Schneider Electric's AI Playbook

From Hype to Impact: It's Not About the Tech

As artificial intelligence moves swiftly from labs to the industrial frontline, the real challenge for enterprises isn’t the sophistication of the technology—it’s whether the organization can keep pace.

During the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Philippe Rambach, Schneider Electric’s Global SVP and Chief AI Officer, shared a clear perspective: “The value of AI isn’t in its technical edge—it lies in how deeply the organization integrates it into the business.”

For Schneider Electric—a global leader in energy management and industrial automation—this means anchoring AI in real business needs, redesigning organizational structures, and building a powerful innovation ecosystem.

Strategy First: Let Business Lead the Technology

“At Schneider Electric, we don’t chase AI for its own sake. We begin with business problems,” Rambach said.

This approach flips the usual script. Instead of searching for use cases to justify AI tools, Schneider starts with a specific operational need. Any AI project must pass two filters: does it solve a real problem, and is there proven business demand?

This “business-first” principle is evident in how Schneider fuses its deep domain knowledge with AI. At the conference, the company showcased AI innovations across sectors like consumer goods, oil & gas, data centers, smart buildings, and the future grid. One highlight: the EcoStruxure Edge Intelligence Box—an edge device offering real-time data capture, analytics, and intelligent control. It’s designed for flexible, secure, and efficient automation in energy and industry environments.

The results speak volumes. In 2024, digital business accounted for 57% of Schneider Electric’s revenue—a direct outcome of its focus on AI solutions that drive cost savings, efficiency, and carbon reduction.

Breaking the Silos: Cross-Functional Teams Drive AI Integration

Traditional industrial enterprises often operate in vertical silos—energy management here, automation there, software over there. But that model doesn’t work in the age of AI. Schneider’s solution: cross-functional “fusion teams” that blend diverse skillsets.

AI isn’t just for data scientists anymore. It’s becoming a baseline skill—like using Excel. Schneider offers mandatory training to help employees across departments understand and apply AI in their daily tasks. Through initiatives like the “AI Everywhere” and “Digital Citizen” programs, 90% of employees will be digitally fluent by the end of 2025, forming the talent backbone of its AI transformation.

Ecosystem Power: Building an AI Innovation Network

No company wins alone in AI. Real innovation happens in ecosystems. Schneider has built a dynamic, open network—collaborating with developers, system integrators, technology providers, and academic institutions.

“These partnerships are essential,” Rambach emphasized. “AI doesn’t work in isolation. The fastest path to impact is co-innovation.”

To support this, Schneider launched its Innovation at Every Level initiative in 2020. By 2025, the program’s sixth edition zeroes in on “AI + Industry,” aiming to accelerate scalable deployments through collaboration between startups, SMEs, and large enterprises.

The Blueprint for Transformation

Schneider Electric’s AI journey reflects three core principles:

• No blind tech-chasing: Every solution starts from a real-world business problem.

• No rigid structures: AI demands agile, cross-functional collaboration.

• No solo missions: Ecosystems amplify capabilities and accelerate scale.

From Beijing’s AI innovation lab to smart factories in Shanghai and Wuxi, and talent partnerships with local universities, Schneider is building momentum in every direction. Its goal is clear: to evolve rapidly in local markets and fuel AI’s industrial-scale deployment with the right mix of technology, people, and partnerships.

In the AI era, this playbook of purposeful, organization-driven transformation may prove more powerful than any algorithm alone.