German enterprise giant SAP has announced the launch of its new AI assistant, Joule, for its enterprise customers. The assistant, which will be built into SAP’s cloud enterprise suite, aims to “power the outcomes of humans and businesses” by providing valuable insights and solutions. Joule will be available across SAP apps and programs, as well as on desktop and mobile platforms. The assistant combines underlying technology from multiple vendors, including IBM, and leverages real-time customer data for enhanced performance. SAP has also taken measures to ensure that Joule delivers trustworthy and secure AI responses by implementing an “AI Foundation” that filters and analyzes every prompt given to the assistant.
Joule’s capabilities include answering questions in multiple languages and suggesting solutions based on data from various SAP services and third-party sources. This makes the assistant valuable in scenarios like identifying sales issues and providing actionable solutions tied to the supply chain. Joule is designed to be integrated into multiple SAP applications across sectors such as finance, customer experience, and procurement. The assistant maintains context by delving into relevant data from various sources to deliver real-world solutions. SAP has already gained significant experience in AI capabilities, with over 25,000 customers using its previous AI offerings.
The rollout of Joule will begin with SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Start, with plans to extend the assistant to other cloud solutions in the future. SAP’s announcement comes amidst its growing list of AI partnerships with tech giants like Microsoft, Google Cloud, and IBM. The company has also invested in three AI foundation model startups, namely Cohere, Anthropic, and Aleph Alpha. However, Amazon’s recent investment in Anthropic has redirected the startup’s focus towards the e-commerce and cloud services giant. SAP aims to fund AI-focused startups with the backing of Sapphire Ventures, highlighting its commitment to building an expansive enterprise AI ecosystem.