Global automation company Emerson has introduced new Ovation AI Agents for the power and water industries, expanding the capabilities of its Ovation Automation Platform 4.0 release, according to PR Newswire.

The five new agents: Sequence Assistant Agent, Alarm Insight Agent, Predictive Maintenance Agent, Root Cause Agent, and Loop Performance Monitor Agent, are designed to continuously monitor, analyze, and recommend actions across critical plant operations.

Solutions for Power and Water Industries

The expansion builds on Ovation Virtual Advisor and adds new capabilities to Emerson’s portfolio of AI solutions for the power and water industries. “Ovation AI Agents deliver a major step change in our AI portfolio, representing a significant advancement in how we help our customers build more intelligent, efficient, and resilient operations,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water solutions business. “The AI-enabled agents handle complex data analysis and pattern recognition to monitor asset health, run simulations, forecast failures, and prioritize interventions. These powerful tools enable operators to shift from reactive to proactive planning without disrupting daily workflows.”

The first wave will include agents for sequence guidance, alarm prioritization, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, and control loop performance monitoring. Emerson said the Sequence Assistant Agent can help identify why a steam turbine startup sequence has stalled, while the Alarm Insight Agent helps operators focus on critical alarms during alarm floods.

Human-in-the-Loop AI Design

The Predictive Maintenance Agent acts as an early-warning system for critical plant equipment, while the Root Cause Agent analyzes alarms, trips, and live equipment conditions to identify causes of asset issues. The Loop Performance Monitor Agent continuously analyzes control loop performance and generates evidence-backed recommendations for engineering review.

Unlike chatbot-style interfaces or external analytics layers, Emerson said the new AI agents are designed to integrate with the Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform. The agents are operate within the platform, in the background, and alert operators to issues, with actions taken only after human approval.

Why It Matters

Emerson said early deployments have shown measurable impact. In one scenario, the Sequence Assistant Agent identified a failed permissive condition in seconds, compared with a process that would previously have required hours of manual investigation. In another deployment at a major utility, the Predictive Maintenance Agent captured a subtle equipment anomaly before it became critical, preventing costly unplanned downtime.

The five Ovation AI Agents will launch this fall, with customers able to deploy individual agents based on operational priorities and expand usage over time. Emerson said its broader roadmap includes 28 additional planned agents across operations, maintenance, optimization, instrumentation and control, management, and cross-domain functions.

Emerson will also showcase the Ovation AI Agent Builder at this year’s Ovation Users Group Conference. The tool is designed to help users design, deploy, and customize agents specific to their operations, creating a scalable pathway for AI-driven optimization.