High Intentions, Limited Adoption
The fourteenth edition of the World Manufacturing Forum opened in Milan, at Palazzo Mezzanotte, with the presentation of the World Manufacturing Report 2026. According to the report, over 60% of manufacturing executives worldwide expect to adopt artificial intelligence agents within two years. The share of those who have already done so remains below 20%: a gap that separates declarations of intent from actual applications.
The event, promoted by the World Manufacturing Foundation, brings together 400 companies, 30 international speakers and 10 production chains, with participants from 21 countries. The setting is a discussion among strategic policy experts, industrial leaders, researchers and innovators, tasked with guiding the manufacturing community through emerging trends and technological opportunities.
The Risk of Project Cancellation
An analysis by Gartner cited in the report tempers expectations. The consulting firm estimates that more than 40% of agentic projects could be cancelled by the end of 2027. The cited causes are rising costs and a value-added contribution deemed insufficient.
The figure should be read alongside the definition used in the material: agents are described as an evolution of generative artificial intelligence models, no longer simple chatbots but autonomous systems capable of planning. It is precisely this leap in complexity that makes the transition from pilot project to structural deployment more uncertain.
Humanoid Robotics: First Commercialization
On the humanoid robotics front, the market has entered its first commercialization phase. Estimates indicate between 13,300 and 16,000 units in 2025, with more than 80% destined for China. The expected use mainly concerns existing production environments rather than new fully automated plants.
The picture that emerges from the report is therefore one of two speeds: on the one hand, the adoption of AI agents is announced on a large scale but remains limited in practice; on the other, humanoid robotics is taking its first commercial steps with a marked geographical concentration. It remains to be seen, over the next two years, whether adoption forecasts will translate into projects that are maintained or whether the cancellation rate estimated by Gartner will scale back expectations.
