AI Agent & Automation Platform

IBM watsonx Orchestrate

IBM's AI agent and workflow platform, and the first watsonx product with an official link to IBM's IBM i coding agent. The August 2026 release added a Build with Bob preview that launches IBM Bob to generate agents and tools from natural language. Still no IBM i or Db2 for i connector in the box.

Vendor: IBM Operating environment: SaaS on IBM Cloud and AWS, connecting to enterprise applications through prebuilt and custom tools, MCP servers, and agents built in the Orchestrate agent builder or generated by IBM Bob Deployment: Cloud (IBM Cloud and AWS); AgentOps generally available on IBM Cloud and AWS as of the August 2026 release; Build with Bob is a preview on both

watsonx Orchestrate is IBM's platform for building AI agents that automate multi-step business workflows across enterprise applications. It is a general-purpose product rather than something built for IBM i. What changed in August 2026 is that it became the first watsonx product with an official connection to IBM Bob, IBM's AI coding agent for IBM i, through a Build with Bob option in the Create an agent dialog, which IBM currently lists as a preview.

What Build with Bob does

In the Create an agent dialog, Build with Bob launches IBM Bob into a development workspace connected to your watsonx Orchestrate environment. You describe the agent in natural language and Bob generates the agent definition, the tools it calls, and the workflow, and it can refine agents that already exist rather than only producing first drafts. IBM developer advocates had been doing this by hand since January 2026, wiring Bob to Orchestrate through two MCP servers, one serving the Orchestrate documentation and one driving the Orchestrate command line, and generating agents with the Agent Development Kit. The August release turned that pattern into an entry point in the product.

Check the label before you plan around it. IBM's release notes list Build with Bob as a preview, available on IBM Cloud and AWS deployments; the Orchestrate extension on the Bob side is generally available. What is GA in the same release is AgentOps on IBM Cloud and AWS, and the removal of the one-knowledge-source-per-agent limit. The release also redesigned the agent builder as a multi-tab workspace and added agent versioning, LangGraph agent discovery, regex-based guardrails on agent inputs and outputs, and service-account JWT authentication to enterprise systems.

Where it could apply to an IBM i shop

An IBM i shop with processes that span IBM i and other systems, say an order-entry application on IBM i alongside a cloud CRM, could use Orchestrate as the agent layer across them. Build with Bob does not change that calculation on its own, because it connects two build tools rather than an agent and your data. Nothing in the August release notes or the IBM announcement mentions IBM i, Db2 for i, or RPG.

The IBM i side of the agent is still yours to build, and the most direct route today is an Orchestrate tool that calls the open-source IBM i MCP Server, which exposes Db2 for i SQL and IBM i services to any MCP-aware agent. Bob is a reasonable tool to write that with, since it already consumes MCP servers itself. Every part of the chain exists and is published; IBM has not put them together in one tutorial, so it is a design to pilot rather than a product to buy. We walk the whole thing through in Bob, watsonx Orchestrate and the IBM i MCP Server.

Evaluate watsonx Orchestrate as a general enterprise agent platform first. Scope IBM i access as its own piece of work, starting with a read-only Db2 for i query through the IBM i MCP Server, before assuming any out-of-the-box IBM i support. Listing last revised September 2, 2026 for the August 2026 release.

Related

IBM Bob (Project Bob)

IBM's generally available AI coding agent for IBM i. Bob 2.0 and the Bob Premium Package for i shipped June 24, 2026, adding a Db2 for i Database Mode, about 30 IBM i tools, and direct work on source where it lives. Reported pricing from $20 to $240 per month.

IBM i MCP Server

An open-source, IBM-published Model Context Protocol server that lets AI agents and LLMs query Db2 for i data, inspect system objects, and take defined actions on IBM i using natural language.

IBM watsonx Assistant

IBM's general-purpose conversational AI platform for building chatbots and virtual assistants. Not IBM i-specific, but relevant for shops building conversational front ends over IBM i or Db2 for i data.

IBM watsonx.ai

IBM's studio for building, tuning, and deploying foundation models and generative AI applications, and the underlying AI layer other watsonx products are built on.

Related Reading

Bob, watsonx Orchestrate and the IBM i MCP Server: How the Chain Actually Fits Together

Three IBM products, three different jobs, and one combination IBM has never documented end to end. Here is what Bob, watsonx Orchestrate and the IBM i MCP Server each actually do, which links in the chain are real today, and which shops should pilot it now instead of waiting.

Build with Bob in watsonx Orchestrate: What Shipped, and What Is Still a Preview

IBM lists Build with Bob as a preview on AWS and IBM Cloud, while the Orchestrate extension for Bob, AgentOps, and multiple knowledge sources per agent all reached general availability in the same August 2026 release. Here is which piece carries which label, what a preview label actually costs you, and what an IBM i shop should and should not plan around.

What Is the IBM i MCP Server? Connecting AI Agents to Db2 for i Data

The IBM i MCP Server is an open-source, IBM-published project that lets AI agents and LLMs query Db2 for i data and take action on IBM i using natural language. Here is how it works and where it realistically applies.

Frequently Asked

What is Build with Bob in watsonx Orchestrate?

Build with Bob is an option added to watsonx Orchestrate's Create an agent dialog in the August 2026 release. Choosing it launches IBM Bob into a development workspace connected to your Orchestrate environment, so you can generate agents, tools and workflows from plain-language instructions, or refine agents that already exist, instead of hand-writing them. IBM's release notes list it as a preview on IBM Cloud and AWS deployments rather than generally available; the Orchestrate extension on the Bob side is GA. It is the first official link between Bob and the watsonx brand. It does not by itself connect an agent to IBM i data, and nothing in the release notes or announcement mentions IBM i, Db2 for i or RPG. That still needs a tool such as the open-source IBM i MCP Server.

Does IBM Bob connect to watsonx Orchestrate, and does that get an agent to Db2 for i?

Yes to the first, no to the second. Since the August 2026 Orchestrate release, a Build with Bob option in the Create an agent dialog launches Bob into a workspace wired to your Orchestrate tenant, where it generates the agent definition, its tools and the workflow from natural language. IBM lists that option as a preview on IBM Cloud and AWS, not as generally available. What it connects is two build tools, not an agent and your data. Nothing in the release notes or the announcement mentions IBM i, Db2 for i or RPG. To get an Orchestrate agent to Db2 for i you still need a tool that talks to IBM i, and the shortest one available is the open-source IBM i MCP Server, itself still in beta. That three-piece chain works on paper and every part of it is published, but IBM has not documented the combination end to end.