Microsoft’s software ecosystem is increasingly integrating with artificial intelligence. Following the introduction of a chatbot based on OpenAI’s advanced GPT-4 generative neural network in consumer services such as Windows 11, Bing (search) and Skype (video conferencing), similar capabilities are now announced for the entire Microsoft 365 office suite. Copilot is a new a modern AI assistant that will help users create and edit any documents.
Copilot will appear in Microsoft 365 Apps as a companion tool and will be available in the sidebar (or as a pop-up chatbot). For example, the technology will become an intelligent co-pilot in the preparation of important text in Word, speed up the design of a PowerPoint presentation with a short text command, and even analyze data in an Excel spreadsheet. In addition, Copilot is able to instantly generate a response to an email in Outlook, create a presentation of 10 slides, or transcribe a group call held in Teams, highlighting only the main and necessary things from it. The chatbot itself takes into account other files and automatically offers appropriate hints, but in any case, inappropriate results can be edited and adapted.
What other scenarios does AI offer for Microsoft 365:
- quickly providing the team with the necessary details and reports for the upcoming meeting in Teams;
- preparing employees for updates in joint projects by setting reminders by date and time;
- notification of organizational changes, whether they are policy adjustments or the promotion of new ideas;
- combining information from documents, presentations, emails, notes and contacts into a single summary;
- a convenient roundup of news about internal reshuffles and events of the organization – project expansions, contract awards, birthdays in departments, employees returning from vacation.
Microsoft is currently conducting closed testing of Copilot with a group of 20 enterprise customers to get early feedback and improve how GPT-4 works in the Microsoft 365 office environment. A public preview of the AI Assistant will be launched in the coming months. The subscription price is expected to increase with the addition of a powerful neural network. It will be announced along with a future release.