Verified
Sherwin-Williams
Experimenting- Paints and coatings
- 64,249 staff
- Ask Henry on GPT-5
- AI demand planning
- No AI-credited return reported
Sherwin-Williams deploys AI as tools for its sales, store and planning staff: Ask Henry, an assistant built on GPT-5 and the company's own knowledge base, runs inside its CRM and sales platforms, supply chain planners use AI tools to forecast demand, and the Color Expert app recommends paint colors to homeowners. A Jul 2026 job posting describes an AI Center of Excellence, an SVP of Global AI Transformation and Microsoft Copilot among its enterprise AI platforms. Sherwin-Williams has reported no return or user count it credits to AI.
sherwin-williams.comTheir approach to AI
- The platform
- Sherwin-Williams embeds Ask Henry, an AI assistant built on GPT-5 and its own knowledge base, in its Insight and sales platforms (Sep 2026), and a Jul 2026 job posting names Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry among its enterprise AI platforms.
- The models
- OpenAI's GPT-5 powers Ask Henry, according to Sherwin-Williams's Sep 2026 investor presentation; Microsoft partner Improving says it built an internal ChatGPT-style platform for Sherwin-Williams on Azure OpenAI, without a date.
- The reach
- Sherwin-Williams gives no count of employees using AI; Justin Binns said in Sep 2026 that AI tools, Ask Henry included, are with the company's roughly 3,500 field reps on every call, and Heidi Petz said the goal is to equip about 10,000 store staff.
- The catch
- Sherwin-Williams has reported no cost, headcount or revenue return it credits to AI; Heidi Petz said in Sep 2026 that the company expects improvement and wants to measure sales lift and productivity, and its restructuring savings are not credited to AI.
Snapshot
- Employees
- 64,249
- Dec 31, 2025 (2025 Form 10-K); more than 5,400 stores and branches (Sep 2026)
- Technology budget
- Not disclosed
- Capital spending held at about 2% of sales (Ben Meisenzahl, Sep 2026); a multi-year IT upgrade is under way
- AI/ML headcount
- Not disclosed
- A Jul 2026 job posting describes an AI Center of Excellence led by a vice president
- Who owns AI
- SVP, Global AI Transformationest.
- Role named in a Jul 2026 job posting; Sherwin-Williams has not named the holder
- Platform
- Ask Henry, plus Microsoft Copilot
- Ask Henry in Insight and sales platforms (Sep 2026); Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry per a Jul 2026 job posting
- Models
- OpenAI GPT-5
- In Ask Henry (Sep 2026); Azure OpenAI per vendor Improving, undated
- Reach
- Not disclosedest.
- AI tools, Ask Henry included, with about 3,500 field reps on every call, per Justin Binns (Sep 2026)
- Use cases
- Sales assistant, demand planning, color app
- Plus CRM next best actions and R&D literature analysis
Key findings
Sherwin-Williams has reported no cost, headcount or revenue return it credits to AI on any earnings call from Jul 2025 to Oct 2026 or at its Sep 24, 2026 Financial Community Presentation, where Heidi Petz said the company expects improvement from AI tools and wants to measure sales lift and productivity.
Sherwin-Williams showed Ask Henry, an AI assistant built on GPT-5 and the company's own knowledge base and named after founder Henry Sherwin, at its Sep 24, 2026 investor presentation; Justin Binns said AI tools, Ask Henry included, are with the company's roughly 3,500 field reps on every call.
Sherwin-Williams's supply chain planning teams use AI tools to respond faster to shifts in customer demand, Colin Davie said on Sep 24, 2026, and the 2025 Annual Report says the company is increasingly using AI to drive productivity and insights across multiple value streams.
A Sherwin-Williams job posting removed on Jul 30, 2026 describes an SVP of Global AI Transformation, a vice president running an AI Center of Excellence, a Senior Director of AI Technology, and Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry as enterprise AI platforms, with Board reporting on AI ROI.
Sherwin-Williams's 2026 proxy statement lists artificial intelligence among the operational risks in its enterprise risk program, which CFO Ben Meisenzahl facilitates, and its Chief Information Security Officer reports to the CFO (2025 Form 10-K).
