An ERP AI chatbot is a chat window, or a text thread, that answers questions about your business from your ERP’s own records. You type “what ships late this week?” and it finds the sales orders, compares promised and expected ship dates, and replies with the answer and the rows it used. You do not build a report or learn the menus.
Morsa publishes this guide. Every vendor fact below was read on the vendor’s own website or documentation on 21 October 2026. The company in the demo, Penwick Stamping & Supply, is fictional, and its numbers are sample data.
Quick answer
What it is: a plain-English question box over your ERP data, usually read-only, limited to what your login can see.
How to judge one: ask it questions you already know the answer to, and check that every number shows its source rows.
If you run one ERP and want it inside that ERP: Copilot in Business Central, Ask Oracle in NetSuite, SAP Joule, Epicor Prism, the Acumatica AI Assistant or Odoo’s Ask AI.
If your numbers live in more than one ERP, plus spreadsheets and email, and you want the next step done: Morsa.
Try it: ask a sample plant’s ERP
Tap a question, or type your own. Each answer is computed in your browser from the sample company’s tables. Switch to Data to see the rows behind it, and copy a link to send one answer to a colleague.
What is an ERP AI chatbot?
An ERP AI chatbot is a language model connected to your ERP through its API or database, with a small set of tools: search a table, filter it, total it, and sometimes create or change a record. You ask in your own words. The model turns the question into a query, the ERP runs it under your login, and the model writes the result back as a short answer.
It replaces three things people do today: building a saved report for a one-off question, asking the one person who knows the ERP, and exporting to a spreadsheet to add things up. For an owner or plant manager it is the difference between asking a question on the shop floor and waiting for Monday’s report.
There are two kinds:
Query chatbots answer questions. Microsoft’s Copilot in Business Central is one: its documentation says it is read-only for data and can’t make changes.
Action chatbots, or agents, also do things: draft a PO, update a date, send an email. Most vendors keep these behind an approval step.
How does an ERP chatbot work?
Connector. It reaches the ERP through the vendor API, an OData or SQL view, or a reporting layer. A good one also reads the other places your numbers live: a second ERP, the MES, shared spreadsheets and email.
Question to query. The model picks the right table, filter, date range and grouping. Microsoft describes Copilot converting your words into “a table search, sort, and filter criteria.”
Permissions. The query runs as you. NetSuite says Ask Oracle “operates within your existing roles and permissions,” and Epicor says Prism respects “the same access rules and security measures” as the person logged in.
Answer with sources. The reply names the tables, filters, date range and row count, so you can check it. NetSuite adds a Show Explanation button for the same reason.
Read-only versus write. Reading is safe to turn on for everyone. Writing (stopping a reorder, emailing a supplier) should go through an approval by the person who owns that decision, from their own mailbox, with a log.
How do you stop it making up numbers?
A chatbot hallucinates when the model writes a number instead of reading it. The guard is structural: the model only chooses which query to run, the database computes every total, and the answer shows the rows. In the demo above, the AI part only routes your free-text question to one of twelve known questions with parameters from fixed lists; every number is computed from the tables. If nothing fits, it says what data it would need instead of guessing.
What should you ask an ERP chatbot?
The useful questions are the ones an owner asks on the phone: where is cash stuck, what will be late, who is slipping, who owes us. These are the twelve in the demo, grouped the way an owner thinks about the week, each with the answer the sample plant’s data gives.
Cash
Where’s cash tied up in inventory?
$412K is tied up in slow movers: 11 parts with no sales in 9+ months. Top three: 52-1140 gas spring $96K, 29-0310 spring pin kit $71K, 38-0042 bracket kit $58K.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Items (on hand, standard cost) (stocked parts you sell, on hand above zero; as of Oct 12; 24 rows). Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Sales order lines (last sale date per part before Jan 12, 2026; Jan 2, 2025 to Oct 12; 1280 rows). Supplier agreements (shared drive), Return terms (suppliers of the slow movers; current; 8 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Stop reorders on all 11 (reorder point to zero in both ERPs), and ask Karen to cancel PO 4486. Return 3,550 of 29-0310 to Tai-Ho Fastener: unused stock in original cartons, within 24 months of receipt, 15% restocking fee. About $60K back. Offer 2,000 of 38-0042 to a closeout buyer.
What’s our gross margin by customer this year?
