Microsoft brings Microsoft 365 Copilot to more customers and releases new research that shows how AI will change the way we work
REDMOND, Wash., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Earlier this year, Microsoft Corp . introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot, which will bring powerful new generative AI capabilities to applications that millions of people use every day like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Microsoft Teams and more.
On Tuesday, the company announced that it is expanding access to the Microsoft 365 Copilot preview and introducing new features. The company also released new data and insights from its 2023 Job Trends Index report: Will the AI Fix Work?
The data shows that the pace of work has accelerated faster than people can keep up, and this is impacting innovation. Next-generation AI will do the heavy lifting. Organizations that move first to AI will break the cycle – increasing creativity and productivity for all.
“This new generation of AI will eliminate drudgery and unleash creativity,” they said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft. “There is a huge opportunity for AI-powered tools to help ease digital debt, build AI capabilities and empower employees.”
The report shares three key insights for business leaders seeking to understand and responsibly adopt AI for their organization:
- Digital debt is costing us innovation: We all carry digital debt: The volume of data, emails and chats has outstripped our ability to process it. There is an opportunity to make our existing communications more productive. Every minute spent managing that digital debt is a minute not spent on creative work. Sixty-four percent of employees don’t have enough time and energy to get their work done, and these employees are 3.5 times more likely to say they find it difficult to be innovative or think strategically. Of the time spent in Microsoft 365, the average person spends 57% communicating and only 43% creating.
- There is a new alliance between AI and employees: For employees, the promise of relief outweighs fears of job loss, and managers are looking to empower employees with AI, not replace them. Forty-nine percent of people say they worry about AI replacing their jobs, but even more — 70% — would delegate as much work as possible to AI to reduce their workload. In fact, leaders are 2x more likely to say that AI would be most valuable in their workplace by increasing productivity rather than reducing headcount.
- Every employee needs AI skills: Every employee, not just AI experts, will need new core competencies like rapid engineering in their daily lives. Eighty-two percent of leaders expect that employees will need new skills in the age of AI, and March 2023, US LinkedIn jobs mentioning GPT increased 79% year-over-year. This new, in-demand, AI-driven skill set will have ripple effects across everything from resumes to job postings.
“The pace and volume of work has increased exponentially and is outpacing people’s ability to keep up,” said Jared Spataro, CVP, Modern Work and Business Applications. “In a world where creativity is the new productivity, digital debt is more than a nuisance – it’s a threat to innovation. Next-generation AI will lift the burden of work and free us all to focus on the work that matters.”
To empower businesses in the age of AI, Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft 365 Copilot early access program with an initial wave of 600 enterprise customers worldwide in a paid, invitation-only preview program. In addition to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Viva, the following new capabilities will be added:
- Copilot in whiteboard will make Microsoft Teams meetings and brainstorming sessions more creative and efficient. Using natural language, you can ask Copilot to generate ideas, organize ideas into topics, create designs that bring ideas to life, and summarize whiteboard content.
- By integrating DALL-E, the OpenAI image generator, in Copilot in PowerPoint, users will be able to ask Copilot to create custom images to support their content.
- Copilot in Outlook will offer tips and coaching suggestions on clarity, mood, and tone to help users write more effective emails and communicate more confidently.
- Copilot in OneNote will use prompts to make plans, generate ideas, create lists, and organize information to help customers easily find what they need.
- Co-pilot at Viva Learning will use a natural language chat interface to help users create a personalized learning journey, including designing pathways to upskilling, discovering relevant learning resources and scheduling time for assigned trainings.
To help every customer prepare for AI, Microsoft is also introducing Copilot Semantic Index, a new capability we’re starting to roll out to all Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 customers.
To learn more, visit the official Microsoft blog, the Microsoft 365 blog, and the new Work Trends Index.
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.