Tech companies are using artificial intelligence to better understand Trump's tariffs

Tech companies are starting to use artificial intelligence tools to understand how various products are affected by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, CNBC reports.

Several companies that spoke to the publication said they are implementing new technologies to visualize a business's global supply chains, from the materials used to create products to where those goods are shipped from.

One such company is Salesforce. The developer of the eponymous CRM system has developed a specialized agent that can "instantly process changes for all 20,000 product categories in the U.S. customs system and then take action." In this way, the company is trying to better navigate changes in customs systems.

To do this, Salesforce used the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, a 4,400-page document on tariffs on goods imported into the United States. The AI agent studied the document and can now provide answers about tariffs. AI also helps Salesforce make decisions much faster about adjusting its global supply chains.

"The sheer pace and complexity of global tariff changes make it nearly impossible for most businesses to keep up manually," said Eric Loeb, executive vice president of government engagement at Salesforce.

Andrew Bell, director of supply chain software development at Kinaxis, said manufacturers and distributors who want to know how to respond to tariffs use his company's systems to assess their products and materials. Kinaxis' system also helps track external signals, such as news and macroeconomic data.

"With that information, we can start doing some of those simulations of, here is a particular part that is in your build material that has a significant tariff. If you switched to using this other part instead, what would the impact be overall?" Bell said in an interview with CNBC.

Zach Cass, a futurist and former head of go-to-market strategy at OpenAI, said the uncertainty surrounding tariffs "is actually probably where AI can shine."

"If you wonder how hard things could get without AI vis-a-vis automation, and what would happen in a world where you can’t just employ a bunch of people overnight, AI presents this alternative proposal," he added.

At the same time, Nagendra Bandaru, managing partner and global head of technology services at Indian IT giant Wipro, emphasizes that artificial intelligence is not a universal solution. According to him, AI is a powerful tool, but it cannot replace trade policy strategy, but only enhances it, transforming global trade from a reactive process to a proactive, data-driven strategy.