Where Sherwin-Williams sits
- Stage
- Experimenting
Sherwin-Williams has reported no business return it credits to AI since May 2025: its earnings calls from Jul 2025 to Oct 2026, its 2025 Annual Report and Form 10-K, and its Sep 24, 2026 Financial Community Presentation put no cost, headcount or revenue figure on its own use of AI, and the restructuring savings it reported in 2025 and 2026 are not credited to AI. At the Sep 2026 presentation Heidi Petz said Sherwin-Williams expects improvement and wants to measure sales lift and productivity from AI tools, and CFO Ben Meisenzahl said the company wants to see returns before it scales AI further. Sherwin-Williams has not reported a company-wide rollout either: Justin Binns said AI tools, Ask Henry included, are with its roughly 3,500 field reps on every call, but that covers one group out of 64,249 employees, gives no count of active users, and no executive is publicly named as owner of AI. Sherwin-Williams's AI work since May 2025 is on the public record, from the 2025 Annual Report's statement that it is increasingly using AI for productivity to Ask Henry, AI demand planning and a Jul 2026 posting for an AI Center of Excellence, so Sherwin-Williams is at Experimenting rather than Unknown. A sales, productivity or cost return Sherwin-Williams credits to Ask Henry or AI planning, or a stated count of employees using its AI tools under a named owner, would move Sherwin-Williams to Piloting.
How the stages are defined - Ownership
- SVP, Global AI Transformation, with an AI Center of Excellence (Jul 2026 job posting); holder not named by Sherwin-Williams
- Platform
- Hybrid: Ask Henry on GPT-5 with in-house data; Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI Foundry
- Models
- OpenAI GPT-5 in Ask Henry; Microsoft Copilot; Azure OpenAI per a vendor
- Hosting
- Not disclosed; a Jul 2026 job posting points to Microsoft platforms, and vendor Improving says it built on Azure OpenAI
- Reach
- Not disclosed; AI tools with about 3,500 field reps on calls (Sep 2026)
How they deploy
AI under the digitization priority
Sherwin-Williams files AI under digitization, one of its enterprise strategic priorities. Heidi Petz said on Sep 24, 2026 that Sherwin-Williams uses data, AI and process discipline to improve forecasting, raise sales and service productivity and make the company easier to do business with, and the Sep 2026 presentation grouped AI work into data, customer engagement, sales enablement and operations.
Frontline sales first
Heidi Petz said in Sep 2026 that Sherwin-Williams wants AI to act as a multiplier for about 10,000 store employees, so that its most junior frontline staff can answer sophisticated contractors with confidence, in stores where turnover runs 7% to 9%. Justin Binns said Sherwin-Williams uses data from its CRM, which holds what the company calls the world's largest database of painting contractors, to create next best actions for its sales teams.
Returns before scale
Ben Meisenzahl said on Sep 24, 2026 that Sherwin-Williams is taking steps into AI, will look to get a return on each investment and use those returns to fund more, and is reviewing each business unit and end-to-end process to modernize it, including formulation and back-office work. Heidi Petz said on the Q2 2026 call that Sherwin-Williams is using AI where it makes sense and where it helps, as part of making its store platform more productive.
Systems modernization alongside AI
Sherwin-Williams is in a multi-year phased process to upgrade and harmonize parts of its information technology systems, including financial processing systems, which its 2025 Form 10-K calls a complex, enterprise-wide initiative with significant investment. Ben Meisenzahl tied AI to ERP modernization and CRM work on the Q2 2026 call, saying whoever reads demand signals fastest will win a disproportionate share.
- Deployment model
- Sherwin-Williams runs AI through enterprise teams with use in the business units. A Jul 2026 job posting describes an SVP of Global AI Transformation who receives Board-ready progress reports, an AI Center of Excellence led by a vice president, a Senior Director of AI Technology, Microsoft platform owners and the Enterprise Technology Group, with business units, Finance, HR, Legal and Cyber as partners. Ask Henry sits inside the sales platforms used by Global Architectural reps, AI planning tools sit with Global Supply Chain, and the Color Expert app serves homeowners directly. Sherwin-Williams has not published how these teams report to the executive officers.
