Why the Near-Term Future of AI in ERP Belongs to ISVs

AI is transforming how organizations think about ERP, but not through the lens of autonomous agents that take over day to day operations of your business. The real change, right now, is being driven by specialist ISVs embedding AI directly into their applications and extensions. 

While Microsoft continues to invest heavily in foundational AI infrastructure--laying the groundwork for Copilot, natural language experiences, and agent frameworks--it’s ISVs who are bringing tangible, business-ready AI experiences to market today. And it is those vendors that may ultimately have the greatest impact on AI adoption across the Microsoft ecosystem, from partners to customers.

For most organizations running Microsoft Dynamics 365 or a legacy version of Dynamics, the path to enterprise-wide AI adoption feels daunting. Building an in-house agent or custom model means confronting enormous data, security, and governance challenges, plus the cost and disruption of reengineering business processes to accommodate them. 

ISVs, however, are quietly changing the equation. They sit closest to customers’ day-to-day operational pain points and are therefore best positioned to deliver targeted, embedded intelligence that fits directly into the workflows companies already use. Whether it’s automating AP approvals, improving demand forecasting, streamlining asset management, maintaining data hygiene, or detecting anomalies in inventory or tax reporting, these vendors are delivering AI built in, not bolted on.