ABB has introduced a groundbreaking generative AI-powered solution—the ABB Ability™ Industrial Knowledge Base—to address the growing challenge of knowledge loss in industrial environments. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, this innovative platform leverages Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to capture, preserve, and protect critical technical knowledge while converting it into standardized, actionable workflows. By enabling faster and smarter decision-making, the solution enhances operational safety and efficiency.
Combating Knowledge Loss with AI
As experienced professionals retire, decades of accumulated expertise risk being lost, threatening operational continuity, efficiency, and innovation. Traditional documentation methods are often fragmented, requiring extensive manual effort to compile, interpret, and implement. The ABB Ability™ Industrial Knowledge Base tackles this challenge by consolidating expert knowledge in a centralized, secure repository, allowing engineers and operators to access and interact with it through natural language queries.
Intelligent Workflow Automation
Developed jointly by ABB and Microsoft, the solution integrates ABB Genix™ CoPilot and Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to analyze and synthesize information into executable procedures. Employees can retrieve critical insights through an intuitive conversational interface, eliminating the need for manual document analysis. Key features include:
AI-driven workflow generation – Converts natural language inputs into structured procedures in seconds.
Role-based access control – Ensures compliance with real-time policy and procedure updates.
Real-time decision support – Delivers instant guidance to shorten learning curves and improve performance.
The system supports cloud, on-premises, and ABB SaaS deployment models, offering flexibility for diverse industrial environments.
Enhancing Operational Continuity and Efficiency
"The retirement of skilled professionals has created critical knowledge gaps across industries," said Sanjit Shewale, Global Head of Digital Business for Process Industries at ABB. "Our Industrial Knowledge Base addresses this challenge by providing a secure, user-friendly digital platform that captures, preserves, and shares core expertise. This empowers organizations to maintain operational continuity while enabling employees to work smarter, faster, and more sustainably."
The solution continuously learns from operational data, refining workflows to drive ongoing improvements. By integrating with existing industrial systems, it enhances collaboration between field personnel and control rooms, ensuring real-time visibility into task statuses and operational procedures—reducing bottlenecks and optimizing process efficiency.
Microsoft Partnership: Unlocking AI-Driven Knowledge Management
"Our collaboration with ABB empowers industrial organizations to harness the full potential of AI-driven knowledge management," stated Sonja Meindl, Enterprise Commercial Director at Microsoft Switzerland. "By combining AI with deep industrial expertise, we help businesses bridge knowledge gaps and build more resilient, efficient operations."
Conclusion
The ABB Ability™ Industrial Knowledge Base represents a transformative leap in industrial knowledge retention and utilization. By leveraging generative AI and natural language processing, it ensures that critical expertise remains accessible, actionable, and secure—driving smarter decisions, operational excellence, and long-term sustainability. Industrial enterprises adopting this solution can future-proof their workforce, enhance productivity, and maintain a competitive edge in an evolving digital landscape.
