Microsoft has announced Copilot, a GPT-4-based virtual assistant that integrates directly with the Microsoft 365 office suite and other enterprise applications. The AI helps with writing documents, summarizes meetings and offers a chatbot that centralizes all internal company information.
Earlier this year, information was leaked that MicrosoftMicrosoft was planning to integrate artificial intelligence into office software. Now it’s done, and just like Bing, the company used GPT-4, the new version of the Large Language Model (LLM) behind ChatGPTChatGPT.
Dubbed Copilot, this AI is designed to aid in productivity, so it differs significantly from ChatGPT. Copilot will be accessible across all Microsoft 365 apps from Microsoft 365, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Teams and Outlook. It is possible to ask him to create a first draft of a document or presentation, taking an example from an existing file. AI can also update documents or create a natural language summary if needed.
Business Chat, a conversational agent for the company
Copilot connects to Microsoft Graph, the platform that manages all enterprise data across Microsoft 365, Windows and Azure. Each request to Copilot is first enriched with user data from Microsoft Graph and then passed to the LLM. The response is then processed by Microsoft Graph to verify security and privacy before it is transmitted to the user. This access to data is also the basis of a new function. At the same time, Microsoft announced Business Chat, a chatbot customized for each company that is able to answer questions from employees. For example, when you’re away, it can provide a summary of all changes, taking into account the team’s meetings, discussions, and emails.
The AI will be available in Microsoft 365 applications in the coming months, and the company will announce the price of the licenses later.