How Facilio AI works, explained for IT teams
AI in Facility Management

How Facilio AI Works: Architecture, Security and Integrations for IT

Jaihind_GN Jaihind_GN
17 min read

If your IT team wants to know how Facilio AI works, here is the short version: three layers sit on top of the systems you already run. A knowledge layer holds how facilities work, an action layer connects agents to your systems, and a governance layer decides what they may do and records everything they did.

IT teams rarely get a clear picture of where an AI agent runs, what it touches and who answers when it goes wrong. In this guide, we have tried to explain all of it in one place: the architecture, the connections, the controls, where your data lives and what your IT team owns.

Key takeaways

  • Facilio AI has three layers: knowledge, action and governance.
  • Agents connect to 40+ systems, including ones with no API and ones behind your firewall.
  • Each agent acts as a named user, with that user's permissions and nothing more.
  • Every run is recorded end to end and can be replayed step by step.
  • Your data and prompts stay in your hosting region, and we work with several AI model providers.

What are the three layers of the Facilio AI platform?

Knowledge, action and governance. Each layer does one job, and together they let an agent do facilities work across your systems without new silos or a separate copy of your data.

how facilio ai works for it teams: knowledge, action and governance layers on top of your cmms, erp, building management and identity systems
How Facilio AI works, in three layers

Knowledge layer: How facilities run, built in

Agents arrive knowing how facilities work. A facilities data model covers work orders, assets, sites, vendors, contracts and SLAs, and a knowledge store holds the rules, documents and history the agents draw on. Your data stays yours.

Action layer: Where the work happens

Work arrives on any channel, such as voice, WhatsApp, email or the Claude and ChatGPT connector for CMMS. Agents pick it up, follow your workflows and act across your systems through built-in connections. When a team needs a screen or a portal rather than an agent, we build a custom app on the same platform.

Governance layer: What agents may do, and proof of what they did

Guardrails set what each agent can do and when it must ask a person. Evals test every agent before it goes live, and tracing records every run after. This is the layer IT and risk teams care about most, and it is the subject of our AI governance assessment.

How do Facilio's AI agents connect to your systems?

Through built-in connectors for 40+ systems, a browser agent for systems with no API, and an on-premises bridge for systems behind your firewall. You approve every connection, and nothing is ripped out or replaced.

What you connectHow it connectsWhat IT controls
CMMS, ERP and financeBuilt-in connectors, through each system's APIWhich systems connect, and which user each agent acts as
Building management and identityBuilt-in connectorsWhich data each agent can read
Portals with no APIA browser agent that works the screensThe login it uses, with alerts if anything fails
Systems behind your firewallFacilio Relay, dialing out from your networkNo inbound ports, and credentials stay on your side
ChannelsYour existing phone numbers, WhatsApp, email, Claude and ChatGPTWhich channels each agent answers on

Systems with an API

Your CMMS, ERP, finance, building management and identity systems connect through their APIs. Agents can run on our own CMMS or on top of the one you already have, such as Planon, Corrigo or MaintainX. See our CMMS integrations for the full list, and how AI agents work with IBM Maximo.

Systems with no API

Some portals have no API at all. For those, a browser agent works the screens the way a person would. At Berkeley Services, where we also run the AI helpdesk, one does this for a client's FM portal that sits behind single sign-on and a one-time code. It signs itself in, enters each work order within 15 minutes and alerts our team if anything keeps failing.

Systems behind your firewall

For systems you do not expose to the internet, Facilio Relay runs inside your network and dials out to the platform. Nothing dials in, so there are no inbound ports to open, and credentials for your internal systems stay on your side.

How are Facilio's AI agents governed and secured?

Through limits you agree before go-live, a person for anything outside them, and a full record of every run.

  • Acts as the user: An agent works with one user's permissions, never a shared system account, and every action is attributed to a person.
  • Limits per agent: Operating limits, approval steps and spend thresholds are agreed before go-live. Anything outside them goes to a person.
  • Big changes ask first: Deleting, overriding or bulk-changing records always needs a person to confirm.
  • Full trace: Every run is recorded end to end and can be replayed step by step.
  • Tested before and after go-live: Agents run against evals until they pass, and every change is tested the same way before it ships. That is how we built and tested our helpdesk agent.
  • Isolated: Each customer's data is kept separate from every other customer's.

Bring your IT checklist. We will walk through it.

A 30-minute review of connections, permissions, hosting and models, with our FM Ops Engineers.

Request an AI agent demo→

Where does your data live, and which AI models does Facilio use?

