SAP clients are excited about AI , but too many expect too much. Here, the value of SAP consultants lies in showing what SAP AI can (and can’t) deliver, in the context of their business. Here are some practical ways to educate and advise clients on SAP AI: 🤔👇 🚫 Explain what AI won’t deliver Clients may expect full autonomy or flawless accuracy. Counter this by setting limits. AI supports humans, it doesn’t replace them, so design escalation paths when AI has low confidence. This ensures reliability and trust. 📊 Clarify the business goal Ask: what problem are we solving? AI in SAP should tie to specific outcomes like reducing cycle times or improving forecast accuracy. 📏 Link AI to measurable KPIs Define clear before-and-after metrics. If success isn’t measured in business terms, trust in AI fades. 🔍 Audit embedded AI already licensed Many clients already have AI in S/4HANA, and other SAP solutions. Revealing this “hidden value” builds credibility and quick wins. 🗣️ Communicate in plain English Explain SAP AI as “a new colleague”, fast, tireless, but still needing training and oversight. Present outcomes in business terms. 🤖 Joule as a copilot Frame SAP Joule as an assistant: surfacing insights, suggesting actions, and saving time. It guides, but humans stay accountable. 🗺️ Map interventions inside processes AI doesn’t run entire workflows. It intervenes in specific steps like invoice clearing or ticket categorization where automation saves effort. 🧹 Stress the role of master data AI amplifies data quality, good or bad. Clean, consistent master data is a prerequisite for trustworthy results. 📉 Set data quality thresholds before go-live Agree minimum standards for completeness and accuracy. Without this, AI outputs will frustrate users. 🛡️ Highlight security and compliance guardrails Reassure clients that SAP AI respects regulations. Show how prompts, logs, and approvals are controlled. 📈 Show clients how to scale responsibly Expansion should follow success criteria: proven outcomes, adoption, and data readiness, not hype. ⚖️ Differentiate high-value vs. high-risk AI ideas Steer clients away from attractive but impractical scenarios, focusing instead on proven, lower-risk use cases. 📜 Treat prompts and models as enterprise assets Prompts must be versioned, tested, and portable. Managed well, they become long-term IP, not one-off experiments. The role of SAP consultants is changing. Clients don’t just need implementation, they need educators, advisors, and translators who can guide them through AI-powered transformations. How are you educating your clients about SAP AI? Share your experiences in the comments below ⬇️ #IgniteSAP #SAPCommunity
Totally agree — there’s a lot of excitement around AI, but it’s easy for expectations to run wild. Love the focus on setting realistic goals and tying everything back to business value. Helping clients see what AI can do (and what it shouldn’t) is where consultants really make a difference.
AI is still blunt at the moment but it doesn't mean all AI's Fault. The image reflects implementation without proper scoping, testing, sign off, hyper care. Technology bites if you ask out of the blue to deliver without proper taming it.
IgniteSAP
4w
We would also add that while the consultant’s role is initially to simply explain AI features or demo capabilities, they should then move on to helping clients see where SAP’s AI fits into their long-term IT and business strategy, aligning it with goals, governance, and optimal adoption.
Martin M.
3w
Great insights Angus Macaulay ! On long-running on-premise projects, clients’ high expectations from AI create significant pressure on many consultants who haven’t yet fully embraced the cloud mindset and SAP’s new ecosystem offered through RISE with SAP. Many still feel technically challenged, which often leads to change resistance and could even slow down cloud migration.
Amazing insights Angus, many companies get over zealous and think they can save gobs of money for their shareholders by automation and innovation only come to find out that those very same automation and innovation like AI can fail and will need the very resources that they abandoned. Then they run around like their hair is on fire trying to find consultants to fix them at a higher cost.
Chloe P.
4w
Great breakdown. Too often, AI is sold as magic. It’s our job to ground it in process, data, and business outcomes.
Khalib Baker
3w
Well said! Thank you for saying this. And this should be posted everywhere in every office. For some reason, I think having a realistic mindset like this in the beginning is what creates the best products in the long run. Because it sure is costly to come to this understanding later in the game!
Bret R.
3w
Love this quote "The role of SAP consultants is changing. Clients don’t just need implementation, they need educators, advisors, and translators who can guide them through AI-powered transformations." This is what I do with Ai Experts.
Sehr gute Übersicht und gute Hinweise, wo die Stärken aber auch Schwächen von AI liegen und warum AI keinen Consultant ersetzen kann.
SAP Career Advisor | Connecting top SAP talent with leading companies in Europe | IgniteSAP
4wSpot on the real value consultants bring with SAP AI is not just in implementation, but in helping clients separate hype from reality. Clear KPIs, data quality, and realistic expectations make the difference between AI as a buzzword and AI as a trusted business tool