- Model providers
- Sherwin-Williams's Sep 2026 investor presentation says Ask Henry runs on GPT-5 combined with a Sherwin-Williams knowledge base. A Jul 2026 job posting asks for reporting on Microsoft Copilot, Co-Work, Copilot Studio, agent activity and token consumption, and lists Azure AI Foundry familiarity as a preferred skill. Microsoft partner Improving says, without dates, that it built Sherwin Assist for Sherwin-Williams as a ChatGPT-based platform on Azure OpenAI in 3 weeks and as a search tool over more than 600,000 product data sheets using Azure AI Search and Document Intelligence. Sherwin-Williams has not named the model behind the Color Expert app.
- Data and infrastructure
- Sherwin-Williams has not said where its AI models run. A Jul 2026 job posting points to Microsoft platforms (Copilot, Copilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry), and Microsoft partner Improving says Sherwin Assist runs on Azure OpenAI, approved by the company's CISO so that trade secrets stay protected. Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Form 10-K says some of its information technology systems are maintained or operated by third-party providers, including cloud-based systems, and the 2025 Annual Report lists enterprise data quality and governance among its digitization work in 2025. Ask Henry draws on internal data and expertise, and Justin Binns said in Sep 2026 that the tool is internal.
Platforms and internal tools
Ask HenryBy Sep 2026
Ask Henry is Sherwin-Williams's AI assistant embedded in its Insight and sales platforms, named after founder Henry Sherwin, that mines internal data and expertise so sales and service employees can answer customers' questions faster and more consistently. Justin Binns said on Sep 24, 2026 that Sherwin-Williams's AI capabilities, Ask Henry included, are with field reps on every customer interaction and that Ask Henry will show up more in stores.
- Users
- Field reps, per Justin Binns; no user count (Sep 2026)
- Models
- OpenAI GPT-5 plus a Sherwin-Williams knowledge base
Sherwin-Williams Color Expert appMay 2024
Sherwin-Williams Color Expert is a free consumer app that uses AI to detect colors already in a room, such as art and furniture, from a photo and recommend wall colors, with ordering of color chips and peel-and-stick samples. Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Annual Report reports increased adoption of Color Expert, Color Visualizer and the PRO+ app, without figures.
Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry
Microsoft Copilot, Co-Work and Copilot Studio are among the enterprise AI platforms a Sherwin-Williams job posting, removed on Jul 30, 2026, asks its new director to report on, alongside agent activity and token consumption. Sherwin-Williams has not announced a Copilot rollout or user count.
Sherwin Assist
Sherwin Assist is described by Microsoft partner Improving, without dates, as a secure ChatGPT-based platform on Azure OpenAI for translation and summarization, built in 3 weeks with a Power Apps interface, and as an AI search tool over Sherwin-Williams's more than 600,000 product data sheets. Sherwin-Williams has not mentioned Sherwin Assist in its own materials.
- Models
- Azure OpenAI (vendor account)
Vendors and partners
OpenAIBy Sep 2026
GPT-5 model behind Ask Henry · Sherwin-Williams's Sep 2026 investor presentation names GPT-5 but not whether Sherwin-Williams reaches it through OpenAI directly or through Microsoft Azure.
MicrosoftBy Jul 2026
Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry as enterprise AI platforms · Named in a Sherwin-Williams job posting, which also refers to Microsoft platform owners inside the company.
Improving
Microsoft partner that says it built Sherwin Assist on Azure OpenAI · Vendor account, undated, marked internal use only.
Quid
AI-powered literature analysis for R&D · Quid says a Sherwin-Williams information specialist's team uses its platform for literature analysis and technical landscaping, starting with mold and mildew prevention research; undated.
Leadership
AI, data and platform leaders
Executives
AI org map
Enterprise AI transformation office and AI Center of Excellence, with use in the business units
Sherwin-Williams has no AI executive among its executive officers. A Jul 2026 job posting describes an SVP of Global AI Transformation who prepares Board-ready progress updates, an AI Center of Excellence led by a vice president, and a Senior Director of AI Technology working with Microsoft platform owners and the Enterprise Technology Group. Sherwin-Williams's AI tools sit in Global Architectural (Ask Henry, CRM next best actions) and in Global Supply Chain (AI demand planning), while the CFO facilitates the enterprise risk program that covers AI risk and oversees the CISO.
