NetSuite unveils NetSuite Next, expands SuiteCloud Platform adding AI

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Oct 7, 20256 mins
Artificial IntelligenceERP SystemsNetSuite

The core component of the update is a natural language AI assistant called Ask Oracle.

Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle’s NetSuite Global Business Unit
Credit: Oracle

Oracle NetSuite is joining the move to an AI-first world with its announcement of NetSuite Next, which it describes as “the future of NetSuite.”

NetSuite Next adopts the same Redwood design language Oracle has been applying to its other products since 2019, and will include agentic workflows, conversational intelligence, and natural language search, the company said. A built-in AI assistant, Ask Oracle, will allow users to navigate, search, analyze, and act across the entire NetSuite dataset in natural language, delivering context-aware answers, visualizations, and interactive content, as well as explaining its responses, it said.

In addition, Ask Oracle “acts across customizations and extensions built on the SuiteCloud Platform, including partner applications available in the SuiteCloud Developer Network, to provide a seamless experience and contextual insight across the suite,” the company said.

Ask Oracle builds on the existing Global search, adding AI that can be used to find anything within NetSuite or to navigate within it, said Craig Sullivan, group VP of product management.

When Ask Oracle answers, NetSuite highlights numbers in its response and links to their source in the financial report, providing justification on demand, he said.

“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,” he said.

NetSuite Next will include a collaborative workspace allowing users to analyze problems, brainstorm, and trigger agentic workflows called AI Canvas, the company said. It will also offer narrative summaries and explanations to help users spot opportunities and risks; agentic workflows to help automate complex tasks, while always giving the user the choice to approve actions or permit autonomous activities; and document and knowledge integration via large language models (LLMs) that extract information from documents such as invoices, contracts, policy manuals, purchase orders, and more to improve NetSuite AI’s accuracy.

The product will be available in North America within the next 12 months, the company said. Sullivan added that customer previews will begin in early 2026.

NetSuite’s new release is less like a product refresh and more like a shift in how ERP systems should actually work, according to Robert Kramer, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

“NetSuite Next is designed around how people interact with data day to day — asking questions, reviewing outcomes, and taking action. The new Ask Oracle assistant isn’t just a chatbot; it’s a practical way to search, analyze, and act across the entire suite using plain language. Tools like AI Canvas and narrative summaries make it easier to understand what the data is saying, while document intelligence cuts out repetitive steps like rekeying information.”

Scott Bickley, an advisory fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, agreed, saying that the announcement “unveils a well-thought-out set of capabilities empowering table stakes features like narrative summaries, LLM-based document review and knowledge integrations, and insights and agentic workflows.”

SuiteCloud

The company also announced the next generation of its extensibility and customization environment, NetSuite SuiteCloud Platform, which now allows customers to integrate AI models, design custom AI agents, and create AI-driven workflows across the entire suite.

Additions include an AI Connector Service, which will allow users to choose AI models, define their operating parameters, and govern their interactions with NetSuite; SuiteAgent Frameworks, which let users build, integrate, and deploy their own AI agents on the SuiteCloud Platform; AI Toolkits which include APIs exposing NetSuite’s AI services for use in SuiteApps, workflows, and customizations; AI Assistants including SuiteCloud Developer Assistant to assist coders, and SuiteFlow Assistant to help design workflows using natural language in NetSuite Next; and AI Studios to enable customization, management, and tuning of AI capabilities in NetSuite.

Some of the AI capabilities are available now, with more arriving over the next 12 months as part of NetSuite Next.

“The SuiteCloud expansion gives partners and customers real flexibility to create or connect AI agents that fit how they run their business—without breaking governance or adding technical debt,” Kramer said. “The SuiteApp.ai Marketplace adds a trust layer by verifying which apps meet NetSuite’s standards for privacy, reliability, and performance. It’s the kind of foundation that helps AI scale across industries instead of living in isolated pilots.”

Bickley added, “While the announced functionality is not notably different from what other ERP providers are bringing to market, the focus on responsible AI and AI governance is laudable and notable.” 

For existing SaaS and subscription-based businesses using NetSuite, the company also added Subscription Metrics, a unified view of customer, revenue, and subscription history. It includes dashboards, and reporting, available now, and, coming in the next 12 months, AI generated narrative summaries of their metrics.

“NetSuite Subscription Metrics tackles a long-standing pain point for subscription businesses: getting a single, reliable view of financial and customer health,” Kramer said. “It gives CFOs and CROs the clarity they’ve been missing without extra spreadsheets or manual reconciliation.”

Both analysts agree that NetSuite is doing AI right.

“It seems NetSuite is focusing on where AI can actually make a difference—reducing manual work, improving insight quality, and helping teams move from understanding the data to acting on it,” Kramer said. “It’s practical, grounded, and aimed squarely at improving how companies operate, not just how they report.”

Bickley is also impressed with Oracle’s selection of the places in the products to embed AI. “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,” he said. “Providing bonus points to partners working within the controlled Oracle AI ecosystem via the AI Elite badge signals the higher standards to clients evaluating available partner solutions. The focus on practical and safe solutions is encouraging for NetSuite customers.”

Lynn Greiner

Lynn Greiner has been interpreting tech for businesses for over 20 years and has worked in the industry as well as writing about it, giving her a unique perspective into the issues companies face. She has both IT credentials and a business degree.

Lynn was most recently Editor in Chief of IT World Canada. Earlier in her career, Lynn held IT leadership roles at Ipsos and The NPD Group Canada. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Financial Post, InformIT, and Channel Daily News, among other publications.

She won a 2014 Excellence in Science & Technology Reporting Award sponsored by National Public Relations for her work raising the public profile of science and technology and contributing to the building of a science and technology culture in Canada.

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