Tech behemoth Microsoft is leaving no stones unturned to offer the best of AI technology to its users. The company during its ‘Future of Work’ event on Thursday launched its Microsoft 365 Copilot that amplifies workspace productivity tools with the power of generative AI. The Copilot harnesses the power of Large Language Models, Microsoft Graph and Microsoft 365 apps to offer the most lucrative solutions for individual and business needs.
Microsoft claims that the new Copilot will let users unleash creativity, unlock productivity and uplevel skills. “Unlock a new wave of productivity growth with a powerful Copilot designed to remove the drudgery from a daily task at work to rediscover the joy of creation,” said CEO Satya Nadella while introducing the company’s latest offering.
According to Nadella, when it comes to AI, it is the start of the next step in the journey with powerful foundation models and capable copilots via the most universal interface. Microsoft 365 Copilot is integrated in the productivity apps and will help millions of users who rely on applications such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, etc., to do their day-to-day tasks at work.
Moving from autopilot to co-pilot
“With Copilot, the customer is always in control. Customers decide what to keep, modify or discard. With these new tools, people can be more creative in Word, more analytical in Excel, more expressive in PowerPoint, more productive in Outlook and more collaborative in Teams,” said the company.
With the latest Copilot, users need not worry about writer’s block when it comes to writing, editing, or summarising content in Word. Interestingly, the Copilot keeps the user at the centre and offers more control.
In PowerPoint, users will be able to turn their ideas and concepts into a designed presentation by simple commands in natural language. According to Sumit Chauhan, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, most users only use 10 per cent of PowerPoint’s ability. However, with the new Copilot, they will be able to make optimal use of the app’s remaining 90 per cent capabilities. From pulling relevant images to formatting slides, the Copilot can assist users in making effective presentations.
When it comes to Excel, the Copilot helps users in unlocking insights, identify trends, and create professional looking data visualisations. Meanwhile, in Outlook, it lets users synthesize and manage their inbox to reduce time spent on tedious tasks and focus more on communication. In Microsoft Teams, the Copilot lets users make their meetings more productive by offering them real-time summaries and action items in context to the ongoing conversations.
Besides, the Copilot is also fueling the low-code platform – Microsoft Power. The Copilot will assist developers across various skill levels to accelerate and streamline development of applications with Power Apps and Power Virtual Agents.
Microsoft Business Chat
The company also unveiled its Business Chat feature that works across all Microsoft 365 apps. The feature uses Microsoft Graph to collate emails, presentations, documents, notes and contacts into a single interface in Microsoft Teams to create summaries and more.
Microsoft has said that the Microsoft 365 Copilot has been built conforming to its existing commitments to data security and privacy. It said that the Copilot’s large language models are not trained on customer content or individual prompts, adding that it will deliver enterprise-ready AI at scale.
The company also said that it is currently testing the Microsoft 365 Copilot with 20 customers including eight from 500 Fortune enterprises. It will expand the previews to consumers in the coming months.