Microsoft is bringing the power of next-generation Artificial Intelligence (AI) to work by introducing the Microsoft 365 Copilot. The Copilot brings the power of large language models (LLMs) to the data in the Microsoft Graph and the Microsoft 365 apps, transforming words into the most powerful productivity tool.
“Today marks the next major step in the evolution of how we interact with computing, which will fundamentally change the way we work and unlock a new wave of productivity growth. With our new copilot for work, we’re giving people more agency and making technology more accessible through the most universal interface — natural language,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot is embedded in the Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more. It will help in enhancing creativity, unlocking productivity, and upgrading skills.
Microsoft also launched a new feature called Business Chat, which enables natural language interaction across the Microsoft 365 apps and data sources such as calendars, emails, chats, documents, meetings, and contacts.
With Business Chat, users can give natural language commands, such as “Inform my team about the updated product strategy,” and the system will generate a status update based on the relevant meetings, emails, and chat threads. This feature offers a new level of convenience and productivity for users, allowing them to accomplish tasks in ways that were not possible before.
How Microsoft 365 Copilot helps users transform their work
Be more creative
- Copilot in Word helps users jump-start the creative process. It gives users a first draft to edit and iterate on which saves long writing hours. It will help users drive their unique ideas forward and enable them to give prompts to the Copilot to shorten, rewrite or give feedback.
- With a simple prompt to Copilot in PowerPoint, users can create great presentations and add content from a previously made document.
- Copilot in Excel enables users to analyze trends and quickly create professional-looking data visualizations.
Be more productive
- Copilot lightens the load on users. It can summarize long email threads and draft suggested replies quickly. Copilot in Outlook will also help users clear their inboxes in minutes, instead of hours.
- Copilot in Teams makes every meeting productive for the user. It provides a real-time summary of important discussion points during a meeting, including the opinions expressed by various participants and the areas of agreement and disagreement. Additionally, it offers actionable suggestions to help move the meeting forward.
- With Copilot in Power Platform, users can automate repetitive tasks, build chatbots, and create functional apps, even with minimal coding experience in just a few minutes.
- 88% of the developers using GitHub Copilot were able to improve their productivity. 74% were able to focus on more satisfying work, and 77% said that it helps them save time spent searching for information or examples.
Uplevel skills
- Copilot enhances the existing skills of users and enables them to master new ones, thereby improving their overall effectiveness.
- It can revolutionize the way people work with AI and create new opportunities for collaboration and productivity.
- Although it involves a learning curve, those who embrace it can gain a significant advantage over their peers.
Enterprise ready AI
Microsoft’s Copilot System represents a powerful tool for delivering enterprise-grade AI solutions. It goes beyond simply embedding OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Microsoft 365. The copilot leverages a sophisticated processing and orchestration engine for integrating large language models like GPT-4 with Microsoft 365 apps and business data in the Microsoft Graph. This integration is accessible to all users through natural language interfaces, providing a seamless and powerful AI experience.
Connecting LLMs to business data is key to unlocking productivity in the workplace. However, this must be done in a secure, compliant, and privacy-preserving way. As an integral part of Microsoft 365, Copilot inherits all the security, compliance, and privacy policies and processes of an organization. This includes features like two-factor authentication, compliance boundaries, privacy protections, and more, making it an AI solution that users can rely on.
Image source: Microsoft
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