Oracle NetSuite Next brings AI-first ERP with natural language assistant

Oracle NetSuite has unveiled NetSuite Next, positioning it as “the future of NetSuite” with AI-first functionality centered around a natural language assistant called Ask Oracle. The platform represents a fundamental shift in how enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems—software that helps businesses manage day-to-day operations like accounting, procurement, and project management—operate, moving beyond traditional interfaces to conversational, AI-driven workflows that could reshape how businesses interact with their data.

What you should know: NetSuite Next introduces comprehensive AI capabilities that transform how users navigate and analyze business data.

• Ask Oracle serves as a built-in AI assistant that allows users to navigate, search, analyze, and act across the entire NetSuite dataset using natural language.
• The platform delivers context-aware answers, visualizations, and interactive content while explaining its responses and providing source justification.
• Users can access AI Canvas, a collaborative workspace for analyzing problems, brainstorming, and triggering automated workflows.
• The system includes narrative summaries, automated complex task workflows, and document intelligence that extracts information from invoices, contracts, and other business documents.

The big picture: Industry analysts view this as more than a typical product update—it’s a paradigm shift in ERP functionality.

• “NetSuite’s new release is less like a product refresh and more like a shift in how ERP systems should actually work,” said Robert Kramer, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, a technology research firm.
• The platform is “designed around how people interact with data day to day — asking questions, reviewing outcomes, and taking action.”

SuiteCloud Platform expansion: Oracle simultaneously launched the next generation of its customization environment with comprehensive AI integration tools.

• AI Connector Service allows users to choose AI models, define operating parameters, and govern interactions with NetSuite.
• SuiteAgent Frameworks enable building, integrating, and deploying custom AI agents on the platform.
• New AI Toolkits include APIs that expose NetSuite’s AI services for use in SuiteApps, workflows, and customizations.
• AI Studios provide capabilities for customizing, managing, and tuning AI features within NetSuite.

Timeline and availability: The rollout will occur in phases over the next year.

• NetSuite Next will be available in North America within 12 months.
• Customer previews begin in early 2026.
• Some AI capabilities are available now, with additional features arriving as part of the broader NetSuite Next launch.

What they’re saying: Analysts praise Oracle’s measured approach to AI integration.

• “Oracle should also be applauded for taking its time in getting these features to market in a patient and mindful manner, as opposed to its competitors, who seem to be throwing ‘AI spaghetti’ against the wall on a daily basis,” said Scott Bickley, advisory fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, a technology advisory firm.
• Craig Sullivan, NetSuite’s group VP of product management, emphasized transparency: “The application of AI and the incorporation of AI is something that we’re looking to build on to and further ensure that we are providing transparency around the numbers and the way that AI is behaving.”

Additional features: Oracle also introduced Subscription Metrics for SaaS businesses using NetSuite, providing a unified view of customer, revenue, and subscription history with dashboards and reporting available immediately, plus AI-generated narrative summaries coming within 12 months.