Microsoft has introduced the Copilot AI assistant for Microsoft 365 office suite applications. Microsoft is moving towards integrating large OpenAI language models into its office applications, just days after Google announced AI capabilities for Gmail, Docs, and other services.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 Apps and Services, which is based on OpenAI's GPT-4, will function as a sidebar chatbot to generate text in Word, create PowerPoint presentations, and manage Excel PivotTables. It's also integrated into Outlook so you can spend less time deleting and replying to emails.
Microsoft claims that Copilot isn't just a replacement for ChatGPT that's been added to Microsoft 365; it's also an extension of Microsoft Graph data and analytics, as well as the GPT-4 neural network. Microsoft Graph allows you to manipulate the user's unique context and data, and will send a modified query to the GPT-4 large language model.
Microsoft is also developing a Business Chat feature for Microsoft 365 data and apps. Business Chat will combine documents, presentations, emails, notes, and contacts into a single chat experience in Microsoft Teams that will generate summaries, scheduling overviews, and much more.
Microsoft is certainly moving rapidly with its intentions for AI-based Office applications, which is a valid concern, especially since it recently dismissed the entire team that oversees AI ethics. The team worked to assess the threats that come with Microsoft's openAI language development in software and services.
Jared Spataro, Microsoft 365 CEO, does not share these concerns. "To meet the needs of our customers, we must act swiftly and responsibly, learning as we go," says Spataro. "We are testing Copilot with a small group of clients to get feedback and improve our models as we scale."
Microsoft is currently co-testing Copilot with 20 customers and intends to broaden the testing area over the coming months.
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