While using generative AI (GenAI) in business workflows is relatively new, AI technology has existed for decades with early systems designed for basic, human-like decision making and reasoning tasks but with few commercially deployed examples as the costs to implement were high and the technology didn’t warrant full-scale implementations. However, with the introduction of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that made a start in digitizing many procurement processes, AI as we know it today began to emerge. In the early 2000s, Coupa’s cloud-based platform integrated basic AI functionality through spend classification and supplier performance analytics.

Now, AI includes machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and robotic process automation (RPA) along with GenAI, which is expanding the use of AI to a new level and automating more manual tasks to cut costs and increase efficiencies.