Sherwin-Williams has not published how many people work on AI, data or technology. A Jul 2026 job posting describes an SVP of Global AI Transformation, an AI Center of Excellence led by a vice president, a Senior Director of AI Technology, Microsoft platform owners and the Enterprise Technology Group, and none of these leaders appears among Sherwin-Williams's executive officers in its 2025 Form 10-K. Sherwin-Williams employed 64,249 people at the end of 2025, including about 10,000 store staff and roughly 3,500 field reps, according to Heidi Petz and Justin Binns in Sep 2026.
Reporting lines
Chair, President and CEO
Heidi Petz
Finance
Ben Meisenzahl, CFO
Facilitates the enterprise risk program, which lists AI under operational risk (2026 proxy statement)
Cybersecurity
Chief Information Security Officer, not named
CISO in the role since 2022 (2025 Form 10-K)
Global Architectural
Justin Binns, President
Ask Henry and CRM next best actions for about 3,500 field reps; line to the CEO inferred
Global Supply Chain
Colin Davie, President and GM
Embedded within the Consumer Brands Group (2025 Annual Report); AI tools in demand planning
Digital and technology
Keith Valore, SVP and Chief Digital and Technology Officer (third-party directory)
Reporting line not published
Global AI Transformation
SVP, Global AI Transformation, not named
Role described in a Jul 2026 job posting; reporting line not published
AI Center of Excellence
Vice President, not named
Inferred from the Jul 2026 job posting, which pairs the 2
Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Form 10-K lists 11 executive officers, none with a technology, data or AI title. The AI roles come from a Jul 2026 job posting, and Keith Valore's title from a third-party directory, so their reporting lines are not published; the CISO's line to the CFO is the one technology reporting line Sherwin-Williams discloses.
Where the AI workforce sits
Enterprise AI teams: Global AI Transformation, the AI Center of Excellence and AI Technology
Sherwin-Williams has not published how many people work in these teams.
Not disclosedBusiness units and Global Supply Chain
Sherwin-Williams gives no AI headcount for its business units; AI planning tools sit with Global Supply Chain planners.
Not disclosed
Named people
Use cases
Sherwin-Williams has 5 AI use cases on the public record as of Nov 2026: the Ask Henry assistant for sales and service staff, AI next best actions from its CRM for field reps, AI tools in supply chain demand planning, the Color Expert consumer app, and R&D literature analysis through Quid, with AI-assisted formulation under review. Sherwin-Williams has reported no business return it credits to AI for any of them and no firm-level return from AI; Heidi Petz said in Sep 2026 that the company wants to measure sales lift and productivity from its AI tools.
| Use case | Area | Status | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask Henry sales and service assistant Ask Henry, built on GPT-5 and a Sherwin-Williams knowledge base, gives sales and service employees trusted product guidance and faster answers to customers' questions, and Justin Binns said Ask Henry will show up more often in stores. | Global Architectural and stores | In production | |
| CRM next best actions for sales teams Sherwin-Williams uses data from its CRM and contractor database with AI to create next best actions that direct its sales teams to specific opportunities, which Justin Binns said in Sep 2026 is playing out with a ways to go. | Global Architectural | In production | |
| AI demand planning Sherwin-Williams's supply chain planning teams use AI tools to respond faster to shifts in customer demand and deliver service at the right cost, Colin Davie said in Sep 2026. | Global Supply Chain | In production | |
| Color Expert app The Sherwin-Williams Color Expert app detects colors in a photo of a room and recommends paint colors, which Heidi Petz said helps painters spend less time choosing color. | Consumer and color | In production | |
| Literature analysis with Quid A Sherwin-Williams research information team uses Quid's AI-powered literature analysis and technical landscaping, first for mold and mildew prevention, according to an undated Quid customer story. | R&D | In production | |
| AI-assisted formulation Ben Meisenzahl said in Sep 2026 that AI tools in formulation could take chemists most of the way to a new product so they start further along, and that Sherwin-Williams is weighing such opportunities against the returns they would bring. | R&D | Announced |
Adoption
Sherwin-Williams has given no count of employees using AI tools and no adoption curve. Customer-facing AI came first, with the Color Expert app in May 2024, and the 2025 Annual Report said Sherwin-Williams was increasingly using AI to drive productivity and insights across multiple value streams. By Sep 2026 Ask Henry was in the sales platforms, Justin Binns said AI tools were with field reps on every call, and supply chain planners were using AI tools. A Jul 2026 job posting describes the next step: an enterprise adoption strategy, AI champions and dashboards for Microsoft Copilot and other platforms, with ROI reported to the Board.
