As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to transform the enterprise landscape, PeopleSoft customers are increasingly exploring ways to deliver more intuitive, conversational experiences for their users. Natural Language (NL) assistants have emerged as a popular solution, enabling users to interact with PeopleSoft using simple, human-friendly language.


From PICASO to Next-Generation AI Assistants


Over the years, many organizations have experimented with PICASO (PeopleSoft Intelligent Chat Assistant from Oracle), which leveraged the Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA) platform. Our original PICASO skills were developed using YAML-based dialog flows.


However, technology moves fast. Today, ODA recommends using the Visual Flow Designer (VFD) for chatbot development, offering a more modern and intuitive designer interface. Unfortunately, migrating legacy YAML dialog flows to VFD is not straightforward and typically requires a complete rewrite. Meanwhile, advances in AI, particularly large language models (LLMs) and Generative AI (GenAI), have rapidly changed what’s possible in conversational interfaces.


Given these industry shifts, Oracle is no longer investing in the PICASO solution. This means that there will be no further updates or enhancements to our delivered PICASO skills. That said, we remain committed to supporting customers who rely on our foundational Chatbot Integration Framework, which provides the essential components for secure, authenticated, and robust chatbot integration with PeopleSoft – whether you’re using delivered skills, extended versions, or your own custom skills built with VFD. Although updates to PICASO skills will no longer be provided, customers and partners can continue to utilize ODA for their own solutions.


A Modern Path Forward: OCI AI Agent Platform


Looking ahead, we encourage PeopleSoft customers and partners to embrace next-generation AI solutions. Modern NL assistants can harness the power of LLMs and GenAI to deliver richer, more adaptive conversational experiences – without the overhead of hardcoded dialog flows and intent definitions.


To help you get started, we’ve published high-level guidelines for integrating a Natural Language Assistant within PeopleSoft using the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) AI Agent Platform. This reference architecture outlines how to:

  • Use AI Agents and LLMs for advanced language understanding and conversation handling.
  • Integrate PeopleSoft search data for read-only information retrieval.
  • Connect to PeopleSoft REST APIs for secure, transactional interactions.


If you’re considering implementing a Natural Language Assistant or would like more details about the reference architecture, please refer My Oracle Support Doc ID 3103235.1.