Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MSFT), has compared the transformative potential of AI with the industrial revolution, as the company launched new tools designed to help businesses streamline operations.
Speaking at Microsoft's AI Tour event in London, Nadella said the goal is to "empower people to do things that they couldn't do previously."
One of the leading investors in AI, Microsoft announced the rollout of its Copilot AI features, which aim to enhance business productivity by automating routine administrative tasks. These AI tools, known as autonomous agents, are custom-built applications that can handle specific tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic work.
During the event, Microsoft showcased examples of how Copilot is already being used in business processes. Consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, for instance, is using Copilot to automate responses to client requests. The AI-powered tool extracts key information from emails, such as the client's name, company, and the nature of the proposal. It then cross-references it with relevant data and forwards the details to the appropriate expert. McKinsey estimates that the tool could reduce the time partners spend managing client engagements by 30%.
These autonomous agents can be built with Microsoft's Copilot Studio using low-code or no-code instructions, allowing users to create AI-driven workflows without requiring extensive technical expertise.
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For example, businesses can instruct an agent to sort and process incoming emails and specify how the AI should respond to missing or incomplete information. Employees can also oversee the AI's work to ensure accuracy and correct any errors, known as "hallucinations."
Microsoft's broader AI strategy is closely tied to its significant investments in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The tech company envisions a future where AI-powered agents are found everywhere in the workplace, functioning autonomously or responding to user prompts. Nadella described these agents as the "new apps for an AI-powered world."
William Hewish, UK-based Pets at Home (PETS.L) CIO, said AI has helped staff focus on more complex tasks by handling time-consuming data collection. The company's profit protection team, for instance, uses AI to assess potential profit loss cases more efficiently, allowing them to focus on skilled analysis rather than basic information gathering.
The new software will be available for public preview next month.
The announcement comes only weeks after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff criticised Microsoft's Copilot, likening it to the infamous Clippy assistant from the 1990s and claiming it fails to deliver meaningful value.
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"It doesn't work," Benioff said, adding that Salesforce's (CRM) own AI tool, Agentforce, can handle trillions of transactions per week and offers a more impactful solution for businesses.
Microsoft, which has consistently ranked among the world's most valuable companies, is locked in a race with Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) to become the first company to reach a $4tn market capitalisation.
Since Nadella took over as CEO, Microsoft's stock price has more than doubled, driven by a shift in focus toward cloud computing, cross-platform technologies, AI, and emerging fields such as quantum computing.
Nadella has moved the company away from its former reliance on Windows, scrapping its failed mobile phone division and pushing into new technologies that he hopes will define the future of computing.