Weidmuller USA announced the findings from the 2026 PCB Design Tools and Component Selection Survey, a national survey of 400 engineers in North America to understand how they design PCBs, evaluate components and use emerging tools such as AI in their workflow.  

The study revealed that almost 80% of respondents placed the highest value on a product’s reliability when selecting components for PCB designs. Component performance also topped the list of reasons why the engineers would make a product switch. 

According to the survey, more than 90% of engineers have used AI-based tools in their PCB design workflow. The majority of respondents (75%) viewed AI tools as a productivity and acceleration layer within existing workflows for increased efficiency and faster design iteration. 

The responding engineers also provided insights on their decision-making during the PCB design process, with almost half saying that component selections for a new PCB design are finalized during the early concept phase or in the schematic design phase.

Other key findings from the survey include: 

• Almost 80% of respondents said “high reliability and durability” are the most important features for device connectivity, compared to only 22% saying price is most important in their decision-making. 
• Top factors for trying a new product or component in the past three years are better performance, cost savings and improved reliability. 
• 43% of respondents said most component selections for a new PCB design are finalized either in the early concept phase or in the schematic design phase, and 26% said component selection is usually iterative across multiple stages. 
• 91% have used AI-based tools in their PCB design workflow, with faster design iterations being seen currently as the primary value of AI.  
• When asked what they “wish existed” in AI tools, answers reveal that engineers see real and persistent gaps in the promise and reality of AI for PCB design, including lack of real-time error detection and fully autonomous text to the PCB.