Microsoft’s plans to leverage AI capabilities in Microsoft 365 have already materialized. Business announcement Microsoft 365 Copilot, a kind of AI-powered assistant, especially GPT-4, to help users create texts, convert Word documents to PowerPoint presentations, etc.
Copilot, in a way, works very similar to the AI ​​features that Google introduced just a few days ago for some of its services like Gmail or Google Docs. In the case of Microsoft, the GPT-4 managed by Copilot will be integrated into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and other enterprise platforms, with different functionalities in each of these services.
For example, in PowerPoint, GPT-4 running Copilot can be used to create a slideshow based on a Word document. In this case, the user will only have to send an AI request and select a document, and it will follow the whole process until the presentation is created. Moreover, it is interesting that Copilot can search for this file itself by specifying its name in the request.
In Word, you can ask Copilot to compose text from any other document, for example a PowerPoint presentation. Subsequently, the user can edit or modify this text.
In Excel, Microsoft’s new GPT-4-based artificial intelligence can be used to process data or create tables using information obtained from other files, such as a Word document. In Teams Copilot, it will be used for meeting summaries or transcripts.
Copilot based on GPT-4 AI will be integrated with Outlook
Outlook, Microsoft’s messaging platform, will also integrate GPT-4 (Copilot) to summarize threads or create drafts with personalized replies. Admittedly, the company claims that the AI ​​is still imperfect and doesn’t always deliver accurate results.
“Sometimes Copilot guesses right, sometimes it’s helpfully wrong, giving you an idea that isn’t perfect but still gives you an advantage,” said Office 365 manager Jared Spataro.
The GPT-4 integration, called Copilot, is currently only available in testing for 20 Microsoft Office customers, but the company says the functionality will roll out to more users in the coming months. Microsoft 365 Copilot will most likely be integrated into the optional 365 bundle plan in the future, as Microsoft assures that they will share “more on pricing and details in the coming months”.
Microsoft, remember, also uses GPT-4 in the new Bing, which is now available to everyone. Additionally, Bing will get smarter with GPT-4 “as OpenAI updates GPT-4 and beyond,” Yusuf Mehdi, director of research and devices at Microsoft, said recently.
Google, for its part, also announced a few days ago that it was integrating AI into services like Gmail to enable features similar to those introduced by Microsoft. Among them is the ability to summarize email subjects in Gmail or rewrite entire texts in Google Docs.
See also: How chatbots are growing in popularity with businesses and customers.
