Trimble: Taking Artificial Intelligence in Trucking Beyond Faster Tasks

At Insight 2026, Trimble executives argued that fleets may need to redesign workflows to get more from AI as it introduced new products and enhancements. AI’s value will depend on how fleets combine automation with their people's knowledge.

When factories first adopted electric motors, many owners replaced their steam engines with one large motor and kept running the same complex system of belts, shafts, and pulleys. According to Trimble President and CEO Rob Painter, the bigger productivity gains came later, when factories put smaller motors on individual machines and rearranged the work around them.

“Today, AI is our electric motor,” Painter told attendees at the 2026 Trimble Insight Conference in San Diego.

His point for trucking fleets: AI can make existing tasks faster. Getting more from it may mean rethinking how work moves between people and systems.

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