Software Microsoft presents AI assistants for industrial use
Microsoft is presenting new virtual assistants with artificial intelligence for widespread use in industry. One of these is the "Factory Operations Agent", which is designed to optimize processes on the factory floor.
31.03.2025, 07:01
SDA
The solution enables workers to analyze data from their machines by making queries in natural language, for example, according to the company at the industrial trade fair in Hanover, which begins on Monday. This would enable managers to optimize production processes. With the AI assistant, it is also possible to identify sources of error and rectify problems more easily than before.
Agnes Heftberger, Managing Director of Microsoft Germany, told the news agency DPA on Monday that AI is out of the testing and experimentation phase and is now being used on a large scale in industry. There should be no hesitation in the introduction of AI, otherwise we will fall behind the international competition. "We need to harness the wealth of data for AI."
Industry is the heart of the economy. "If it beats strong and healthy thanks to AI, then this will also boost the economy as a whole."
Almost every second company uses AI in production
According to a representative survey by the digital association Bitkom, 42% of German industrial companies are already using AI in production, while a further third (35%) have plans to do so. These include monitoring machines, controlling robots and vehicles or optimizing energy consumption: the survey was conducted among 552 industrial companies in the manufacturing sector with 100 or more employees in Germany.
Eight out of ten companies (82%) agreed that the use of artificial intelligence will be decisive for the competitiveness of industry. However, just under half (46%) believe that German industry is in danger of missing out on the AI revolution.
Alongside Google, Meta and Amazon, Microsoft is one of the world's leading providers of AI systems, partly because Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella invested billions early on in a comprehensive cooperation with the Californian AI start-up OpenAI and the chat robot ChatGPT developed there.
