SAP to Add Generative AI-Powered Assistant Across Business Applications

SAP has unveiled Joule, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant for business operations.

Joule will be integrated into SAP’s cloud enterprise portfolio, providing insights from various sources to help users work more efficiently and achieve better business outcomes, the enterprise application software company said in a Tuesday (Sept. 26) press release.

Joule’s integration into SAP applications, such as human resources (HR), finance, supply chain, procurement and customer experience, as well as the SAP Business Technology Platform, will transform the user experience, according to the release. By asking a question or framing a problem in plain language, employees can receive answers drawn from business data across the SAP portfolio and third-party sources.

Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE, said in the release that Joule has the potential to redefine the way businesses and their employees work. With nearly 300 million enterprise users worldwide regularly utilizing SAP’s cloud solutions, Joule’s capabilities can significantly impact business operations. Klein said Joule will not only understand what users say but also what they mean.

Joule will be available with SAP SuccessFactors solutions and the SAP Start site later this year, followed by integration into SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition in early 2024, according to the press release. SAP Customer Experience and SAP Ariba solutions, along with the SAP Business Technology Platform, will also incorporate Joule in the future. SAP plans to make further announcements about updates across its portfolio at upcoming events.

In addition to Joule, SAP continues to enhance its Business AI offerings, with over 26,000 SAP cloud customers using AI capabilities across multiple solutions, the release said. SAP’s comprehensive strategy to build an enterprise AI ecosystem includes direct investments and third-party partnerships, the company said.

In one recent example, SAP and Google Cloud announced in August an expanded partnership aimed at using the power of data and generative AI for enterprises. The collaboration will combine their open data cloud, using the SAP Datasphere solution with Google Cloud’s Vertex AI to introduce new generative AI-powered industry solutions, starting with the automotive sector.