Foreword Industrial operations are crossing a historic threshold, one where intelligence becomes the organizing principle of how the world designs, makes and moves. For decades, progress was defined by automation, integration and scale. Today, a new paradigm is emerging where operational systems perceive context, anticipate change and coordinate semi-autonomously across factories, enterprises and global value networks. This outlook report has been developed by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture and is part of the Forum's Industries in the Intelligent Age White Paper Series. Informed by multiple dialogues across industry, technology and academia, it reflects a shared perspective on how this shift is reshaping the industrial landscape. What distinguishes this moment is the convergence of frontier technologies into a new operational fabric. Advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins and cyber-physical systems are no longer deployed in isolation; together, they enable environments that learn from every interaction, reconfigure in the face of disruption and continuously evolve through execution. Intelligence has moved beyond being an overlay to becoming an integral part of operational systems, enabling organizations to respond faster to change and make better decisions across the value chain. This transformation is not purely technical; it raises new questions around trust, security and sustainability. As autonomy expands, leaders must determine how intelligence scales up responsibly and how they should strengthen governance, reshape operating models and prepare the workforce to collaborate with systems that increasingly act, reason and coordinate alongside them. We hope this report will help industrial leaders to navigate the shift towards intelligent, adaptive operations, as well as to frame strategic choices, set investment priorities and build capabilities. The opportunity ahead is profound: to build industrial systems that are not only more adaptive but fundamentally more capable than in any previous generation.Kiva Allgood Managing Director, World Economic ForumChristian Souche Managing Director, Accenture Intelligent Industrial Operations Outlook 2026 April 2026 Intelligent Industrial Operations Outlook 2026 3