Schneider Electric has partnered with Microsoft to launch a powerful industrial AI copilot designed to reshape the future of manufacturing. This new assistant, integrated into Schneider’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert platform, merges Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry with Schneider’s deep industrial automation expertise to address critical challenges—rising efficiency demands and ongoing labour shortages.
The goal is clear: simplify complex tasks, accelerate system implementation, and enhance long-term performance on the plant floor. And early signs show this AI copilot could do just that.
Industrial AI for Real-World Productivity
At the heart of this innovation lies Schneider’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert—the world’s first open, software-defined automation platform. It acts as the backbone for the AI copilot, allowing seamless integration across both hardware and software environments. This integration enables the AI to tap into real-time operational data, offering valuable insights such as code suggestions, error detection, and predictive maintenance alerts.
Engineers working with new production lines can now generate code automatically, reuse libraries more efficiently, and spot issues before they become costly. As Aurelien LeSant, Schneider Electric’s Chief Technology Officer for Industrial Automation, puts it: “Our Copilot helps engineers build confidence, simplify design, and speed up system deployment while bridging the industry’s growing skills gap.”
By combining cloud AI from Microsoft with Schneider’s industrial data sets, the system can deliver guidance that’s context-aware—essential in high-stakes environments like power plants or manufacturing lines, where reliability is critical.
Empowering Workers, Boosting Efficiency
The Schneider-Microsoft copilot is built with people in mind. It reduces the mental load on engineers and operators by automating repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on the complex work that requires human judgment. In industries grappling with workforce shortages and high turnover, this level of support can be transformative.
Key benefits include:
- Faster deployment of automation systems
- Better maintenance through real-time troubleshooting
- Higher worker productivity and job satisfaction
It also plays a vital role in knowledge retention—capturing industrial insights and patterns that might otherwise be lost when experienced staff move on.
As demand for industrial copilots rises, Schneider is strategically expanding its automation capabilities with AI at the core. Operating in over 100 countries and working with a vast partner network, the company is positioning itself as a leader in the next era of smart manufacturing.
“This isn’t just another AI experiment,” LeSant says. “This is practical, applied AI that’s helping real engineers get the job done faster, with more confidence and less stress.”
