompt optimization, metadata filtering, and declarative configuration options for orchestration in the prompt registry. Additionally, SAP Document AI now offers more granular control options with custom confidence thresholds and expanded document support.
• SAP Business AI for industries includes specialized AI to solve unique business challenges. Sales teams can speed up their response process with the new RFP Analyzer agent. This agent automates the review of complex tender documents to improve success rates. Joule now also works in SAP Commodity Management, meaning oral or written negotiations can be converted directly into detailed business drafts. In the life sciences industry, clinical care professionals can use predictive analytics to reduce costs associated with wasted inventory. Joule also significantly reduces the time it takes to search for information. The SAP Self-Billing Cockpit automates the extraction of invoice data from any format, resulting in significantly shorter manual processing times.
• SAP Business AI for Business Transformation Management provides key insights critical to managing and accelerating organizational change. Joule is now available in SAP Signavio and enables natural language search, reducing the time it takes to find information. Business process model simulations and notations in SAP Signavio deliver clear, actionable summaries directly into process diagrams. In the meantime, enterprise architects can use the guidance in SAP LeanIX to gain meaningful insights directly from their architecture inventory. This speeds up the implementation of transformations and shortens the time it takes to gain insights.

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 related to 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.