Gross margin this year is 39% on $3,171K of sales. Highest: Hartwell Equipment at 46%. Lowest: Talbot Truck Bodies at 37%, on a 12% contract discount.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Invoiced sales lines (qty x price) (every customer, every part; this year, Jan 1 to Oct 12; 576 rows). Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Items (standard cost) (parts on those lines; as of Oct 12; 13 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Put Talbot Truck Bodies’ contract discount on Friday’s price review, with their margin by part. Send you this margin table every Monday at 7 AM.
Customers
What ships late this week?
One order ships late this week: SO 22918 for Cedar Valley Truck Parts, 8,000 mounting brackets. It is waiting on zinc plating at Clearwater Finishing (PO 4492), back Friday. It ships Monday, Oct 19. Cedar Valley was told this morning. This week: 46 orders across both plants, 45 on time, 1 late.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP, Sales orders (promised ship date Oct 12 to Oct 18; this week; 32 rows). Plant 2 ERP, Sales orders (older desktop ERP) (promised ship date Oct 12 to Oct 18; this week; 14 rows). Clearwater Finishing email, Plating return date (PO 4492; Oct 12; 1 row).
Next step Morsa proposes: Book SO 22918 on the first truck Monday, Oct 19. Send the tracking number to Cedar Valley Truck Parts from Jen’s mailbox when it ships. Tell you if Clearwater’s Friday date moves.
How much has Talbot bought this year vs last?
Talbot Truck Bodies has bought $900,386 this year (Jan 1 to Oct 12), up 3% on $878,371 in the same time last year. Most of it: 42-0410 $281,156, 41-2291 $269,166. 41 orders.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Invoiced sales lines (customer is Talbot Truck Bodies; 2026-01-01 to 2026-10-12; 79 rows). Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Invoiced sales lines (customer is Talbot Truck Bodies; 2025-01-01 to 2025-10-12; 84 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Text you Talbot Truck Bodies’ year-to-date vs last year every Monday at 7 AM. Flag it the week they fall behind last year’s pace.
Which customers are ordering less?
3 customers are ordering less: Hartwell Equipment down 71% ($19K in the last 90 days vs $64K the 90 before); Baypoint Trailer Parts down 40% ($42K in the last 90 days vs $70K the 90 before); Kessler Dealer Group down 39% ($15K in the last 90 days vs $25K the 90 before). Hartwell Equipment also has $18,420.50 more than 30 days past due. Baypoint Trailer Parts also has $9,860.00 more than 30 days past due. Kessler Dealer Group also has $4,215.75 more than 30 days past due.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP and Plant 2 ERP, Invoiced sales lines (every customer; 2026-04-16 to 2026-10-12; 368 rows). Plant 1 ERP, Open customer invoices (more than 30 days past due; as of Oct 12; 14 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Draft a check-in to Hartwell Equipment from the rep’s Outlook: what they bought, what changed, a question. Draft a check-in to Baypoint Trailer Parts from the rep’s Outlook: what they bought, what changed, a question. Draft a check-in to Kessler Dealer Group from the rep’s Outlook: what they bought, what changed, a question. The rep reads and sends; nothing goes out on its own.
Which quotes are waiting on a reply?
5 quotes are waiting on a reply, worth $197K in the first year. Oldest: Q-1166 to Millbrook Trailers, 21 days; Q-1171 to Lakeway Trailer Supply, 13 days. Arden’s Q-1182 went out today.
Where the numbers came from: Quote log (estimating spreadsheet) and Luis’s Outlook, Quotes (sent, no reply yet; 2026-09-15 to 2026-10-12; 7 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Q-1166: a short follow-up to Millbrook Trailers in Luis’s words, from his Outlook. Q-1171: a short follow-up to Lakeway Trailer Supply in Luis’s words, from his Outlook. Q-1175: a short follow-up to Northfork Truck Equipment in Luis’s words, from his Outlook. Q-1177: a short follow-up to Prairie Fleet Supply in Luis’s words, from his Outlook. Replies are read and the quote log updated.
Suppliers
Which supplier is slipping?
Northgate Steel Service is slipping: 64% on time in the last 90 days (14 of 22), down from 95% (19 of 20) the 90 days before. Late ones average 5.0 days late. And this morning: PO 4471 moved from Tuesday to Friday, and their 0.8 mm lead time went from 8 to 16 weeks.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP, PO receipts (promise date vs received date) (every supplier; 2026-04-16 to 2026-10-12; 155 rows). Karen’s Outlook, Supplier emails (PO 4471; Oct 12; 1 row).
