Automation engineers are under growing pressure to keep production running while managing increasingly complex systems. Every minute of downtime matters, yet critical technical information is often spread across multiple tools, manuals and data sources, delaying troubleshooting and affecting productivity.

Festo has introduced its new AI-powered Virtual Assistant to give engineers and maintenance teams immediate access to reliable technical answers, helping them resolve issues faster and keep operations moving.

The Festo Virtual Assistant is an AI-powered online tool developed specifically for industrial automation applications. It delivers context-related answers to technical queries in seconds, enabling users to move quickly from problem identification to resolution without manually searching multiple data sources.

Unlike general-purpose AI systems, the Virtual Assistant operates exclusively on verified Festo data sources, including datasheets, manuals, technical documentation and engineering tools. This ensures that all outputs are based on reliable, application-relevant information. The tool is designed to interpret technical context and respond to engineering queries with a high degree of accuracy.

By consolidating information typically spread across multiple systems into a single interface, the Virtual Assistant simplifies access to engineering knowledge for users in automation, electrical, maintenance and industrial IT roles. It supports applications including fault diagnosis, component selection, access to technical standards and retrieval of product data. It also offers best-practice solutions, provides direct links to Festo engineering tools for sizing or simulation, and supports machine troubleshooting.

Available 24/7, the Virtual Assistant is suited to continuous production environments, offering support across shifts, including nights and weekends. This enables engineers to access technical guidance at the point of need without delay.

Users can describe technical issues in their own words, as though speaking to a colleague. The more precise the question, the more specific the answer. No additional training is required, making the AI tool simple to adopt within existing workflows.

User queries remain within Festo’s secure infrastructure. The Virtual Assistant complies with data privacy legislation and relevant regulatory requirements, including the EU AI Act.

Javier Güell, Festo Sales AI Solutions, said, “Engineers’ time is best used to solve problems, not to spend hours searching for information. However, increasing system complexity and fragmented data sources often make that unavoidable. The Festo Virtual Assistant helps redress that balance by searching multiple sources in seconds, enabling engineers to focus on their core role of designing new solutions, keeping systems running and optimising performance.”

The Festo Virtual Assistant is available via the Festo website. It is free to use and can be accessed using an existing Festo login or through a simple registration process.