With an ever-growing focus on Artificial Intelligence, the biggest question at a global level has been, “What’s next?”
With Microsoft leading the charge, Inviso was excited to learn what would be announced during Microsoft Build and we weren’t disappointed. Coming out of day 2, we were thrilled to learn about the impact the developer community has had, and will continue to have, in growing AI at a rapid scale.
Shifts in technology have always been driven by two different, yet equally important groups: the innovators who have a vision of the future and the developers who make that vision a reality. Over 30 years ago, it was the graphical user interface (GUI) which allowed the masses to use a computer more easily; today, it’s artificial intelligence (AI) which is even more accessible and more powerful. Microsoft and developers set out on a collaborative mission to bring AI and products like Microsoft 365 Copilot to hundreds of millions of people, driving the largest technology shift in this generation.
They succeeded.
Today, Microsoft 365 Copilot is being used extensively across the globe: from the 100,000,000 active users who use Bing Chat to perform research to the billions of people who use Windows every month; and from the 100,000 line of business apps created by developers to accelerate business processes and flow of work to creating the future of natural language. The strength of Copilot lies in its ability to bring together information from different disparate sources like Confluence, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint. This makes work easier, reducing the need for multiple steps across various platforms.
To help quantify the demand for AI, Microsoft interviewed 30,000 people across 30 countries so developers could understand how end users felt about AI: How are things evolving and what are the expectations and perceptions of AI? While answers differed across the masses, the consensus was that over 70% of individuals were excited for AI and the future. However, Microsoft 365 Copilot is more than just an autopilot, it’s being used to advance human agency. It’s about letting people achieve more by assisting and grounding them in their context – working on their behalf.
This vision the innovators had and the design language that built by developers will be available to others as AI is extended through the same native language. This which means that developers only need to do work once and it applies everywhere, while having the ability to integrate Teams messaging into products like Outlook and Copilot. Developers are also able to work behind the scenes through creation of connections with backend data sources using Power Platform connectors, which can be further powered by and debugged through Visual Studio plugins.
To understand how Copilot is transforming businesses, consider these three areas: in-app capabilities, cross-app capabilities, and Microsoft Graph.
1. In-app capabilities:
This focuses on maximizing the use of Office and Windows through natural language. Copilot uses tools like Viva Sales to gather and summarize information from calendars, Word documents, and CRM via OneDrive. It can then use this information in sales meetings to provide insights on competitors and other relevant details.
2. Cross-app capabilities:
This involves working across different applications, data, and organizational content. It provides users access to emails, calendars, and even Teams conversations to answer specific questions such as “when is my next financial meeting?”. Copilot can also summarize data through emails and take actions on the user’s behalf, such as sending emails. Once complete, Copilot take actions on the user’s behalf which can be modified to add a personal touch or sent “as is” to the recipient.
3. Microsoft Graph:
This is the gateway to data and intelligence which gets built and refreshed by the trillions of signals that get ingested as end users interact with Microsoft 365. The augmented data then becomes the learning source – the brains – of Copilot.
While AI and Copilot can be used to enrich anyone’s day–to–day productivity, Microsoft has made a commitment to developer success – supporting the individuals who continue to drive enhancements through Copilot in key areas: productivity, reach, discovery, and revenue.
Productivity:
Developers have the tools to easily develop a plugin and generate an easy user experience that will work in any ecosystem.
Reach:
IT has the accountability that any application developed and released adheres to the highest standards (privacy, security). Microsoft is committed to help developers make their applications compliant by releasing a tool for developers that will assess and recommend remediation tactics to help earn IT trust. The Microsoft 365 certification program looks at industry standards and assesses an application against these standards.
Discovery:
Consistent store experiences with Microsoft 365, seamless discovery in workflow, and contextual access in Teams chats, channels, and meetings allow users who don’t have the application installed to see the full app experience.
Revenue (ISV):
Consistent store experiences with Microsoft 365, seamless discovery in workflow, and contextual access in Teams chats, channels, and meetings allow users who don’t have the application installed to see the full app experience.
The ongoing evolution of AI and products like ChatGPT and Copilot are largely thanks to developers who make these tools accessible to everyone through applications, plugins, and extensions. This reiterates that Microsoft 365 Copilot is truly “better, together.”
