Siemens Industrial Copilot, Microsoft's generative AI for industry

The introduction of generative AI into production processes is the basis of the collaboration between Siemens and Microsoft. At its core is Siemens Industrial Copilot, a generative AI product dedicated to industrial engineering based on the Siemens Xcelerator digital platform and powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service language models. The partnership, supported by Danieli Automation and technology partner beanTech, represents a model of integration between generative AI, edge computing and industrial cloud, with the aim of transforming Italian production processes.

The cloud solution, hosted on Microsoft Azure, integrates production data from programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to provide in-depth, contextualized answers to industrial operators. The system automates repetitive tasks such as data management, sensor configuration, and reporting, reducing manual workload and minimizing human errors.

The collaboration leverages the synergy between Siemens Industrial Edge and Microsoft Azure IoT Operations, which enables industrial applications to run in the field with minimal latency and high security. This integration unifies Operational Technology (OT) and IT data into a single interoperable ecosystem, enabling companies to respond in real time to changes in load, priorities or unexpected events such as failures. The result is continuous process optimization, reduced downtime and improved plant efficiency.

During the announcement, the use case of Danieli Automation, an Italian company that deals with automation solutions for steel plants, was presented. Thanks to Siemens Industrial Copilot, Danieli aims to optimize its processes and products, transferring the benefits of generative AI also to its customers and partners in the metalworking sector. CEO Stefano Martinis highlighted how generative AI represents a lever to increase the competence and efficiency of designers, contributing to the digital transformation of the entire Italian industrial sector.

“Generative AI could increase European annual added value by €2,610 billion, with a particularly significant impact on the manufacturing sector, which could benefit from an estimated increase of €384 billion and an efficiency gain of over 6.5 million working hours per year,” said Vincenzo Esposito, CEO of Microsoft in Italy.