Microsoft Integrates OpenAI Tech into 365 Apps

Microsoft is integrating OpenAI’s technology into its work software, Microsoft 365, offering users advanced language processing capabilities for their everyday communication needs. 

Dubbed ‘Copilot,’ the new set of artificial intelligence (AI) features will be available in Word, PowerPoint, Teams and Excel, among other 365 apps.  

“Today marks the next major step in the evolution of how we interact with computing, which will fundamentally change the way we work and unlock a new wave of productivity growth,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO said in a statement.  

"With our new copilot for work, we're giving people more agency and making technology more accessible through the most universal interface — natural language," he added. 

For Microsoft Word, the new Copilot feature gives users a “first draft to edit and iterate on” that would save them time from writing, sourcing and editing. It can also shorten, rewrite, or give feedback to the user.  

Copilot in Powerpoint helps users create presentations based on simple prompts and can add relevant content from existing documents in the suite, while Copilot for Excel helps analyze trends and create data visualizations for its users in seconds.  

When it comes to emails, Copilot in Outlook helps the user by emptying their inbox in minutes, summarizing email threads, and draft suggested replies.  

Copilot in Teams can summarize discussion points in a call, “including who said what and where people are aligned and where they disagree.” From here, the AI feature will suggest actions in real time during a meeting.  

Microsoft has yet to give a specific date for release, but the new AI Copilot features are expected to debut “in the months ahead” as it tests the features with a small group of customers. 

While the Copilot features are powered by OpenAI’s technology, the company reiterates that it is more than “ChatGPT embedded into Microsoft 365.”  

“It’s a sophisticated processing and orchestration engine working behind the scenes to combine the power of LLMs, including GPT-4, with the Microsoft 365 apps and your business data in the Microsoft Graph — now accessible to everyone through natural language,” the company explained.  

The tech giant’s announcement comes after rival company Google announced a slate of new AI-powered features for its Workspace system.  

Similar to Copilot, Google’s new AI features will help users generate, summarize and brainstorm in Google Docs, generate emails with Gmail, take down notes in Meet, and produce AI images, audios and videos in Slides.