People + Vertical AI: The new operating model for energy and utilities

This is a piece about how utility companies are using artificial intelligence internally, and it doesn't touch on anything homeowners need to act on. A company called SEW.AI is promoting a software platform, called "Vertical AI," that combines data on customers, workforce, business operations, and the power grid into one system. The idea is to help utility employees make faster, better-informed decisions, not to replace them.

The piece gives two examples of utilities using this approach. A large Canadian electric utility is using it to manage electric vehicle charging and connect that data to grid planning. A major U.S. public utility, serving over a million customers, is using similar tools to make billing, payments, energy usage insights, and program sign-ups (including EV and clean-energy programs) easier to access in one place, with support in multiple languages.

For a homeowner, this mostly means your utility's backend systems and customer service tools may keep getting more connected and personalized over time, potentially making it easier to see your energy use, pay bills, or find programs like EV charging rates or efficiency incentives through your utility's app or website. But there's no new rebate, program, or deadline here — it's a look at the technology utilities are adopting to run more smoothly, not a change you need to respond to.