Singapore – Global conglomerate Johnson Controls has announced that its has significantly expanded AI capabilities in its OpenBlue Enterprise Manager suite of digital solutions, part of the OpenBlue digital ecosystem.
The updates include the first customer-facing generative AI applications, more autonomous building controls, and a significantly improved user experience. These updates pave the way for additional AI enhancements in 2025, focused on globally accepted performance standards, optimised equipment performance for cost savings and enhanced regulatory compliance.
The expanded AI features take data insights to the next level and build on the measurable impact customers are already seeing when utilising OpenBlue.
OpenBlue now has integrated generative AI tools that proactively recommend the most impactful energy savings projects, reducing the need to analyse large amounts of building data. The system anticipates needs, like analysing energy usage based on live weather data, to create actionable insights, helping customers achieve energy savings and reduction in carbon emissions.
Moreover, new features in OpenBlue are driving forward the future of autonomous buildings and allow customers to run their buildings with less manual intervention than ever before. The system can improve productivity through automating processes that traditionally have been manual. It can adjust setpoints based on fault diagnostics, saving energy, carbon, and accelerating potential cost savings.
Users can also enable autonomous actions or use the system to get advice, while setting their own operational constraints. It also provides detailed information about equipment performance and trends, from a broad view down to individual pieces of equipment. In this release, OpenBlue autonomous control can now be applied to a broader range of central utility plant designs.
In terms of the refreshed user experience, the release includes major upgrades to the user experience, focused on design, navigation and accessibility. With an increased focus on space utilization, the system provides an even clearer picture of how spaces are actually used by building occupants.
Detailed visitor analytics are also available throughout a portfolio of buildings, improving the understanding of visitor activities, along with intelligent planning when anomalies occur. Operators can schedule services, like cleaning, based on occupancy insights, saving resources and money. Updates also include improved indoor air quality monitoring with a broad ecosystem of sensor partners.
Lastly, OpenBlue Enterprise Manager allows customers to unlock the performance of their building with real-time data visibility. A single pane of glass with advanced analytics, visualisation and controls, accelerates operational outcomes, and meets certification and regulatory compliance needs while ensuring data security and privacy.
Julius Marchwicki, vice president of digital product management at Johnson Controls, said, “Our customers have consistently told us that one of the challenges with AI is they are unsure of what questions to ask a Generative AI chatbot about their building. Our generative AI feature automatically constructs the right prompts that are built from our decades of experience in the commercial buildings space.”
Meanwhile, Vijay Sankaran, chief technology officer at Johnson Controls, commented, “The expansion of customer-facing AI features into Johnson Controls OpenBlue marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of building management technology. These new AI-driven features not only enhance operational efficiency and sustainability, but also empower building owners and operators with unprecedented levels of insight and control. We are committed to pioneering innovations that drive automation and create smarter, more responsive environments for our customers.”