By the numbers
Rollout, first pilot to today
May 24, 2024
Sherwin-Williams launched the Color Expert app, which uses AI to detect colors in a room photo and recommend paint colors.
Mar 2026
Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Annual Report said the company is increasingly using AI to drive productivity and provide insights across multiple value streams, under its digitization priority.
Jul 2026
A Sherwin-Williams posting for a Director, AI Adoption and Value Realization described an SVP of Global AI Transformation, an AI Center of Excellence and Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry as enterprise AI platforms.
Sep 24, 2026
Sherwin-Williams showed investors Ask Henry, an AI assistant on GPT-5 in its sales platforms, and said its planning teams use AI tools to forecast demand.
Economics & controls
Spend and ROI
Technology budget
Sherwin-Williams does not disclose a technology or AI budget. Ben Meisenzahl said on Sep 24, 2026 that capital spending will stay at about 2% of sales, and the 2025 Form 10-K describes significant investment in a multi-year upgrade of information technology systems, including financial processing systems. Sherwin-Williams said on Oct 27, 2026 that it expects technology and software licensing costs to rise in 2027.
What AI itself costs
Sherwin-Williams has not said what it spends on AI, models or licenses. A Jul 2026 job posting asks for reporting on token consumption and agent activity across Microsoft Copilot and other enterprise AI platforms, which shows Sherwin-Williams tracks AI usage costs internally.
Reported ROI
Sherwin-Williams has reported no return it credits to AI, either for a use case or for the company. Heidi Petz said on Sep 24, 2026 that Sherwin-Williams expects improvement from AI tools for its sales staff and wants to measure sales lift and productivity, and Ben Meisenzahl said the company will look for a return before funding more AI. A Jul 2026 job posting describes building value baselines, KPI trees and Board reporting on AI ROI, so Sherwin-Williams measures returns internally without publishing them.
Cost actions not credited to AI
Sherwin-Williams raised its 2025 restructuring target to about $105 million on its Q2 2025 call, expecting about $80 million of annual savings, and reported about $40 million of savings in 2025 on its Q4 2025 call. Restructuring actions in Q2 2026 were expected to save about $17 million a year, Sherwin-Williams closed 57 stores that missed its profitability threshold in 2026, and Sherwin-Williams expects about $75 million of cost savings in 2027 (Oct 2026). Sherwin-Williams credits none of these savings to AI.
Headcount
Sherwin-Williams employed 64,249 people at Dec 31, 2025, about 73% in the United States, and hired more than 1,700 management trainees in 2025. Sherwin-Williams has made no statement linking AI to headcount, and Heidi Petz said in Sep 2026 that the company will keep upskilling experienced staff alongside its AI tools.
Governance and risk
Board and risk oversight
Sherwin-Williams's 2026 proxy statement lists cybersecurity, information technology and artificial intelligence among the operational risks in its enterprise risk management program, which CFO Ben Meisenzahl facilitates and which the Audit Committee oversees. A Jul 2026 job posting describes Board-ready reporting on AI adoption, ROI and maturity.
Cybersecurity
Sherwin-Williams's Chief Information Security Officer, in the role since 2022, leads the global cybersecurity program and reports to the CFO, according to the 2025 Form 10-K. The 2025 Form 10-K warns that advances in AI make cyberattacks more sophisticated, including AI-powered attacks.
