IFS has launched IFS Intelligence, a new industrial AI platform designed to connect production, inventory, suppliers and maintenance, allowing manufacturers to identify operational problems and take action through a single conversational interface.
Unveiled at IFS Unleashed in Orlando on 13 October 2026, the launch marks another step towards AI becoming directly involved in the decisions that determine how factories operate.
For manufacturers, the significance lies in connecting information that is often scattered across multiple business systems. Production schedules, available machine capacity, supplier commitments, inventory levels and maintenance requirements can all influence whether a customer order is delivered on time.
IFS Intelligence is designed to bring those relationships together, allowing employees to ask questions in everyday language, understand the answers and initiate approved actions.
The development follows a wider shift towards AI-enabled manufacturing ERP systems, where manufacturers are looking beyond conventional reporting and towards software capable of helping them manage production in real time.
IFS Intelligence: Connecting Factory Data to Decisions
One of the most relevant examples presented by IFS involves a production manager discovering that a major customer order scheduled for delivery in the following quarter is at risk.
Investigating the problem would ordinarily involve checking production capacity, inventory, supplier commitments, logistics constraints and the financial consequences of missing the deadline.
These details may be spread across several systems and departments, requiring considerable time simply to establish the cause.
With IFS Intelligence, the production manager can ask a single question about the order.
According to IFS, the system can then analyse relevant operational information, identify potential causes, suggest corrective actions and prepare the next steps for approval.
In a machine shop, a similar challenge might involve a delayed casting, an overloaded machining centre or an unexpected machine breakdown affecting several customer orders.
The potential benefit is that the production manager can see how one disruption affects the wider production plan before deciding what action to take.
IFS has not yet demonstrated this specific scenario in a named machine-tool customer installation. However, the production-order example provides a relevant indication of the workflows the technology is intended to address.
Three AI Capabilities: Cowork, Loops and Runway
IFS Intelligence combines three principal capabilities, each designed to address a different aspect of industrial operations.
Cowork: Asking Questions and Taking Action
Cowork allows employees to interrogate operational information using natural language.
Rather than navigating several software applications, a production manager could ask why an order is delayed, which resources are available or what effect a production change might have on delivery commitments.
The system draws on live operational information, displays the sources behind its answers and can prepare actions for human approval.
Cowork also introduces two useful functions.
Lenses provide live views of information that update as operational conditions change. Skills allow previously completed work to be saved and repeated.
IFS says Cowork can also reach connected systems such as Microsoft 365 through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Loops: Digital Workers for Repetitive Operations
Loops allows companies to delegate defined workflows to AI-powered digital workers.
These agents can perform tasks in the background and escalate situations requiring human judgement or authorisation.
For manufacturing businesses, the potential applications include supplier follow-ups, order monitoring, inventory coordination and production-related administrative work.
IFS says organisations can develop their own digital workers using its Studio environment.
The company has been developing IFS Loops as an industrial agentic AI platform, with the latest launch bringing these capabilities into the broader IFS Intelligence offering.
Runway: Simplifying Software Development
Runway is designed to make it easier to configure, extend and migrate IFS applications.
Users can describe business requirements in natural language, allowing the system to help create specifications and accelerate software development.
This could be particularly relevant to manufacturers operating complex ERP environments where adapting software to established production processes can require considerable development effort.
How Does IFS Intelligence Control AI Decisions?
Giving artificial intelligence access to industrial processes introduces questions about responsibility, authorisation and operational safety.
IFS addresses these through its Industrial AI Harness, which provides the governance framework supporting the new platform.
The company says AI actions operate within established business rules, permissions and approval processes.
For example, a proposed production schedule change might affect several customer orders. The system can prepare a recommendation, but the required authorisation remains part of the process.
The same principle applies to maintenance, procurement and other business-critical activities.
This approach is particularly important as manufacturers assess AI governance and regulatory responsibilities.
The practical test will be how reliably these controls work when AI agents interact with multiple connected systems and operational decisions carry financial consequences.
IFS CEO Sees Significant Untapped Industrial Capacity
Mark Moffat, CEO of IFS, believes industrial organisations are operating below their potential because valuable knowledge remains dispersed across people, departments and software systems.
He argues that bringing operational information together would allow companies to recover some of the productivity lost through fragmented processes.
