Microsoft’s first real buds $10 billion commitment for OpenAI began to bloom, with the tech giant revealing a new era of office productivity powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
The company tested OpenAI’s ChatGPT within Bing to provide a search engine that some industry commentators say is a big improvement over Google. Microsoft is now ready to take on the challenge of integrating AI into its office productivity suite in a way that doesn’t limit the work of human workers.
In a live stream on LinkedIn, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the latest developments in AI, describing what he considers to be defining moments in the development of computing, such as the invention of the mouse, the graphical user interface, and the iPhone, all of which have helped build a closer symbiotic relationship between humans and computing.
“Today, we are at the beginning of a new computer era. Over the past few months, new high-performance foundation models [have been introduced], as well as accessible natural language interfaces. This next generation of AI is fundamentally different from the AI we have grown accustomed to,” he said.
Nadella described existing AI systems as autopilot systems. Where Microsoft hopes to differentiate is by offering tools that use AI in ways that support human workers.
“We’re going from autopilot to copilot,” he said. “As we build this next generation of AI, we have made a conscious design choice to put the human at the center of the product. Today is the start of the next step in this journey, with powerful core models and capable co-pilots accessible through the most universal interface – natural language – that will radically transform the way computers help us think, plan and act.
According to Nadella, just as end-user computing is tightly tied to a keyboard and mouse, in the future, users won’t be able to imagine computing without co-drivers and natural language prompts.
To begin the journey, Microsoft began piloting a large language model (LLM) with its enterprise customers called Microsoft 365 Copilot.
According to Microsoft, Copilot combines the power of large language models with enterprise data and Microsoft 365 apps to help users unleash their creativity, unleash their productivity, and improve their skills.
“Copilot combines the power of big language models with your data and apps to turn your words into the most powerful productivity tool on the planet,” said Jared Spataro, vice president of work and business apps. modern at Microsoft.
“Based on your business content and context, Copilot delivers relevant and actionable results. It’s enterprise-ready, based on Microsoft’s comprehensive approach to security, compliance, privacy, and responsible AI. Copilot marks a new era of computing that will fundamentally transform the way we work,” he added.
According to Microsoft, Word’s Copilot feature allows you to write, edit, and summarize documents; in PowerPoint, it supports the creative process by turning ideas into a presentation via natural language commands; and in Outlook, it helps people manage their inbox.
Copilot is also integrated with Teams and the Power platform. In Teams, Copilot provides real-time summaries and action items directly in the context of the conversation. In the Power Platform, Microsoft said Copilot will deliver low-code tools with the introduction of two new features in Power Apps and Power Virtual Agents.
One of the benefits of Microsoft’s efforts to integrate ChatGPT into enterprises is that corporate data is closed and not subject to the vagaries of the public Internet that cause LLMs to be lost. produce erroneous results.
Earlier this year, Sean Spradling, a senior analyst at Wainhouse, wrote a blog about the opportunities for using ChatGPT in office productivity. In the post, he said having the data and the tools to turn that data into a working product is a great way to tie the Microsoft platform to business success and lock in customers.
