Abstract: Systems and methods for remotely communicating with and controlling industrial machinery. At least one piece of industrial machinery has at least one sensor for monitoring at least one condition of the piece of industrial machinery; and a programmable logic controller (PLC) directly controlling operation of the piece of industrial machinery and in communication with the sensor. A local computer is in communication with the PLC adapted to query and write data from and to the PLC. A remotely accessible chatbot interface is provided in communication with the local computer, adapted to enable natural language interaction between a user and the piece of industrial machinery. A user accesses the chatbot interface on a remote device adapted to communicate with the local computer.