AI Evolves To The Third Wave: Will Printing And Packaging Companies Be Left Behind If They Don’t Embrace It?

In 2023, with the emergence of ChatGPT, the first wave of predictive artificial intelligence entered the public eye. Suddenly, the powerful force of machine learning felt within reach, and everyone could experience its appeal. By 2024, the second wave—generative AI—followed. It allowed users to create a wider range of content, including videos, graphics, music, and more, while also building more advanced conversational engines for better interaction with humans. As a result, social media platforms saw a surge of AI-generated content.

Now, in 2025, we are witnessing the dawn of the third wave: agentic AI—capable of independently and proactively solving complex, multi-step problems. With its stronger reasoning abilities, agentic AI is less prone to the "hallucinations" seen in earlier versions like ChatGPT, although it is still in a relatively early stage of development.

These incredible technological leaps may seem like scenes from a science fiction novel at first glance, but in reality, artificial intelligence has already become an indispensable part of modern printing and packaging businesses. It is widely applied across various activities, including content creation, cost estimation, determining the most suitable prepress color management and imposition strategies, and planning print jobs to optimize continuous production. At the same time, AI serves as a crucial component of automated machinery, enabling management to make real-time decisions based on machine output feedback.

The increasing level of digitization in the printing industry is also one of the key factors driving the widespread adoption of AI. But this is only the beginning. Based on the latest research, including in-depth interviews conducted across the entire value chain, Smithers has identified several key emerging applications of AI in the print and packaging markets. A full summary of this research has been published in a Smithers white paper titled “Five Ways Generative AI Will Transform Packaging by 2030.”

The speed at which products are reaching the market is accelerating, driven by factors such as the growing demand for personalization and promotional packaging, shorter production cycles, the emergence of regional and small-scale brands, expanded market channels, consumer demand for convenience, and the need to rapidly follow trends in the world of social media.

These factors are placing tremendous pressure on brand owners, retailers, and suppliers throughout the entire packaging value chain—including graphic and packaging designers. Currently, generative AI may still face challenges when handling some basic packaging terminology (largely because it excels at replicating cartoon or celebrity images, thanks to the abundance of available data). However, this is gradually changing as large-scale performance improvements are making AI a powerful tool for bringing customized products to market more quickly.

While human creativity is still necessary to mitigate the risk of plagiarism, brand owners and their packaging/graphic designers can now benefit from a broader range of inputs—such as deeper, richer consumer research, real-time product performance data, and detailed insights into regional or micro-market preferences.

The combination of AI and digital printing holds tremendous potential for rapid experimentation and scalable production. Brands are now working on developing two distinct design approaches: one for retail shelf display and another for e-commerce channels. The retail shelf version must deliver quick and clear messaging, while the e-commerce version is focused on providing a satisfying unboxing experience that reassures consumers they’ve made the right purchasing decision.

Supporting packaging is the design of display units, which vary depending on different promotional campaigns or display environments. In the past, materials used to support POS (point-of-sale) or POP (point-of-purchase) were often more generic, but now they are becoming much more eye-catching and distinctive on the shelf.

Today, many behind-the-scenes applications are making the entire process more efficient. AI is helping manage inventory in critical locations to ensure product delivery within 24 hours (via micro-fulfillment centers) and reduce the amount of material needed for packaging and transportation. Although packaging processes are already highly automated, AI is further accelerating the use of robotics to optimize stages such as palletizing and stacking.

AI can also help companies better forecast market demand and monitor potential risks, reducing the negative impact of disruptions. This includes dynamic negotiations with suppliers, establishing partnerships and alliances (such as two different brands sharing the same truck for transportation), and streamlining confirmations and approvals with regulatory authorities.

The growing use of more advanced and human-like conversational engines will have a significant impact across many industries, including print and packaging. Software and automation are key drivers of AI adoption. In many ways, drupa 2024 will be remembered for its strong focus on software—earning it the nickname “Software drupa.” In its latest report, *Post-drupa Technology Forecast for Print and Printed Packaging to 2034*, Smithers identified ten major trends from drupa, six of which are directly enabled by software.

Across the entire print supply chain, software plays a critical role in receiving orders, creating artwork and printed materials, and completing finishing and shipping processes. Over the next five to ten years, the reliance on software is expected to deepen even further. In past editions of drupa, software primarily served to boost the productivity of equipment used in design, prepress, printing,

and finishing, while also managing jobs across the supply chain. Today, however, software is connecting the entire print and packaging supply chain as a unified ecosystem.

Since the last drupa held in 2016, the digital transformation of companies and the supply chain has led to significant changes in the business models of many print and packaging manufacturers. Online sales, integration with materials and outsourcing service providers, communication with equipment suppliers to optimize machine performance, and warehouse and logistics management have all become increasingly common.

The potential scope and scale of AI applications and developments are truly astonishing. While the market is saturated with hype and some sensationalized narratives, there is no doubt that AI has the power to profoundly impact society in numerous ways. Smithers is working closely with many companies across the print and packaging value chain to gain deeper insight into the potential impact of these disruptive technologies. One thing is clear: AI is set to fundamentally reshape our industry over the next decade—and this remarkable story is only just beginning.