Next step Morsa proposes: Send Mike Reyes the last 90 days, receipt by receipt, from Karen’s Outlook, and ask what changed. Draft the next RM-CR08 PO to Westbrook Coil, approved alternate, 9 weeks. Chase every open PO with them until each has a firm date.
Which open POs have no firm date?
31 open POs have no firm date from the supplier, $101,139 in all: Northgate 7, Westbrook 6, Tai-Ho 6, Clearwater 6, Resortes 6. 3 of them are needed in the next two weeks: PO 4475, PO 4508, PO 4520.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP, Open purchase order lines (supplier has not confirmed a date; as of Oct 12; 31 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Every open PO without a firm date gets a follow-up from Karen’s Outlook every 2 business days, in the supplier’s language (Tai-Ho, Resortes), timed for their morning. Replies are read and the promise dates updated in the ERP, tagged with the email they came from. Anything unusual goes to Karen.
The floor
What runs short in the next two weeks?
One thing runs short in the next two weeks: 0.8 mm coil (RM-CR08) for Press 4, Thursday morning, Oct 15. PO 4471 now ships Friday, not Tuesday, and lands Monday. Press 4’s runs before then (WO 8812, WO 8815) need 12,700 lb; 4,000 lb is on hand. Short 8,700 lb. They feed SO 22871 (Talbot) and SO 22904 (Lakeway).
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP, Work orders (start in the next 14 days, material per run; 2026-10-12 to 2026-10-25; 5 rows). Plant 1 ERP, Items (on hand, Plant 1) (materials those work orders use; as of Oct 12; 3 rows). Plant 1 ERP, Open purchase order lines (same materials, arriving in the next 14 days; promise dates; 43 rows). Karen’s Outlook, Supplier emails (PO 4471; Oct 12; 1 row).
Next step Morsa proposes: Ask Northgate to ship 6 tons (2 coils, 12,000 lb) by Wednesday, from Karen’s Outlook. Thursday, run 41-1180 first on Press 4: its coil (RM-CR12) is in stock. Buy December’s RM-CR08 from Westbrook Coil, approved alternate, 9 weeks (draft PO).
What did Press 4 lose this week, and why?
Press 4 lost 92 minutes in the last 7 days, 4 stops, 480 pieces short of plan. Biggest: last shift, 40 min. Die change ran 40 min long: the new die needed shimming. 2,190 made of 2,400 planned.
Where the numbers came from: MES (presses and lines), Shift production and downtime log (machine is Press 4; 2026-10-05 to 2026-10-11; 14 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Maintenance ticket for Dan: shim the new die tonight, before the next run. Add the shim spec to the die’s setup sheet so the next change is quicker.
Money in and out
Who owes us money past 30 days?
3 customers owe $32,496.25 more than 30 days past due: Hartwell Equipment $18,420.50, Baypoint Trailer Parts $9,860.00, Kessler Dealer Group $4,215.75. Oldest: Kessler Dealer Group, 93 days past due. Total open: $221,356.50.
Where the numbers came from: Plant 1 ERP, Open customer invoices (net 30) (days past due over 30; as of Oct 12; 14 rows).
Next step Morsa proposes: Hartwell Equipment: statement and a reminder from the accounts mailbox, in your words. Baypoint Trailer Parts: statement and a reminder from the accounts mailbox, in your words. Kessler Dealer Group: statement and a reminder from the accounts mailbox, in your words. Credit hold on Kessler Dealer Group: new orders wait for your OK. Promises to pay are logged with a date and followed up.
Which supplier invoices don’t match the PO?
1 of 7 supplier invoices doesn’t match the PO: Northgate Steel Service NSS-30418 on PO 4458 bills $0.56/lb; the PO says $0.52/lb. 12,000 lb received, so $480 over. $0.56 is their price before the Sep 1 change.
Where the numbers came from: Accounts payable inbox, Supplier invoices (received this week; 2026-10-06 to 2026-10-12; 7 rows). Plant 1 ERP, PO lines and receipts (the POs on those invoices; as received; 7 rows). Plant 1 ERP, Supplier price changes (parts on those POs; 2026; 1 row).
