Overcoming Roadblocks to AI Adoption in Innovation

Early adopters of AI in new product development (NPD), such as Siemens, GE, Nestlé, and Pfizer, have seen significant performance improvements, including faster development times and enhanced product designs. Despite these successes, global adoption of AI for NPD remains low, with only 13 percent of firms using it by early 2023. Key barriers include low perceived business value, lack of management commitment, and trust issues. To overcome these challenges, companies should focus on building strong business cases, ensuring senior leadership support, and addressing trust and infrastructure concerns. A strategic, top-driven approach to AI adoption is recommended to fully realize its potential in NPD.

Robert G. Cooper is ISBM Distinguished Research Fellow at Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business Administration, professor emeritus at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business (Canada), and a Crawford Fellow of the Product Development and Management Association. He has published 11 books and more than 150 articles on the management of new products. He has won the Innovation Research Interchange’s prestigious Maurice Holland Award three times. Cooper holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and a PhD in business and an MBA from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada