Siemens and Microsoft develop AI-powered assistant for manufacturing

German industrial giant Siemens AG has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to develop an AI-powered assistant to improve collaboration between humans and machines in manufacturing.

The Siemens Industrial Copilot uses generative AI to allow users to create, optimize, and debug automation code as a time-saving tool for companies, Siemens announced in a press release on Tuesday. “This will reduce a task that previously took weeks to minutes,” the company said.

Microsoft has been a pioneer in integrating generative AI “copilots” into its own products and services after investing more than $10 billion in ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Now it’s developing copilots with partners to assist in industrial sectors including automotive, consumer package goods, and machine building.

“This has the potential to revolutionize the way companies design, develop, manufacture, and operate,” said Siemens Chief Executive Officer Roland Busch, “Making human-machine collaboration more widely available allows engineers to accelerate code development, increase innovation, and tackle skilled labor shortages.”

German automotive supplier Schaeffler AG is already using a similar copilot to generate code for programming automation systems and reduce downtimes at factories.