AI Copilots Gaining Traction in Industrial Automation

First reactions for generative AI in the industrial automation space were perhaps somewhat dismissive of early iterations of the technology, with fears about AI hallucinations, siloed and difficult-to-access industrial data, applicability to real industrial use cases, compatibility issues, and the general non-deterministic nature of generative AI. In just a few years, much has changed.

Today, AI copilots continue to become more popular as workers leverage the large language model, or LLM-based, technologies for tasks such as research, generating or editing text, summarizing content, coding, and much more. In the industrial automation space, copilots are not only used by workers for disparate tasks but are also offered by major companies as products that can help end users boost productivity, enhance efficiency, provide real-time visibility, and beyond. Below is a look at some notable examples within the automation space and what these copilots are designed to do.

ABB

Like other companies on the list, ABB launched its AI copilot as part of a collaboration with Microsoft. The ABB Genix™ Copilot leverages LLMs such as GPT-4, customized for industrial use cases, to enable users to improve efficiency, productivity, and sustainability by having real-time access to vast amounts of data and actionable insights in an easy-to-use platform.

Genix Copilot, according to ABB, was ultimately designed to empower customers to make faster, data-driven decisions across a range of functions in an industrial organization, from executives in a boardroom to specialists analyzing performance metrics, and engineers troubleshooting equipment. It can be used  for managing asset performance, summarizing key events, delivering contextual analytics and recommendations, providing enhanced customer support, and providing actionable insights on energy consumption.

Rockwell Automation

Designed primarily to help workers build and deploy projects faster, Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk® Design Studio™ Copilot leverages generative AI to process natural language to help create PLC code. The cloud-based design environment allows users to generate and troubleshoot code just by asking, to use generative AI technologies to explain different project elements, and to deploy the project from the cloud to the edge.

FactoryTalk Design Studio Copilot also offers collaboration tools that support scalable teams and different skill sets. Rockwell Automation also recently announced its integration of NVIDIA Nemotron Nano, a purpose-built small language model optimized for FactoryTalk Design Studio, which Rockwell says will bring instant insights and control for industrial teams.

Schneider Electric

Anyone who attended Automate 2025 likely saw Schneider Electric’s initial foray into the annual show, where they launched the Industrial Copilot as part of the company’s software-defined ecosystem called EcoStruxure Automation Expert Platform. Like other copilots, this tool was designed to provide a lift to productivity and efficiency while eliminating repetitive tasks. The copilot leverages Schneider’s industrial automation expertise alongside Microsoft Foundry, a unified Azure platform as-a-service offering designed to accelerate the process of building, optimizing, and governing AI apps and agents. Schneider says the tool will simplify processes and boost worker confidence in a time where the U.S. industrial workforce needs new tools to remain competitive.

Siemens

Siemens, a company that believes that generative AI has the potential to revolutionize industrial production environments, offers its Industrial Copilots to optimize workflows and enhance human-AI collaboration, in turn driving innovation and productivity across a range of industries. These copilots are designed to make generative AI accessible and useful for businesses of all sizes. In addition, Siemens announced an expansion of its industrial AI offerings in the form of new AI agents designed to work across Siemens’ Industrial Copilot ecosystem at Automate 2025. This development allows end users to deploy a toolbox of specialized AI agents to solve complex tasks across the entire industrial value chain.

AI Copilot Technology Taking Off

Beyond these industry giants, A3 member companies such as Via Automation, Retrocausal, Inc., and InOrbit.AI all offer AI copilots that are designed to simplify industrial processes and drive smarter manufacturing decisions. Over the next few years, keep an eye on advances in industrial copilots and how they can be deployed to streamline industrial processes. Just a few years ago, the concept seemed far off, but rapid advances in AI now have these generative AI-driven copilots on factory floors adding value in myriad ways. What could be next?