ETQ launches Reliance AI: practical intelligence for quality leaders
ETQ, part of Hexagon, has introduced Reliance AI-an AI ecosystem built into the ETQ Reliance quality management system-to help manufacturers move faster, tighten compliance, and improve decision-making. This isn't AI for show. It's embedded where work happens and controlled by your governance standards.
Two native capabilities are the first step: Form Field Advisor and Complaint & Feedback Advisor. Both sit inside existing workflows, work with your data, and keep humans in control.
What's new now
- Form Field Advisor (available now): On-demand prompts prefill form fields using your historical records and ETQ's contextual process intelligence. Users accept, reject, or override suggestions-so you get speed without losing judgment or traceability.
- Complaint & Feedback Advisor (early adopters end of Q1 2026): Guided intake for customer artifacts with automatic surfacing of related complaints, actions, urgency, and risk. It streamlines investigation and decision support, and can be customized to your process.
As ETQ's CEO Vick Vaishnavi put it, "Our native AI solutions for ETQ Reliance, along with our complete Reliance AI strategy, reflect our commitment to not deliver AI for AI's sake, but to meet the specific, practical needs of quality professionals."
The Reliance AI ecosystem: three ways to run AI
- Built-in, native AI: Capabilities like Form Field Advisor and Complaint & Feedback Advisor can be activated instantly within daily workflows. Admins control where AI runs to align with data governance.
- Best-of-breed AI: Partnerships with companies such as Augmentir (connected worker) and Acerta (predictive quality) bring specialized options without heavy integration overhead.
- Bring-your-own AI: The ETQ Reliance Quality Data Lake (QDL) provides analytics-ready data to train your own models and create bespoke analytics-while maintaining access controls and auditability.
ETQ is collaborating with AWS to build early native capabilities. "By combining Amazon Bedrock and agentic AI capabilities with ETQ's deep quality management expertise, we're helping manufacturers move faster, make smarter decisions, and scale innovation," said Chad Neal of AWS.
Why this matters for management
- Faster cycle times: Prefilled fields and guided intake reduce rework and waiting on missing data.
- Higher data quality: Consistent, context-aware inputs improve audits, traceability, and CAPA effectiveness.
- Governance-first: Admin controls and human-in-the-loop steps align with compliance and risk policies.
- Flexible path: Use native AI, integrate partners, or build your own-no vendor lock-in on approach.
As James Wells of LNS Research noted, trust and control determine adoption. ETQ's design-first approach-tested with real customers in production-keeps usability and oversight front and center.
How to pilot this with minimal friction
- Pick high-friction workflows: Start with forms that cause delays or frequent corrections (e.g., NCRs, deviations, supplier incidents).
- Define acceptance rules: When should users accept, edit, or reject AI suggestions? Make it explicit and auditable.
- Measure impact: Track time-to-complete, percent of complete submissions, first-pass yield on complaints, and CAPA closure time.
- Integrate with risk: Tie outputs to risk scoring, escalation paths, and change control.
- Set data guardrails: Confirm which records can inform AI recommendations and who can activate AI features.
- Train for judgment: Short sessions on "good acceptance vs. override" behavior beat long theory decks.
Key product details and timeline
- Form Field Advisor: Available now inside ETQ Reliance.
- Complaint & Feedback Advisor: Early adopter access by end of Q1 2026.
- Availability: All new ETQ Reliance NXG customers will have access to AI capabilities.
Strategic context
ETQ is part of Hexagon. Octave, the proposed spin-off from Hexagon AB, is expected to debut in early 2026, combining Asset Lifecycle Intelligence and Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial divisions with ETQ and the Bricsys CAD portfolio. This broader ecosystem signals continued investment in data-driven operations across design, production, and quality.
Manager's quick-check questions
- Where will AI recommendations reduce delays without increasing risk?
- Which KPIs prove value in 90 days (time-to-complete, audit findings, complaint triage speed)?
- What governance rules define data access, user roles, and override behavior?
- Do we need native features only, or a mix with partner solutions and in-house models?
Learn more about ETQ Reliance and Reliance AI at ETQ. For technical context on underlying AI services, see Amazon Bedrock.
Your membership also unlocks:
