by Brad Budde, PPG Vice President and Chief Digital Officer

Artificial intelligence is often described as the defining technology of our time, and the paints and coatings industry stands to benefit significantly. At PPG, we see AI not as a distant possibility but as a catalyst that is already reshaping the way coatings are developed, manufactured and applied. We know that the next era of our industry will be defined by those capable of combining digital intelligence with trusted material science expertise.

For decades, formulation development relied heavily on physical experimentation, which is both time- and resource-intensive. Today, digital tools, such as machine learning models and digital twins, are allowing us to learn quicker and bring products to market faster. At PPG, digital twins for formulations are helping scientists narrow down the most promising chemistries before they ever enter the lab, reducing the number of iterations required to reach a commercially viable product. These tools do not replace physical testing, but they dramatically improve its efficiency. By pairing data-driven insights with deep expertise, our teams are accelerating discovery and delivering better outcomes for customers.

We are also rapidly expanding the role of digital tools in the color selection experience. Through platforms such as the PPG LINQ^® digital ecosystem, the PPG VisualizID^™ product, MaVis^™ and other innovative PPG color visualization tools, customers can access advanced 3D color visualization, view colors under multiple lighting conditions, and evaluate blends and edges without physical spray outs. These tools are enabled by advanced color measurement devices, such as the PPG DigiMatch^™ product, that capture multi-angle imaging data. Outside of the coatings industry, color is often simplified by engineers, designers and architects as the RGB pixels they see on a computer screen. In advanced color rendering scenarios, it’s the aggregate performance of complex chemistry that makes a digital design come to life on a product. Modern color tools connect digital renderings with color formulation that can be achieved in real life scenarios. Together, these technologies streamline the selection and matching process, reducing manual steps and improving productivity for customers.

Coatings manufacturing has always required deep expertise, with complex interactions and rigorous quality expectations across the journey from development to application. Today, AI is helping elevate this discipline even further. PPG’s AI initiatives are designed to accelerate coating decision-making, supporting areas such as predictive performance attributes, process optimization and technical assistance. These approaches are not new to the industry. They already exist in production equipment and sensors where machine learning data models can predict performance to minimize downtime. However, what is new is taking this approach inside the equipment by applying sensors and predictive models to better understand the color and material performance we expect out of a manufacturing process. What’s also new is the magnitude of compute and parallelization of thinking we can apply to the work of expert chemists.

The paints and coatings industry has always been built on innovation. Moving forward, the greatest opportunities lie in the convergence of advanced materials, predictive data-driven insights and accelerated design processes. The companies that will lead the next era of coatings will be those that innovate across the entire value chain, partner closely with customers and embrace the power of data to accelerate decision making. At PPG, we believe the companies that lead in AI will lead the industry, and we are committed to shaping this future responsibly.