Resource Library
Technical articles on watsonx on IBM i, IBM Bob, the IBM i MCP Server, AI code assistants, on-chip AI acceleration, and AI adoption planning for AS/400 shops.
AI for Trucking Companies Still Running IBM i: What Actually Works
Four AI plays are realistic for a carrier running dispatch on IBM i, and only one of them has shipped as a product feature. Document extraction at the edge, predictive maintenance on fleet maintenance history, agent access through the IBM i MCP Server, and IBM Bob against the rating engine nobody wants to touch.
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.
IBM Bob Pricing and Packages: Which One an IBM i Shop Actually Needs
IBM Bob is three published monthly plans running from $20 to $200, plus a $40 per month Premium Package for i that is what actually connects Bob to your system. Because that add-on costs the same on every plan, the plan you pick is a consumption decision rather than a capability one. Here is what each package contains, which one fits which shop, and what changed between Bob 1.0 and 2.0.
IBM Power Autonomous Operations, Explained Before GA: An AI Agent That Runs the Box, Not the Code
IBM Power Autonomous Operations reaches general availability on September 23, 2026: an agent that watches Power systems, diagnoses what it finds and resolves capacity constraints once a person approves. What IBM has published, what the 15x figure measured, how it differs from Bob, and what to ask before GA.
IBM TechXchange 2026: What IBM i AI Watchers Should Expect in Atlanta
IBM TechXchange 2026 runs October 26 to 29 in Atlanta, and Project Bob was unveiled at TechXchange 2025. Here is what IBM has actually published about the event, what is realistically on the table for IBM i after a year of shipped AI releases, and what would count as genuine news rather than a restatement.
RAG on IBM i: Db2 for i Has No Vector Store, So Where Do the Embeddings Go?
Every RAG tutorial assumes a vector-capable database. Db2 for i is not one, and IBM has not said it is getting one. Here is where the embeddings actually go for retrieval-augmented generation on IBM i, which piece of the loop runs where, and what to settle before you index a single document.
What the Summer 2026 IBM i Technology Refreshes Did and Did Not Do for AI
IBM i 7.6 TR2 and 7.5 TR8 shipped on July 18, 2026 with no AI features in them at all. Here is exactly what did ship, where IBM's AI work for the platform actually went instead, and why "wait for the next Technology Refresh" is the wrong plan if you are waiting for AI in the operating system.
AI Code Assistants for RPG and COBOL Compared: What Actually Works on IBM i
IBM Bob, GitHub Copilot, and general-purpose chat assistants all get used near RPG and COBOL code. Here is how they actually differ for IBM i modernization work.
AI-Assisted RPG Modernization: From Fixed-Format to Free-Format and Beyond
AI-assisted RPG modernization is one piece of a larger modernization picture. Here is how fixed-to-free-format conversion fits alongside DevOps tooling and UI modernization.
How On-Chip Matrix Math Acceleration Changes AI on IBM i
IBM Power10 and Power11 processors build Matrix Math Acceleration directly into every core. Here is what that means for running AI inferencing workloads alongside production IBM i partitions.
IBM i AI Adoption Roadmap: A Practical Plan From Pilot to Production
Most IBM i AI initiatives fail from being scoped too broadly, too early. Here is a practical, phased plan from a narrow pilot to a production rollout.
What Is IBM Bob? IBM's AI Coding Agent for RPG on IBM i Explained
IBM Bob is IBM's current, generally available AI coding agent for IBM i. Bob 2.0 and the Bob Premium Package for i shipped June 24, 2026. Here is what it actually does, how it succeeded the earlier watsonx Code Assistant for i preview, what the Premium Package adds, and what to confirm before you commit.
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.