Intellectual property
Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Form 10-K says wider use of generative AI tools may raise the risk of unauthorized access to its intellectual property, may leave gaps in legal protection and may bring liability from the use of AI tools. Microsoft partner Improving says the Sherwin Assist platform it built on Azure OpenAI was approved by Sherwin-Williams's CISO so the company could use AI without compromising trade secrets.
Responsible use and adoption
A Sherwin-Williams job posting removed on Jul 30, 2026 refers to Responsible AI and governance teams, and to pilot-to-production tracking with scale or fail criteria for AI initiatives. Sherwin-Williams has not published an AI policy.
Recent signals
Oct 27, 2026
Sherwin-Williams's Q3 2026 call cited AI infrastructure among the end markets where it wins protective and marine coatings business, gave no update on internal AI tools, and said it expects technology and software licensing costs to rise in 2027.
Sep 24, 2026
Sherwin-Williams showed Ask Henry, an AI assistant built on GPT-5 and its own knowledge base, at its Financial Community Presentation; Justin Binns said AI tools are with field reps on every call, and Colin Davie said planners use AI tools for demand.
Sep 24, 2026
Heidi Petz told investors Sherwin-Williams expects improvement from AI tools for frontline staff and wants to measure sales lift and productivity, and Ben Meisenzahl said the company will look for returns before funding more AI.
Jul 30, 2026
Sherwin-Williams removed a posting for a Director, AI Adoption and Value Realization that described an SVP of Global AI Transformation, an AI Center of Excellence and Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry.
Jul 28, 2026
Heidi Petz said on the Q2 2026 call that Sherwin-Williams is using AI where it makes sense to make its store platform more productive, after closing 57 stores, and Ben Meisenzahl tied AI to ERP and CRM modernization.
Mar 11, 2026
Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Annual Report said the company is increasingly using AI to drive productivity and insights across multiple value streams, and its 2026 proxy statement lists AI among the operational risks in its enterprise risk program.
Feb 19, 2026
Sherwin-Williams's 2025 Form 10-K reported 64,249 employees and warned that generative AI tools may raise risks to its intellectual property.
Jan 1, 2026
Ben Meisenzahl became CFO of Sherwin-Williams, taking over the enterprise risk program that covers AI and the reporting line of the Chief Information Security Officer.
Quick answers
- How does Sherwin-Williams deploy AI?
- Sherwin-Williams deploys AI as tools for its sales, store and planning staff: Ask Henry, an assistant built on GPT-5 and the company's own knowledge base, runs inside its CRM and sales platforms, supply chain planners use AI tools to forecast demand, and the Color Expert app recommends paint colors to homeowners. A Jul 2026 job posting describes an AI Center of Excellence, an SVP of Global AI Transformation and Microsoft Copilot among its enterprise AI platforms. Sherwin-Williams has reported no return or user count it credits to AI.
- What does Sherwin-Williams use AI for?
- Sherwin-Williams has 5 AI use cases on the public record as of Nov 2026: the Ask Henry assistant for sales and service staff, AI next best actions from its CRM for field reps, AI tools in supply chain demand planning, the Color Expert consumer app, and R&D literature analysis through Quid, with AI-assisted formulation under review. Sherwin-Williams has reported no business return it credits to AI for any of them and no firm-level return from AI; Heidi Petz said in Sep 2026 that the company wants to measure sales lift and productivity from its AI tools.
- Who leads AI at Sherwin-Williams?
- AI at Sherwin-Williams is led by Keith Valore (Senior Vice President, Chief Digital and Technology Officer). Ownership of AI on the org chart: SVP, Global AI Transformation, with an AI Center of Excellence (Jul 2026 job posting); holder not named by Sherwin-Williams.
- What AI platform does Sherwin-Williams use?
- Sherwin-Williams embeds Ask Henry, an AI assistant built on GPT-5 and its own knowledge base, in its Insight and sales platforms (Sep 2026), and a Jul 2026 job posting names Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry among its enterprise AI platforms.
- Which AI models does Sherwin-Williams use?
- OpenAI's GPT-5 powers Ask Henry, according to Sherwin-Williams's Sep 2026 investor presentation; Microsoft partner Improving says it built an internal ChatGPT-style platform for Sherwin-Williams on Azure OpenAI, without a date.
