The Next AI-Integrated System is an advanced solution that provides 360-degree onboard assistance and works even offline.
The Next AI-Integrated System is the first proprietary artificial intelligence platform designed specifically for yachts that can operate locally without the need for an active internet connection. This technological innovation was developed by the prestigious Italian yacht builder Next Yacht Group in collaboration with AI Technologies, a company specialized in AI and machine learning, and the system integrator YES Group. It will be available this year across the entire AB Yacht and Maiora ranges.
The assistant integrates with onboard systems, operating at 360 degrees during navigation while ensuring maximum data privacy. Its capabilities range from smart, real-time monitoring of status data – such as fuel levels and various alarms – to the control of home automation and lighting systems, as well as maintenance management.
What is the Next AI-Integrated System?
With the Next AI-Integrated System, Next Yacht Group introduces a solution that explores previously uncharted territory for artificial intelligence in the luxury yachting sector. The new AI platform has a very clear goal: to act on multiple fronts in order to improve and optimize the monitoring of the vessel’s overall health and to enhance the daily work of both owners and crew members.
To achieve this, the system was developed to communicate autonomously with onboard instruments, sensors, and auxiliary devices, as it includes everything it needs to function anywhere and at any time – from ports in the world’s most renowned destinations to the most remote areas of the oceans. Modern yachts are increasingly smart, but each function often requires different software or apps. With the Next AI-Integrated System, instead, owners benefit from a ready-to-use assistant whose capabilities extend into every area of the yacht: collecting information on tank levels, monitoring alarms and maintenance, managing climate control, lighting, and entertainment, as well as enabling customizable home-automation scenarios and routines.
User interaction is intuitive and straightforward thanks to an integrated text chat within the proprietary My AB and My Maiora apps for the respective product lines, which serve as the control interface for the AI platform. Voice interaction will be introduced at a later stage, with wake-word activation and features such as predictive maintenance, further enhancing yacht safety and reliability.
Privacy and continuous operation
One of the key strengths of the Next AI-Integrated System is its ability to operate locally without connecting to the internet or relying on the cloud, unlike many other next-generation solutions. The immediate benefits include continuous operation in any environmental condition- even the most challenging – and in any location where the yacht may be sailing or moored. In addition, all sensitive data, conversations, commands, and information remain fully protected, ensuring maximum privacy.
All core system functions are therefore confined within the vessel itself, while an optional feature allows for remote, read-only access via 5G/WAN connectivity if requested by the owner.
“We are not bringing intelligence onto the yacht; we are giving the yacht its own intelligence. Privacy is fundamental: AI should not need permission from connectivity,” explained Giorgio Mattei, Vice President of Next Yacht Group, to Wired. “Our mission is to have a great deal of intelligence on board, but always at the service of people.”
The Next AI-Integrated System was unveiled to the public for the first time at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) last October aboard an AB 110 yacht, and it will be available across the entire AB Yacht and Maiora ranges starting in 2026.