Ford has rehired more than 300 experienced quality engineers after artificial intelligence failed to match their expertise, company executives said, highlighting the continued importance of human oversight in vehicle manufacturing.

The US automaker had expanded the use of AI across its operations, including quality inspections, aiming to improve productivity and reduce costs.

However, executives said automated systems did not deliver the expected results.

“Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it’s only as good as the information you use to train it,” Charles Poon, Ford’s vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, told reporters.

Poon said the company had underestimated the value of experienced engineers, many of whom had worked through multiple vehicle development cycles.

He said Ford has since brought back more than 300 veteran quality inspectors to help train AI systems and mentor younger employees.

“We recognised that for us to enhance some of our automation and machine learning and artificial intelligence tools, we needed to ensure they were trained by the most experienced individuals,” he said.

Ford had deployed AI-powered cameras at its manufacturing plants to identify quality issues and reduce supply chain disruptions.

However, Poon acknowledged that relying solely on AI and design data did not produce the desired quality standards.

The company’s comments came as Ford regained the top spot among mainstream automakers in the US J.D. Power Initial Quality Study for the first time since 2010.

Ford said its quality improvements were supported by a broader talent overhaul, including leadership changes across engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations, along with the return of experienced engineers.