Ford bet on AI, lost billions and called 350 veterans back to fix computer errors

Ford’s bet on artificial intelligence to raise the quality of its cars backfired — and the solution came from where it was least expected. After years of using AI in its factories in the United States, the automaker has accumulated quality problems that cost billions of dollars, according to Bloomberg. To reverse the situation, it brought back 350 veteran engineers and technicians, some of them former employees, part coming from the brand’s suppliers.

The internal conclusion was that technology alone does not replace the knowledge accumulated in decades of production line. “Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but its effectiveness depends on the information it is trained with,” Charles Poon, vice president of vehicle hardware engineering at Ford, said in a telephone conference quoted by Bloomberg.

According to Poon, the automated systems did not carry the practical repertoire of experienced professionals, capable of identifying weak points before a piece even reaches the factory. “We mistakenly thought that it was enough to introduce AI and enter our design requirements to get a high-quality product,” he said.

Kumar Galhotra, the company’s chief operating officer (COO), acknowledged that the growing reliance on automated quality systems had been delivering results below expectations. The company then started to hold mandatory meetings in which veterans analyze each problem and help reprogram AI tools to anticipate failures.

In J.D. Power’s initial 2026 quality study, released in June, Ford became the highest-rated brand among generalist manufacturers — the first time since 2010 — ahead of traditional names such as Toyota. With 152 problems per 100 vehicles, the automaker ranked third in the overall ranking, behind only premium brands Porsche and Genesis, and recorded the highest annual evolution in the sector. F-150, Mustang and Super Duty led their segments for the second year in a row, and seven of the 10 models evaluated finished in the top three of their categories, the highest performance among manufacturers. In 2023, Ford ranked 15th among generalists.

For Ford, the result crowns a quality effort that has spanned years and reorganized the engineering, manufacturing and supply chain areas. The episode also contrasts with the current industry discourse: amid fears that AI will eliminate millions of jobs, it was veteran labor that the automaker called back to reprogram its own machines.