Using Chinese A-share listed manufacturing companies as the research sample, this paper empirically examines the impact of the use of industrial robots on the tone management of annual reports. The results show that the use of industrial robots has significantly constrained the tone management of annual reports. In addition, the companies’ human capital and technological bases contribute to this constraining effect. The mechanism analysis reveals that industrial robots can improve corporate governance efficiency, attract market attention, and enhance corporate performance, thereby limiting executives’motivation and room to conduct tone management. In addition, the heterogeneity tests show that the constraining impact of industrial robots on tone management is more pronounced when the companies hire a non-Big Four audit firms, belong to a more competitive industries, and operate in a more uncertain macroeconomic environment.