eschbach, the provider of the Shiftconnector® enterprise manufacturing platform for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, has unveiled a powerful new chat feature within its AI-powered assistant, SAMI (Shiftconnector® Artificial Manufacturing Intelligence).
The new chat capability allows users to interact with their plant’s data via a conversational interface, unlocking real-time, context-aware insights to support faster troubleshooting, smarter decision-making, and seamless access to historical knowledge.
As an embedded AI assistant, SAMI captures institutional knowledge and transforms plant data into actionable insights right within the Shiftconnector platform.
With the new chat feature, operators no longer need to navigate complex interfaces or dig through reports to find critical data. Instead, they can simply ask questions in natural language, just like talking to a colleague.
For example, a team member might ask, “What happened on the last shift?” and receive a clear, contextual summary of key events and actions taken. Follow-up questions like “What was done to resolve the issue on Line 2?” or “What’s the recommended next step?” are answered just as easily, drawing from both historical records and plant-specific knowledge.
The new chat capability in SAMI represents the next evolution of eschbach’s AI-powered capabilities within the Shiftconnector® platform, building on the foundation of SAM® Search and SAMI Solutions.
SAMI Search allows users to quickly find relevant information across shift notes, maintenance records and other data sources using natural language queries — saving time and eliminating the frustration of traditional keyword-based search.
SAMI Solutions goes a step further, using machine learning to identify potential root causes of recurring issues and suggest proven remedies based on past actions.
Now, with the launch of the SAMI Chat feature, these capabilities are brought together in a conversational format using Generative AI (GenAI), allowing users to interact dynamically with their data. Crucially, all responses are based on recorded plant data, eliminating the risk of hallucinations.
Trained on industry- and site-specific data, SAMI understands the language, workflows and context of process manufacturing, making it especially powerful for industries like chemical and pharmaceutical production, where accuracy, traceability and speed are essential.
Andreas Eschbach, founder and CEO of eschbach, said: “We are moving towards manufacturing with technology built around human needs and focused on enhancing human capabilities.
“With SAMI, we’re not just creating a tool; we’re giving our customers’ workforce a powerful assistant that saves time, preserves institutional knowledge and drives continuous improvement. This isn’t just the future of manufacturing; it’s the future of empowering human potential.”
