Lectrix, together with Orbweaver announced the launch of two AI tools: Lassie (Lectrix Artificial Site Search Intelligence Engine) and Laifae (Lectrix Artificial Intelligence Field Applications Engineer).
The tools, developed with OpenAI and built directly into its infrastructure, bring together Lectrix’ industry expertise and Orbweaver’s proven data integration credibility. The result is a secure, purpose-built AI platform that finally addresses two long-standing challenges engineers face when searching for products, documentation, and design guidance.
Lassie: AI-powered site search that works for engineers
- Natural language capability so engineers can now search manufacturer sites just like e.g. Google
- Contextual understanding of engineering language, including synonyms, typos, and partial matches
- Unified search across product catalogues, datasheets, CAD models, application notes, blog content, and distributor inventory
- Accurate, prioritised results that cut through noise and reduce wasted design time
- Real-time indexing of new content and distributor inventory, ensuring engineers always see the latest information
“Engineers shouldn’t have to struggle to find the right datasheet or model on a supplier site. Lassie finally delivers the fast, accurate, and engineer-friendly search tool our industry has been waiting for,” said Graham Kilshaw, CEO of Lectrix.
Laifae: a virtual field applications engineer
Manufacturers have always struggled to scale their field applications engineer (FAE) resources. Laifae solves this challenge by acting as a conversational virtual FAE:
- Trained on Lectrix’ unique formula of each manufacturer’s content for intelligent context and accuracy
- Instant answers to engineering questions, available 24/7
- Decision guidance that helps engineers evaluate options and trade-offs
- Seamless escalation to human FAEs when deeper support is needed, with opted-in conversations passed into CRM systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Dynamics
“With Laifae, engineers get immediate support right on the manufacturer’s website, while FAE teams can focus on higher-value, in-depth projects,” said Tony Powell, CEO of Orbweaver.
Training now for deployment
Both tools are currently being trained on several manufacturer product catalogues, technical libraries, and distributor feeds in preparation for upcoming deployments across the US and Europe. Unlike generic AI solutions, Lassie and Laifae are:
- Purpose-built for the electronic components industry
- Securely hosted by Lectrix and Orbweaver
- Designed to meet ITAR compliance and data governance standards
Empowering the engineering community
By combining Lectrix’ deep marketing and content expertise with Orbweaver’s data automation, and embedding directly into OpenAI’s technology stack, Lassie and Laifae deliver a level of accuracy, security, and scalability not previously available to the global engineering community.
“These tools represent the next evolution in how manufacturers and distributors connect with engineers – smarter, faster, and far more useful than anything we’ve seen before,” added Kilshaw.