Next step Morsa proposes: A note from Rachel Kim (accounts payable) to Northgate Steel Service: NSS-30418 uses the old price; please send a corrected invoice for $6,240. Hold payment of NSS-30418 until the corrected one is in. Approve the other invoices for payment.
Which ERPs have a built-in AI chatbot?
All six major mid-market ERPs ship one, each inside its own product. Checked on the vendors’ own sites on 21 October 2026.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Assistant: Microsoft Copilot (replaces Chat with Copilot from version 29)
What it answers: Answers questions about your Business Central data in plain language; the earlier chat turned questions into a table search, sort and filter
Limits the vendor states: Read-only: it can’t make changes, and changes need an agent; production-ready preview; the earlier chat was validated in English only and kept prompts 20 days
Source: learn.microsoft.com
Oracle NetSuite
Assistant: Ask Oracle (NetSuite 2026.2, from NetSuite Next)
What it answers: Data questions, reports, insights, record navigation and everyday tasks, with a Show Explanation button
Limits the vendor states: Works within each user’s roles and permissions; admins enable it by role; available in the United States and Canada, with more countries coming
Source: netsuite.com
SAP
Assistant: Joule
What it answers: Answers questions about business data, finds and opens apps, and gives help content across SAP cloud apps
Limits the vendor states: Activation goes through SAP support, with channel and regional prerequisites
Source: sap.com
Epicor
Assistant: Epicor Prism
What it answers: Natural-language chat to get information, request insights or take actions, through a network of AI agents in Epicor ERP
Limits the vendor states: Designed to respect the same access rules as the person logged in; now also available in the UK and Europe
Source: epicor.com
Acumatica
Assistant: AI Assistant
What it answers: Plain-language questions over business data and Generic Inquiries, answered as tables, charts, pivot tables and widgets
Limits the vendor states: Answers only from information the user is authorized to see
Source: acumatica.com
Odoo 19
Assistant: Ask AI
What it answers: Answers questions, opens views and shows reports anywhere in the database
Limits the vendor states: The standard agent can’t change data; custom agents are needed for that
Source: odoo.com
Each of these answers from one ERP: its own. That is fine for a single-ERP company. It breaks down for the common mid-size plant, where the second plant runs a different ERP after an acquisition, the schedule lives in a spreadsheet, and supplier dates live in a buyer’s inbox.
How do you test an ERP chatbot before you buy?
Ask questions you already know. Take last month’s late orders, top customers and slow movers from your own reports, and compare.
Check every number for a source. If it can’t show the table, filter and rows, don’t trust the number.
Ask across systems. “What ships late this week across both plants?” shows whether it reads past one ERP.
Ask one it can’t answer. A good one says what data it is missing instead of inventing a figure.
Try a permissions test. Log in as a buyer and ask for payroll. It should refuse.
Ask for the next step. A list is half an answer. See whether it proposes the action, and who approves it.
Run it read-only on last month first. Replay a month of real questions before anything writes to the ERP.
Morsa: text your plant a question, get the answer and the next step
Morsa is an AI system that runs a plant’s daily operations work on top of the systems it already has. The owner texts a question, from a phone, Teams, WhatsApp or email. Morsa answers from the plant’s own numbers, across every ERP, the MES, the shared spreadsheets and the team’s mailboxes, and shows where each number came from. Then it attaches the next step: stop the reorders, start the supplier return, chase the PO, ask for the corrected invoice. The right person approves, and Morsa does it, from their own mailbox, in their words.
That is the gallery above, and it is how Morsa works in a real plant:
Across ERPs. Penwick’s two plants run two different ERPs; “what ships late this week?” counts both.
Numbers with sources. Every answer names the system, table, filter, range and rows.
The next step, approved by people. Read-only until someone says yes; standing rules (such as “chase every open PO until there’s a firm date”) once they do.
Live in days. No new software for anyone, nothing replaced, pilot first on one live problem.
At J4S, a 120-person glass plant, on-time delivery went from about 30% to about 75% across roughly 900 commitments in 4 weeks. At JRG Automotive, Morsa caught 5 of 8 production-stopping shortages early, about $2M saved.
Related: AI order entry for distributors, the purchase order acknowledgement reader, the best ERP for manufacturing and Morsa vs MES and ERP.
