AI-Powered Field Service: A Blueprint for Asset-Intensive Utilities

As utility companies grapple with aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, and increasing regulatory demands, the imperative to modernize field operations has never been greater. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as a game-changer in Field Service Management (FSM), enabling utilities to shift from reactive repairs to predictive, data-driven interventions.

With up to 30% reductions in maintenance costs and 20-30% improvement in technician efficiency, AI-powered FSM is becoming a strategic lever for enhancing resilience, reliability, and customer-centricity. By embedding intelligence across the asset lifecycle, utilities are unlocking new levels of operational agility and service excellence, positioning themselves to thrive in a service-driven, data-intensive future.

Unlocking AI’s Potential in Utility Operations

Below are key AI innovations that utilities can adopt. Although these innovations have been piloted across industries, utilities must accelerate adoption and scale deployment to fully unlock their transformative potential through Field Service Management (FSM).

1. Predictive Maintenance and Visual AI for Field Interventions
AI models now combine sensor telemetry, historical asset performance, and visual inspection data to detect early signs of degradation. Technicians can capture and process images on-site using mobile tools, enabling proactive maintenance and reducing asset downtime.

2. Smart Dispatching with Skill-Based Crew Assignment
Mobility solutions enable real-time work order creation, contextual fault insights, and technician scheduling based on skill matrices and proximity. AI ensures the right team reaches the right location faster, improving SLA compliance and first-time fix rates.

3. Unified Digital Twin and GIS Ecosystem
Digital twins integrated with GIS layers provide a virtual replica of asset networks. Technicians can simulate failure scenarios or visually validate field discrepancies through redlining, enhancing spatial accuracy and improving patrol and maintenance planning.

4. Intelligent Asset Metadata and Condition Monitoring
FSM tools now support image-based metadata verification, ensuring system records reflect real-world conditions. TLP (Test Lead Point) readings and thickness measurements can be instantly analyzed to flag corrosion or cathodic protection anomalies, accelerating field response.

5. AI-Augmented Inventory and Resource Planning
Forecasting spare parts, planning corrosion mitigation, and estimating materials for pipeline projects now benefit from AI-driven pattern recognition and image-based planning. From house-level utility layouts to long-range asset planning, AI streamlines end-to-end execution.

6. Conversational AI and Knowledge Automation
Voice assistants and chatbots guide field personnel in retrieving technical data or SOPs—hands-free and on-site—enhancing safety and decision-making agility. This reduces field escalations and reliance on centralized support.

7. Process Automation and Compliance Intelligence
AI orchestrates backend processes such as work classification, compliance tracking, and warranty validation, reducing manual errors and improving response times.

A Practical Guide to Smart Field Service Evolution

Utility companies should adopt a bold, strategic, and technology-driven transformation roadmap to fully harness the benefits of AI in Field Service Management (FSM):

1. Assessment and Strategy Development

Begin with a maturity assessment to evaluate current FSM capabilities, data quality, and integration gaps. Define a strategic roadmap aligned with business KPIs such as uptime, compliance, and customer satisfaction.

2. Pilot Implementation

Identify high-impact use cases—such as predictive maintenance or smart dispatching—and launch pilot programs to validate AI models and measure ROI.

3. Scalable Rollout

Expand successful pilots across the enterprise, integrating AI into core FSM workflows and aligning them with enterprise asset management systems.

4. Change Management and Training

Ensure adoption through structured training programs, stakeholder engagement, and continuous feedback loops. Equip field teams with mobile-first platforms that support real-time and offline operations.

5. Continuous Optimization

Use AI-driven analytics to monitor performance, identify improvement areas, and refine FSM strategies over time. Embed reliability-centered maintenance and asset performance management principles into daily operations.

Building the Intelligent Utility of Tomorrow

The path forward is clear: assess your current FSM maturity, identify high-impact AI use cases, and begin the journey towards intelligent field operations. Utility companies must partner with experts capable of who can seamlessly integrate strategic advisory, solution design, and implementation support to enhance asset reliability and service performance, and minimize downtime.

Utility companies that act now will be better positioned to lead in a service-driven and data-intensive future.

About the Authors

Harsh Agarwal
Principal Consultant, Utilities Consulting

Harsh is a utilities consultant with over 10 years of experience, specializing in asset management and field service operations. With a strong foundation in petroleum engineering and extensive field exposure, he has helped utility clients enhance asset performance, streamline operations, and support digital transformation. Harsh has contributed to initiatives including asset lifecycle planning, field data integration, and process optimization. His field-first perspective enables him to align business needs with practical solutions, driving measurable improvements in reliability, safety, and service efficiency. He is committed to bridging field realities with enterprise solutions to deliver sustainable value in the utilities sector.

Bhawani Sharma
Consulting Partner, Utilities Consulting

With 25 years of industry experience, Bhawani specializes in enhancing value through strategic asset management and field force management initiatives within the utilities sector. His expertise has guided numerous utilities clients in developing comprehensive IT strategies aimed at transforming their asset management and field service management operations.

Shirish Patil
Head of Consulting – Utilities, ECO, and GIS

Shirish has worked in the utilities industry for more than 28 years. He has championed and architected many large transformation engagements across the power, gas, and water sectors globally, including in Australia, the UK, Germany, the US, and the Middle East. As an industry leader for Wipro’s Utilities, ECO, and GIS sectors, Shirish helps clients develop and operationalize digital and operational technologies for business transformation, data monetization, and new business models.