The AI Engine is the intelligence layer of the SC Platform. It takes a user's question (or in the future, a scheduled trigger), decides which data sources to query, retrieves the relevant information, and synthesizes a response — all within the security boundaries of the caller's permissions.
It runs as a separate deployment from the Platform API but shares the same codebase, auth model, and integration catalog.
Currently, the AI Engine powers Ask Ricky. When a mechanic asks a question:
The engine receives the question along with the caller's identity and permissions. It then autonomously decides which tools to invoke:
| Tool | When Used | Data Source |
|---|---|---|
| Get Live Telemetry | Questions about current equipment status | M-Link / Enbase |
| Get Work Order History | Questions about past maintenance or repairs | NetSuite via Platform API |
| Search Knowledge Base | Troubleshooting procedures, best practices | Azure AI Search (curated via Ricky Curator) |
The AI Engine doesn't have blanket access to all data. The caller's identity determines which tools are available and which data each tool can return — this is the platform's scope-based tool gating in action. A mechanic asking about unit 4523 only gets data for unit 4523 — and only if they're authorized to see that unit.
The large language model powering all AI interactions. Claude provides reasoning, tool-use decisions, and natural language generation. SC uses Claude's tool-use capability to let the model autonomously decide which data to retrieve.
The agent orchestration framework. Mastra manages the conversation loop — sending the user's message to Claude, executing tool calls, feeding results back, and returning the final response. It handles retries, context management, and tool registration.
Today the AI Engine is reactive — it waits for a user to ask a question. The next evolution is proactive agents that run on a schedule, monitoring operational and financial data, and surface findings to the right person before anyone has to ask.
The critical insight: the same tools, data connections, and security model that power Ask Ricky will power proactive agents. No new integrations required — just a different trigger (scheduled instead of user-initiated).