Why GE Appliances Uses Google Gemini AI for Manufacturing

Using Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise, GE Appliances has deployed more than 800 AI agents across its manufacturing, logistics and supply chain operations.

By embedding Gemini Enterprise into its own manufacturing data platform, the company says it has shifted from using AI for problem solving to decision making on the factory floor. 

Matt Renner, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Google Cloud, says: “GE Appliances serves as a model for the agentic enterprise, demonstrating how Gemini Enterprise can be deployed at scale to solve complex, real-world industrial challenges.”

AI in GE Appliances’ manufacturing

GE Appliances, owned by the Chinese electronics and appliance company Haier, has embedded Gemini Enterprise into its Brilliant Factory manufacturing data platform, which tracks production performance, part genealogy and workforce activity across lines, shifts and plants.

Gemini Enterprise is a platform that brings together AI agents, enterprise search, Google’s NotebookLM and intelligent data access.

In a press release, GE Appliances says that by applying AI within this environment, it has shifted from reactive problem solving to real time, data driven decision making on the factory floor.

Matt says: “By building AI agents into their manufacturing processes, they are combining their deep industry experience with modern AI to make faster, better decisions.”

GE Appliances says the embedded AI agents are able to analyse and shift data in minutes rather than hours, which allows teams to identify the root cause of issues faster. Its employees can “talk” to production data to diagnose issues without needed data science support and have a live view of line yields and equipment health.

The impact on supply chains and logistics

In the supply chain, GE Appliances’ Parts Team manages a large logistical network which coordinates with more than 700 part service suppliers, oversees the shipment of roughly 27 million parts and maintains parts availability for at least seven years after a model's production ends. 

The company says it has introduced a supplier collaboration agent to manage communication with more than 600 suppliers which automated status inquiries. The company say this has led to a 25% reduction in backorders. 

GE Appliances has also used Gemini Enterprise to build a Quality Insights AI tool, which helps with product design as well as accelerating improvements in logistics and quality processes. The company says this has uncovered millions of US dollars in improvements opportunities across logistics and operations. 

Marcia Brey, Vice President of Logistics at GE Appliances, says: “We used Gemini Enterprise to create and deploy Quality Insights Assistant to help our teams identify visual patterns faster from customer feedback.

“At our scale, that means we can catch defects sooner and improve product quality, ultimately delivering a better consumer experience."

AI in manufacturing

In Deloitte’s Future of Manufacturing study, which gathered responses from nearly 600 respondents, 87% reported that they had already initiated a pilot of generative AI. 

These tools are set to rapidly change how operations and processes are done in the manufacturing industry, with Deloitte calling the implications of the technology “a paradigm shift that’s redefining the manufacturing landscape”.

Mandar Deo, Vice President of Digital Technology & Chief Digital Officer at GE Appliances, explains: “AI is now integral to the way work gets done at GE Appliances. 

“With hundreds of AI agents already in use across manufacturing and operations, our Digital Technology team is accelerating this AI transformation with Gemini Enterprise to build the secure, connected data foundations necessary to lead the industry in the AI era.”