Caterpillar (CAT) on Tuesday introduced an artificial intelligence system designed to help customers interact with its equipment and digital services, outlining plans to deploy the tool across fleet management, maintenance, and machine operations.
Unveiled at CES 2026, the Cat AI Assistant is intended to serve as a single interface across Caterpillar’s (CAT) portfolio of digital applications, drawing on company data to support tasks such as equipment purchasing, maintenance planning, diagnostics and daily operations.
The system is built on Caterpillar’s (CAT) Helios data platform, which the maker of heavy equipment said manages more than 16 petabytes of equipment and operational data. According to Caterpillar (CAT), the assistant uses that data to provide contextual information and recommendations to customers based on their machines and operating environments.
The company said the AI assistant is aimed at multiple user groups. For fleet owners and managers, it is designed to monitor equipment performance and flag potential maintenance issues before they lead to unplanned downtime. For technicians, the system can retrieve relevant service manuals and repair procedures using voice commands, offering step-by-step guidance and identifying commonly required replacement parts.
For machine operators, Caterpillar (CAT) said the assistant is being developed as an in-cab tool that can deliver operational guidance without requiring operators to leave their primary displays or interrupt work. The in-cab version runs on NVIDIA’s (NVDA) Jetson Thor platform, enabling speech recognition and on-device AI processing at the jobsite.
Caterpillar said the technology is being developed in response to growing complexity at worksites and ongoing labor and skills shortages across construction, mining, and industrial sectors. The company said the system could help less experienced operators improve performance while also enabling dealers to offer more tailored support to customers.
Caterpillar plans to launch an off-board version of the Cat AI Assistant in the first quarter of this year. In-cab applications are currently in final validation, with demonstrations scheduled during CES 2026.