Polish companies are expanding their use of artificial intelligence, but most managers are not ready to hand over full control of key processes. SAP Poland’s latest AI Readiness Index shows that no more than one in three respondents would allow AI to operate fully autonomously in selected tasks.
The results suggest that the hesitation is not simply resistance to AI. Companies appear more willing to automate predictable, measurable processes with clear rules than activities that require broader business context, judgement or accountability.
Managers draw clear boundaries around AI autonomy
The greatest openness to full autonomy appears in logistics. Thirty-two percent of managers responsible for logistics would allow AI to optimise routes and deliveries without human intervention.
Another 31% would accept autonomous AI for shift planning and staffing in HR, and the same share would allow it to detect faults and manage machine servicing in manufacturing. In procurement, 30% would permit autonomous supplier-offer selection.
Readiness is lower in the other processes covered by the survey, indicating that companies are expanding AI autonomy selectively rather than treating it as an all-or-nothing decision.
“The change we are seeing is not about replacing people with technology, but about redistributing work within teams. AI can take over more repetitive tasks, while assessment, decision-making and relationship-building remain human responsibilities.” — Katarzyna Rusek, Vice-President and People & Culture Director at SAP Poland
Early AI job cuts are not always permanent
The survey sits within a wider debate about how AI will affect employment. Early implementations are challenging the assumption that automating tasks leads directly to permanently lower headcount.
Robert Half data cited by SAP indicate that 32% of US managers who eliminated positions after introducing AI later restored the same or similar roles. Reasons included the need for context, relationship management and more human oversight than initially expected.
Gartner has separately forecast that by 2029, 30% of workers dismissed as a result of AI substitution will need to be rehired. Both findings point less to a reversal of automation than to a redesign of roles and a better division of work between people and systems.
65% of surveyed companies provide AI-related training
As AI takes over more routine operations, companies are also changing the skills they expect from employees. In SAP Poland’s survey, 65% of managers said their organisations provide training or upskilling programmes related to AI.
Digital skills are increasingly about more than knowing how to operate a tool. Employees need to understand when a task can be delegated to AI, how to assess its output and when a human decision is still required.
“The future of work will depend on teams that can combine human capabilities with AI effectively. Systems may perform selected operations increasingly independently, but people still set direction, make decisions and remain accountable for outcomes.” — Katarzyna Rusek
Autonomy depends on governance as much as technology
An autonomous enterprise therefore does not necessarily mean a company in which AI acts without people. It means an organisation that can deliberately divide responsibility between people and technology, with appropriate oversight, transparent rules and employees capable of evaluating AI-generated results.
SAP Poland’s AI Readiness Index: The Road to an Autonomous Enterprise was conducted in August 2026 by UCE Research using the CAWI method. The survey covered 411 managers from companies with at least 50 employees who influence IT-spending decisions in their teams or business areas. Every participating organisation already used at least one AI solution in day-to-day work.