IFS has also highlighted customer interest beyond manufacturing.
Curtis Taylor, Chief Business Operations Officer at Sims Crane & Equipment, described how the platform could make fleet information accessible to employees, helping them identify suitable cranes for specific customer requirements.
This provides a customer perspective on the technology, although IFS has not disclosed a quantified productivity improvement for the manufacturing order-risk example.
The launch is also accompanied by a LinkedIn video from IFS European leadership.
What Does This Mean for CNC and Metal Manufacturing?
The greatest potential for machine-tool users sits in the relationship between production equipment and the wider manufacturing business.
A CNC machine may be capable of operating efficiently, yet the factory can still lose productive time through missing materials, changes in priorities, poor scheduling or information that arrives too late.
AI systems capable of connecting these different parts of the operation could help manufacturers identify problems earlier and respond more effectively.
We have already seen similar ambitions from other industrial software suppliers.
Our recent interview covering Syspro Torque and AI autonomy in manufacturing examined how AI agents can work across ERP, MES, SCADA and warehouse systems to identify issues and execute authorised actions.
Meanwhile, LG CNS Factova’s approach to connected factory equipment reflects the growing emphasis on bringing shop-floor information into broader manufacturing decisions.
IFS Intelligence enters this developing market with an emphasis on operational context, agentic workflows and governed execution.
However, the launch material does not establish direct control of CNC machine operations, independent verification of manufacturing performance improvements or specific integration capabilities for individual machine-tool control systems.
Those remain important considerations for manufacturers evaluating the technology.
IFS Intelligence Availability and Licensing
IFS Intelligence is available now.
The company says it is offered through a universal enterprise-wide licence covering eligible IFS software already licensed by a customer.
IFS states that the offering does not divide its capabilities into separate feature tiers.
Customers also receive an entitlement covering AI Executions. IFS describes this as a fair-usage allowance rather than a conventional credit-based pricing model.
Commercial pricing, specific execution limits and the potential costs of additional integrations have not been detailed in the announcement.
Further information is available through the official IFS Intelligence product page.
MTN Analysis: AI Is Moving Into the Decisions Between Machines
For us, the most interesting aspect of IFS Intelligence is its potential to improve the decisions surrounding manufacturing equipment.
A factory does not become more productive simply because its individual machines are more advanced.
Production efficiency also depends on accurate schedules, material availability, maintenance planning and communication between departments.
These are areas where significant capacity can be lost without the underlying machine tool being the problem.
IFS is targeting that operational gap.
The ability to ask why an order is delayed, understand the implications and prepare a corrective action could be valuable, particularly for manufacturers managing complicated production schedules and demanding delivery commitments.
There is also a competitive question emerging.
With suppliers such as IFS and Syspro developing AI agents that can work across enterprise systems, the next area of competition may be how effectively those agents connect business decisions to actual factory conditions.
The missing evidence is equally important.
We would like to see IFS demonstrate the technology inside a precision engineering or metal manufacturing facility, using real production orders, machine availability and supplier information.
The measures that matter would include the time taken to identify production risks, the accuracy of recommendations, changes in on-time delivery and any measurable recovery of lost manufacturing capacity.
For now, IFS Intelligence represents a significant product launch in industrial AI, with a clear proposition for manufacturing operations.
Its longer-term significance for machine-tool users will depend on how successfully those capabilities can be applied to real production environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IFS Intelligence?
IFS Intelligence is an industrial AI offering that connects operational data, business processes and AI-powered workflows. It allows employees to investigate problems, receive recommendations and initiate authorised actions.
How can IFS Intelligence help manufacturers?
Potential applications include production scheduling, order-risk identification, supplier coordination, maintenance planning and operational reporting.
Does IFS Intelligence control CNC machines?
IFS has not announced a specific CNC machine-control capability as part of this launch. Its disclosed functions focus on connected operational systems, enterprise workflows and governed actions.
What are Cowork, Loops and Runway?
Cowork provides conversational access to operational information and approved actions. Loops manages delegated workflows through digital workers. Runway supports software configuration, extension and development.
Is IFS Intelligence available now?
Yes. IFS announced its general availability on 13 October 2026, with an enterprise-wide licensing approach covering eligible IFS software.