- How many Sherwin-Williams employees use AI?
- Sherwin-Williams gives no count of employees using AI; Justin Binns said in Sep 2026 that AI tools, Ask Henry included, are with the company's roughly 3,500 field reps on every call, and Heidi Petz said the goal is to equip about 10,000 store staff.
- What return has Sherwin-Williams reported from AI?
- Sherwin-Williams has reported no business return it credits to AI since May 2025: its earnings calls from Jul 2025 to Oct 2026, its 2025 Annual Report and Form 10-K, and its Sep 24, 2026 Financial Community Presentation put no cost, headcount or revenue figure on its own use of AI, and the restructuring savings it reported in 2025 and 2026 are not credited to AI. At the Sep 2026 presentation Heidi Petz said Sherwin-Williams expects improvement and wants to measure sales lift and productivity from AI tools, and CFO Ben Meisenzahl said the company wants to see returns before it scales AI further. Sherwin-Williams has not reported a company-wide rollout either: Justin Binns said AI tools, Ask Henry included, are with its roughly 3,500 field reps on every call, but that covers one group out of 64,249 employees, gives no count of active users, and no executive is publicly named as owner of AI. Sherwin-Williams's AI work since May 2025 is on the public record, from the 2025 Annual Report's statement that it is increasingly using AI for productivity to Ask Henry, AI demand planning and a Jul 2026 posting for an AI Center of Excellence, so Sherwin-Williams is at Experimenting rather than Unknown. A sales, productivity or cost return Sherwin-Williams credits to Ask Henry or AI planning, or a stated count of employees using its AI tools under a named owner, would move Sherwin-Williams to Piloting.
Open questions
- Who holds Sherwin-Williams's SVP, Global AI Transformation role and the AI Center of Excellence lead, and to whom do they report?
- Is Keith Valore Sherwin-Williams's Chief Digital and Technology Officer, as third-party directories list him, and does AI report through that office?
- How many Sherwin-Williams employees use Ask Henry, Microsoft Copilot or other AI tools each week, and has Ask Henry reached store staff?
- What return, in sales lift, productivity or cost, has Sherwin-Williams measured for Ask Henry, AI demand planning and CRM next best actions, given that Heidi Petz said in Sep 2026 that the company wants to measure them?
- Does Ask Henry reach GPT-5 through Microsoft Azure OpenAI or through OpenAI directly, and where does its knowledge base run?
- Is Sherwin Assist, the Azure OpenAI platform Improving says it built, still in use, and how does it relate to Ask Henry?
- Which AI tools do Sherwin-Williams's supply chain planners use, and what has AI planning done to inventory, freight or service levels?
- How much does Sherwin-Williams spend on AI, and how much of its multi-year systems modernization goes to AI?
Sources
Sherwin-Williams
- Heidi G. Petz, Chair, President and CEO, biography
- 2026 Financial Community Presentation, slides (Sep 24, 2026)
- 2026 Financial Community Presentation, corrected transcript (Sep 24, 2026)
- Sherwin-Williams to hold Financial Community Presentation on Sep 24, 2026 (press release)
- Director, AI Adoption and Value Realization job posting, via Built In (removed Jul 30, 2026)
Filings and investor materials
- 2025 Annual Report (filed Mar 11, 2026)
- 2025 Form 10-K (filed Feb 19, 2026)
- 2026 proxy statement (filed Mar 11, 2026)
- Q3 2026 earnings call, corrected transcript (Oct 27, 2026)
- Q3 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit (Oct 2026)
- Q2 2026 earnings call transcript, Bullfincher (Jul 28, 2026)
- Q4 2025 earnings call transcript, Bullfincher
- Q2 2025 earnings call transcript, Bullfincher
Partners
Data confidence
- Confirmed
- Stated in a primary or reputable public source.
- Estimated
- Derived or approximated from public reporting.
- Unconfirmed
- Reported, but not yet corroborated.
Sherwin-Williams profile · Enterprise AI diffusion report by Imagine · facts checked against their sources on Nov 5, 2026
