Satya Nadella speaks at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Microsoft announced Thursday that starting Nov. 1, large enterprises will be able to purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot, an artificial intelligence supplement to core productivity apps like Word and Excel.
The launch of AI tools will expand a part of Microsoft’s business where it is already a market leader. Office applications account for 24% of Microsoft’s total revenue, and the category grew by 16% in the fiscal fourth quarter, more than 30 years after the company started offering bundles. did.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is one result of the company’s close collaboration with OpenAI, a San Francisco startup whose chatbot ChatGPT became well known last year. Across Microsoft 365 Copilot and several other products announced this year, Microsoft relies on the GPT-4 large-scale language model that underpins his OpenAI. This model powers ChatGPT and can summarize information and generate human-like text in response to written prompts. Microsoft’s Azure public cloud performs OpenAI’s computing work.
Microsoft also develops Fabric data analysis software, Dynamics sales and customer service software, the Bing search engine, and Assistant for the Windows 11 operating system. But the company announced at an event in New York on Thursday that it will begin deploying one Copilot to Bing, Edge, and Windows 11 on September 26th.
For corporate employees, Copilot in Microsoft 365 helps them prepare Word files and PowerPoint presentations, and quickly find information in email messages.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday that he is excited to be able to chat with Copilot through his personal account. He added that in his eyes, AI assistant efforts are as remarkable as the PC in the 1980s, the Internet in the 1990s, or the rise of mobile in the 21st century.
Microsoft first revealed its plans for Microsoft 365 Copilot in March. As of May, 600 large organizations I was using it in a paid early access program. The company announced in July that it would pay $30 per month per person for enhancements on top of existing subscription fees for Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365).
Microsoft is not alone in its goal of using generative AI to power word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. Google priced Duet AI for Google Workspace at $30 per person per month, making it available to businesses at that price late last month.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot tool is currently in preview for small and medium-sized businesses, general manager Colette Stallbaumer said at an event Thursday.
It may take time to build Microsoft 365 Copilot into a large enterprise. Amy Hood, the company’s head of finance, told analysts in July that growth from AI services would “moderate” as organizations adopt certain Azure capabilities and Copilots, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, become widely available for purchase. told List.
For Microsoft’s current 2024 fiscal year, which ends in June 2024, Hood said the financial impact will be felt primarily in the second half of the year.
clock: Microsoft stands to benefit greatly from the AI Regulatory Council, says Elevation Partner’s McNamee.