In the hosting region you choose. Your prompts and data stay there, and you are not tied to one AI model provider.

  • Hosting regions: The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
  • Deployment: As SaaS, or behind your firewall.
  • Certifications: SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR. More on how we protect your data.
  • Model providers: The platform works with models from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, Google (Gemini) and AWS Bedrock, so you are not tied to one provider. When we change the model behind an agent, the agent is tested against its evals again before the change goes live.

What does IT own, and what does Facilio run?

IT owns access, connections and where data lives. Your facilities team owns the business rules. We build, run, monitor and fix the agents.

AreaYour IT teamFacilio
Access and identitySets which user each agent acts as, and its permissionsWorks only inside those permissions
ConnectionsApproves which systems connectBuilds and maintains the connectors
HostingChooses the region, and SaaS or behind your firewallRuns the platform there
Business rulesReviews the approval and spend limits your facilities team agreesSets the agents up to follow them
Running the agentsReviews the weekly reportsMonitors, fixes and tunes every agent
Model changesCan ask what changed and whyTests every change against evals before it ships
it checklist for facilio ai agents: identity, connections, firewall, data residency, ai models, trace
An IT checklist: what touches what

How does Facilio work with your IT team?

We do not hand IT a platform and leave. A pod of two or three FM Ops Engineers works with your IT and facilities teams from the first connection to the hundredth agent, and runs our AI agents for facility operations on the systems you already have.

From objective to outcome

Who does what
Step 1Set the objective
FM Ops EngineersMap the bottlenecks with your facilities team.
Your teamName the function, the owner and the systems involved.
Step 2Connect systems
FM Ops EngineersConnect your CMMS, ERP, finance, building management and identity systems.
Your teamApprove access, connections and the hosting region.
Step 3Activate agents
FM Ops EngineersAssemble the agents and run them against evals until they pass.
Your teamAgree approval and spend thresholds.
Step 4Execute and measure
FM Ops EngineersRun with human checkpoints and a full trace, reported against the agreed starting point.
Your teamHandle exceptions and review the weekly reports.
Step 5Deploy and manage
FM Ops EngineersStay embedded, run the agents and keep improving them.
Your teamPlan the next agent or site with us.

Why IT teams sign off

No shared accounts
Your current setupAI tools that connect with one admin key.
With FacilioEach agent acts as a named user, with that user's permissions only.
Nothing dials in
Your current setupOpening firewall ports for a cloud tool.
With FacilioFacilio Relay dials out from your network. No inbound ports.
Not tied to one model
Your current setupA product built around a single AI provider.
With FacilioClaude, OpenAI, Gemini or AWS Bedrock, with every change tested before it ships.
A record of every run
Your current setupA chat history, if anything.
With FacilioEvery run recorded end to end and replayable step by step.

What IT teams see on Facilio

40+
systems with built-in connectors
2 days
to build a production link to a client portal with no API
0
inbound ports to open with Facilio Relay

From our platform and the client portal agent we run for Berkeley Services.

Your team can also use your CMMS from ChatGPT or Claude through the same platform, with the same permissions and audit trail.

The bottom line: Is Facilio AI ready for your IT review?

Yes, if you want agents that work inside your existing systems and permissions, keep data in your region and leave a full record of every action. Most of what IT needs to sign off is set before the first agent goes live, not after.

A simple first step: list the systems the first agent would need to touch, mark which ones have an API and which sit behind your firewall, and bring that list to a 30-minute review with our team.

Talk to our team

AI agents your IT team can approve.

Your permissions, your region, your firewall. See how the platform fits the systems you already run.

Frequently asked questions about how Facilio AI works

How does Facilio AI integrate with an existing CMMS?

Through built-in connectors. Facilio's agents can run on our own CMMS or on top of others such as Planon, Corrigo and MaintainX, alongside ERP, finance, building management and identity systems. Connectors cover 40+ systems.

Can Facilio AI agents work with systems that have no API?

Yes. A browser agent works the system's screens the way a person would, including sign-in and one-time codes. At Berkeley Services, one enters work orders into a client's FM portal that has no API.

Can Facilio AI run on-premises or behind our firewall?

Yes. Facilio can be deployed behind your firewall, and Facilio Relay connects internal systems by dialing out from your network. There are no inbound ports to open.

Where is Facilio AI data hosted?

In the region you choose: the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, UAE or Saudi Arabia. Prompts and data stay in that region.

Which AI models does Facilio use?

Facilio works with models from several providers, including Claude, OpenAI, Gemini and AWS Bedrock. Every agent is tested against its evals before go-live and again whenever its model changes.

More from Facilio