Companies adopting artificial intelligence early in Turkey’s $608 billion manufacturing sector are achieving double-digit productivity gains.

According to experts gathering at GITEX AI Turkey, the primary obstacle preventing Turksh manufacturers from scaling AI applications from pilot phases to full-scale production processes is no longer technology, but data governance.
The growing role of artificial intelligence in Turkey’s $608 billion manufacturing sector holds the potential to drive a major transformation in industrial productivity. Experts point out that early adopters of this transformative technology are already achieving double-digit improvements in productivity, costs, and quality.
The "AI-native production" approach—where manufacturing processes are designed around core AI systems from the very outset—is beginning to take shape within Turkish industry. According to World Bank data, the manufacturing sector accounts for one-fifth of Turkey’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
MEXT, Turkey’s leading industrial transformation and competence development center, has assessed over 200 Turkish manufacturers using its proprietary AI maturity methodology, AIxplore. The study revealed that while AI maturity levels vary across factories and sectors, Turkey is making rapid progress in this field. Efe Erdem, General Manager of MEXT and one of the more than 100 speakers at GITEX Ai Türkiye—a technology and artificial intelligence event debuting at the Istanbul Expo Center on September 9–10, 2026—stated, “The gains achieved by companies that adopt AI-driven manufacturing early on are becoming increasingly measurable. These companies boost production output by 10–20% and employee productivity by 7–20%, while reducing unplanned downtime by 10–30% and energy consumption by 5–15%.”

Erdem, who will participate in a discussion on the future of AI-driven manufacturing at GITEX Ai Türkiye, noted that the greatest benefit of artificial intelligence in Turkey’s manufacturing sector is realized when the technology becomes an integral part of core business processes rather than remaining merely an isolated experiment.
Erdem continued: “We see that artificial intelligence creates value far beyond the production floor. In one project, an agentic AI solution reduced the proposal preparation process—which previously took days—to mere minutes, while also improving pricing accuracy and the speed of customer responses.”

Lina Hushki, Director of Innovation and Digital Transformation at the Amman Chamber of Industry (Jordan)—who will speak at the upcoming ‘The Intelligent Factory’ session—noted that facilities in Turkey holding ‘Lighthouse’ status (awarded by the World Economic Forum to factories successfully utilizing advanced digital technologies) have also achieved significant gains through the early adoption of AI.

Hushki stated, “At Arçelik’s Eskişehir factory—a Lighthouse facility in Turkey—AI-driven decisions have led to a reported 20% reduction in customer complaints, a 43% increase in capacity, and a 17% drop in conversion costs. These are tangible results from a real-world factory. However, while there are hundreds of thousands of factories globally, only 238 have been designated as Lighthouses. Therefore, these figures should be viewed not as definitive outcomes, but as a reference indicating a general trend.”

The real obstacle is data infrastructure, not technology
Erdem, who will address Turkey’s AI maturity gap in manufacturing during the ‘Beyond the AI ​​Factory — What Is the Next Industrial Advantage?’ fireside chat at GITEX AI Turkey 2026, noted that while the transition to AI-native production lines is accelerating in Turkey, the biggest mistake manufacturers make is attempting to scale AI applications too early.
Erdem stated, “Many manufacturers are launching multiple AI pilots simultaneously without delivering measurable business value in a single process or establishing a robust OT data governance infrastructure. Scaling AI does not simply mean deploying more models; successful scaling requires reliable data, standardized processes, and a strong governance structure across both IT and OT environments.”
Noting that the automotive sector is spearheading Turkey’s AI adoption process—driven by machine vision and predictive maintenance applications—Erdem added: “Manufacturers of home appliances and electronics are also making rapid progress, thanks to their strong export capabilities and experience in global markets. In these markets, digital competitiveness, quality, and operational excellence are among the key factors that set companies apart.”
A Jordan-Turkey perspective on the same AI transformation
Hushki, who leads AI readiness initiatives at the Amman Chamber of Industry in Jordan, will offer a regional perspective during the ‘The Intelligent Factory — From Industry 4.0 Pilots to AI-Native Production’ panel at GITEX AI Turkey. Hushki notes that Turkey’s model factory network serves as an example for other countries seeking to implement AI and advanced manufacturing technologies on a smaller scale.
Identifying predictive maintenance, image-based quality control, energy optimization, production planning, and digital information systems as the most viable areas for industrial cooperation between Turkey and Jordan, Hushki highlighted that Turkish manufacturers possess strengths in production scale, engineering expertise, and technology provision, while Jordanian companies offer advantages such as environments conducive to rapid implementation and testing, as well as access to regional markets.
Hushki stated, “Jordanian and Turkish manufacturers can collaborate on joint pilot projects, supplier development programs, applied research, and shared industrial AI solutions. While Turkish companies stand out for their production scale, engineering expertise, and technology provider networks, Jordanian companies offer agile testing environments, skilled engineering teams, and access to regional markets.”
A gathering shaping the future of AI in Türkiye and Eurasia
These two sessions represent just a portion of the comprehensive program at GITEX Ai Türkiye, one of the country’s most international events in the fields of technology and AI. The two-day event—held for the first time—will feature over 300 participating companies and startups, 100 global speakers, and more than 100 investors. Expected to draw thousands of technology executives from around the world, the event will connect Türkiye’s rapidly growing AI ecosystem with global expertise, investment, and new business opportunities.
Confirmed participants include global technology giants driving the next-generation intelligence economy, such as Google Cloud, HPE & NVIDIA, AWS, ASUS, Dell Technologies, Huawei, SAP, Schneider Electric, and TrendAI. Regional participants include Türkiye’s $16.5 billion e-commerce giant Trendyol; the country’s leading AI and fintech platform, Andevos; and Halkbank, a prominent public bank specializing in SME banking.
GITEX Ai Türkiye is organized by the Investment and Finance Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (Invest in Türkiye) in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye. This event, taking place for the first time, is being realized with the support of GITEX—the world’s largest event network for technology, artificial intelligence, and investment—and organized by inD.