Caterpillar CEO Joe Creed demonstrates the Cat AI assistant, discusses the impact of tariffs and breaks down his technique for 2026 on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Development tools big Caterpillar has unveiled a brand new synthetic intelligence (AI) instrument designed to enhance job website security and increase effectivity because the business grapples with labor shortages.
Talking Wednesday on FOX Enterprise’ “The Claman Countdown” from the Shopper Electronics Present (CES) 2026 in Las Vegas, Caterpillar CEO Joseph Creed highlighted the corporate’s new Cat AI Assistant, which he mentioned helps shorten coaching time for brand spanking new operators whereas enhancing productiveness and security.
“A few of the issues I hear after I discuss to prospects are, ‘Hey, we’ve got a scarcity of operators, and we’ve got new operators that are not expert and skilled, so the coaching time is actually exhausting,'” Creed mentioned. “After which, most significantly, security. So the Cat AI Assistant helps deal with all this stuff.
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Joe Creed, CEO of Caterpillar Inc., speaks through the 2026 CES occasion in Las Vegas Jan. 7, 2026. (Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs)
“It is basically a private assistant for an operator within the cab or a technician that desires to repair the machine.”
Powered by NVIDIA’s Riva speech fashions, the Cat AI Assistant permits operators to ask questions in actual time and obtain tailor-made suggestions associated to tools operation, components and upkeep, in line with Caterpillar.
Throughout an indication utilizing a simulated building website at CES, Creed confirmed FOX Enterprise how operators can converse on to the machine to activate security options in actual time, together with protections that assist machines keep away from overhead energy traces.
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The Cat AI Assistant interface was displayed on the Caterpillar sales space through the 2026 CES occasion in Las Vegas Jan. 7, 2026. (Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs)
“So, these are energy traces that you’d see on a building website,” Creed mentioned. “That is a problem for our prospects. So, it is a security concern if the increase hits it. It can also set the job again by days or even weeks.”
Utilizing voice instructions, operators can ask the AI assistant about out there security options and set top limits that stop an excavator’s increase from rising too excessive, serving to crews keep away from contact with energy traces.
The know-how can even acknowledge individuals on job websites and assist preserve them out of hurt’s manner, Creed mentioned.
“The Cat AI Assistant, paired with autonomy and autonomous programs that now we are able to do on the sting with our partnership with NVIDIA, actually simply is a sport changer in terms of recognition, security, conserving individuals secure, ensuring they return dwelling to their households,” he mentioned.
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A view of a Caterpillar excavator at CES 2026 Jan. 6, 2026, on the Las Vegas Conference Heart. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu through Getty Photographs)
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At CES 2026, Creed additionally took the keynote stage to showcase how synthetic intelligence is shaping the subsequent technology of heavy tools.
Caterpillar and NVIDIA introduced an expanded collaboration aimed toward accelerating using AI throughout machines and manufacturing programs, in line with the development firm’s web site.
