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Written by Drew Millen, Chief Technology Officer at VertiGIS
In my previous article about VertiGIS Neo, I’ve shared our deep vertical market specialization. Today, I want to focus on what excites me most: how AI is fundamentally changing what’s possible in spatial technology.
The AI Imperative: From Manual to Magical
We’ve reached an inflection point in our industry. The traditional approaches that served us well—manual data entry, complex form-based interfaces, time-intensive analysis workflows—are giving way to something far more powerful. AI isn’t just adding features to existing products; it’s reimagining how humans interact with spatial data entirely.
At VertiGIS, we’re not interested in AI for AI’s sake. We’re focused on AI that delivers unparalleled productivity gains across three distinct dimensions, each addressing real pain points our customers face every day.
The Three Dimensions of VertiGIS Neo AI
1. Neo AI Assistants: Empowering End-User Productivity
The first dimension focuses on the daily experience of field workers, analysts, and decision-makers who interact with our software. These AI assistants can offer ease-of-use, time-savings, and accessibility improvements that transform web and mobile experiences from complex technical tools into intuitive, conversational interfaces.
We are considering how we can revolutionize data analysis. Traditionally, retrieving and comparing spatial data meant navigating through multiple screens, selecting features manually, and exporting results to CSV files for analysis. We have successfully experimented with an AI-driven attribute analysis capability that streamlines this entire process, allowing users to simply ask questions about their data in natural language and receive immediate, contextual insights.
We’ve also proven how integrated speech-to-text functionality can fundamentally change how users build queries and filters. Instead of clicking through form fields and dropdown menus, users can now speak their requirements directly: “Show me all water mains installed before 1950 within 500 feet of schools.” The AI translates this natural language into precise spatial queries, reducing the number of clicks and form entries needed while making the application feel more intuitive and user-friendly.
These assistants don’t replace human expertise—they amplify it, removing the technical barriers that often stand between professionals and the insights they need.
2. Neo AI Productivity: Accelerating App-Builder Efficiency
The second dimension targets the system administrators, GIS analysts, and technical professionals who configure and customize our solutions. Here, AI acts as intelligent “co-pilots” that help perform administrative tasks with unprecedented ease.
Workflow design, traditionally a manual process requiring technical knowledge, becomes dramatically simpler with AI automation. Our system can analyze business requirements and suggest optimal workflow configurations, automatically generating the complex logic that previously required hours of manual setup.
Similarly, automatic asset checklist generation transforms how organizations ensure data quality and completeness. Instead of manually creating validation rules and inspection protocols, AI analyzes existing data patterns and regulatory requirements to automatically generate comprehensive checklists tailored to specific asset types and organizational needs.
This dimension recognizes that the people who build and maintain GIS systems are often under tremendous pressure to deliver more functionality with limited resources. AI productivity tools give them superpowers, enabling them to accomplish in minutes what previously took hours or days.
3. Neo AI Process Transformation: Reimagining Enterprise Workflows
The third and most transformative dimension addresses how entire organizations accomplish their core workflows. This isn’t about making existing processes faster—it’s about fundamentally reimagining what’s possible when AI becomes an integral part of enterprise operations.
Take mobile inspection workflows. Today, a utility worker photographing a damaged pole must manually create inspection records, classify the type of damage, assess severity levels, and enter detailed attributes. AI image recognition for object classification and damage assessment transforms this entire process. Workers simply take photos, and AI automatically identifies asset types, assesses damage severity, and populates detailed inspection forms. The technology handles complex classification tasks while humans focus on decision-making and remediation planning.
We can also revolutionize how organizations handle the massive backlog of paper-based as-built construction documentation that exists across utilities and telecommunications companies. Paper-to-digital AI can read scanned documents of any format, recognize attributes using advanced language models, and automatically populate GIS databases. What once required armies of data entry personnel can now be accomplished through intelligent automation, freeing human resources for higher-value activities.
Perhaps most ambitiously, we envision one day being able to automatically digitize network assets based on simple rulesets and natural language prompts. Organizations can describe their infrastructure in plain English, and AI translates these descriptions into precise spatial data models, complete with appropriate attribution and connectivity rules.
Built on Proven Technology, Designed for Real-World Impact
Our AI innovations are moving beyond experimental and into reality—they’re built on robust, proven technologies integrated seamlessly with the ArcGIS ecosystem that our customers already trust. Our plan for AI in VertiGIS Neo is to implement capabilities using established AI models and frameworks, ensuring reliability and scalability from day one.
The image recognition solutions, for example, are already implemented entirely within our Mobile SDK and can be easily specialized for various use cases. We’ve used proven models from Azure OpenAI, which can be replaced with specially trained models for specific organizational needs. The flexibility extends to data handling as well—beyond simply creating features, the AI can provide users with head-starts in populating attributes, accelerating data collection processes while maintaining human oversight and validation.
Addressing the Challenges: Ethics and Responsibility
We’re not naive about the challenges AI presents. Questions around algorithmic bias, job displacement, environmental impact, and regulatory compliance are real and deserve serious consideration. As AI capabilities continue to evolve, we’re committed to transparent dialogue with our customers and partners about responsible implementation.
We’re actively monitoring developments like emerging AI governance frameworks, staying vigilant about hallucination risks in AI-generated content, and carefully considering the workforce implications of automation. We believe AI should augment human capabilities, not replace human judgment, particularly in critical infrastructure decisions that affect public safety and community welfare.
Our approach emphasizes human-in-the-loop workflows, where AI provides intelligent assistance while preserving human oversight and final decision-making authority. This balanced approach ensures that organizations can capture AI’s productivity benefits while maintaining the accountability and expertise that critical infrastructure demands.
The Path Forward: Innovation Through Collaboration
What excites me most about this AI journey is that we’re just getting started. The capabilities I’ve described represent our current thinking, but the roadmap ahead is vast and full of possibilities. We’re actively seeking input from our partner community and customers to help prioritize which innovations will deliver the greatest value.
Some of these AI capabilities are ready for demonstration today, while others represent our vision for what’s possible in the coming months and years.
More Than Technology: A Strategic Vision
VertiGIS Neo’s AI strategy represents more than technological advancement—it’s a fundamental reimagining of how spatial technology can serve organizations and communities. By focusing on productivity gains across end-users, system builders, and enterprise processes, we’re creating a comprehensive approach that addresses the full spectrum of how organizations interact with spatial data.
The future we’re building is one where technical complexity gives way to intuitive interaction, where manual processes become intelligent automation, and where the power of spatial analysis becomes accessible to everyone who needs it. It’s a future where GIS professionals can focus on strategic thinking and problem-solving rather than technical mechanics, where field workers can capture and analyze data as naturally as having a conversation, and where organizations can transform their operations through the intelligent application of spatial intelligence.
This is just the beginning of our AI journey, and it’s a journey we’re excited to take with our partners, customers, and the broader GIS community. The future of spatial intelligence is here, and it’s more exciting than we ever imagined.
Learn more about VertiGIS Neo: https://www.vertigis.com/neo-solutions/
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