News from the AI & ML world
DeeperML - #productivity
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Amicie Ourega@Yseop
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AI agents are rapidly emerging as the next major advancement beyond chatbots, offering the potential to revolutionize how businesses operate and individuals live. These agents are distinguished by their capacity for autonomous action, enabling them to execute tasks and make decisions independently. Microsoft is expanding its suite of AI agents for ERP systems, with several new agents soon available for public preview in Dynamics 365. These agents promise to streamline business processes across various functions, including finance, supply chain, and operations, marking a shift towards AI-first operations.
The key difference between AI-powered assistants and autonomous agents lies in their roles. While assistants primarily support human tasks, agents function as "digital colleagues," taking on specific tasks and responsibilities. In ERP systems, agents can automate high-volume, rules-based activities, reducing manual effort, improving accuracy, and accelerating decision-making. Microsoft highlights the potential of these agents to transform how business processes are orchestrated and executed, paving the way for intelligent and scalable automation. DataRobot has also launched its federal AI application suite, designed specifically for government agencies. This suite includes a range of agents and custom applications intended to enhance efficiency and impact within high-security environments. The Account Reconciliation Agent for example, accelerates the period-end close by matching ledger entries, flagging discrepancies, and recommending resolution steps. These advancements underscore the growing recognition of AI agents as a powerful tool for driving innovation and improving performance across diverse industries. Recommended read:
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@www.pcworld.com
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References:
Entrepreneur
, PCWorld
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that a significant portion of the company's new code is being written by artificial intelligence. Nadella stated at Meta's LlamaCon conference that approximately 20% to 30% of Microsoft's code is now generated by AI. This marks a significant shift in software development practices, with AI tools becoming increasingly integrated into the coding process. He also noted the increased usage of AI agents for code reviews, highlighting AI's role in enhancing efficiency and productivity within the company's software engineering workflows.
This trend isn't exclusive to Microsoft. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has also indicated that a substantial percentage of Google's new code is being written by AI, exceeding 30%. Meta, under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, is also aggressively pursuing AI-driven software development, with plans to have AI handle half of its software development within the next year. These developments signify a broader industry movement towards leveraging AI to automate and augment coding tasks, transforming how software is created. The rise of AI in code development and review has significant implications for software engineers. While some experts, like Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, predict that AI could write as much as 95% of code within the next five years, others view it as an opportunity to enhance productivity and focus on more complex, creative tasks. The transition to AI-assisted coding requires software engineers to adapt and learn how to effectively collaborate with AI tools. These technologies, like Microsoft's Copilot, powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT, are increasingly vital for businesses aiming to drive innovation and efficiency through AI-driven solutions. Recommended read:
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@Salesforce
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References:
Salesforce
, Salesforce
Agentic AI is rapidly transforming various sectors, from government operations to small businesses. Salesforce executives highlight the potential of agentic AI to assist overstretched government workers by automating routine tasks and improving efficiency. The focus is shifting from automating basic tasks to creating intelligent systems that adapt and learn, providing personalized and efficient support. This evolution promises to reshape how work is done, streamlining processes and enhancing productivity.
Companies are quickly adopting AI agents to enhance customer support and streamline operations, leading to a new competitive landscape. Microsoft has launched powerful AI agents designed to transform the workday and challenge Google’s workplace dominance. These agents, such as the 'Researcher' and 'Analyst' agents, are powered by OpenAI’s deep reasoning models and can handle complex tasks, such as research and data analysis, that previously required specialized human expertise. This increased productivity across sectors signifies a major shift in how businesses operate. Dynamics 365 Customer Service now offers three AI service agents in public preview: Case Management, Customer Intent, and Customer Knowledge Management agents. These agents learn to address emerging issues, uncover new knowledge, and automate manual processes to boost business efficiency and reduce costs. The Case Management Agent automates key tasks throughout the lifecycle of a case, while the Customer Intent Agent uses generative AI to analyze past interactions and provide tailored solutions. This represents a significant step towards autonomous systems that improve customer experiences and reduce the burden on human agents. Recommended read:
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@orases.com
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References:
orases.com
, John Werner
AI agents are rapidly evolving from simple digital assistants to sophisticated systems that are transforming workflows across various organizations and industries. These agents are now capable of actively managing data, automating decision-making processes, and driving cross-functional workflows, marking a significant shift in how businesses operate. This evolution presents both opportunities and challenges, particularly concerning fragmentation, security, and the need for scalable tools to effectively manage these AI agents. Companies are racing to adopt these technologies to gain a competitive edge.
The adoption of AI agents is particularly impactful for Small and Mid-sized Businesses (SMBs), which often lack the resources of larger enterprises. AI agents offer SMBs a new competitive edge by streamlining operations and improving productivity without requiring extensive manpower or complex processes. Intelligent automation, driven by AI, is replacing manual tasks with smarter workflows, freeing up employees to focus on strategic initiatives. This trend is evident across various sectors, as companies explore how to best leverage AI agents to optimize their operations and communication. One innovative solution is the SOP-driven LLM agent framework, which integrates Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure reliable execution and enhance productivity. This framework addresses common challenges faced by Large Language Models (LLMs), such as inaccuracies and inconsistencies, by structuring SOPs as a tree, allowing for intuitive workflow creation. Initial evaluations demonstrate remarkable accuracy, exceeding 99.8% in real-world scenarios, with AI-powered solutions being developed up to 10 times faster than traditional methods. The framework is transforming enterprise operations and exploring industry applications in engineering, data analytics, and data science, heralding a new era of AI-driven automation. Recommended read:
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@www.microsoft.com
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Tony Bradley
, www.microsoft.com
Microsoft is at the forefront of a workplace revolution, driven by the rapid advancement of AI. According to their 2025 Work Trend Index, AI agents are transforming how businesses operate, particularly in customer service and security operations. These agents, powered by sophisticated AI, are designed to augment human capabilities, enabling companies to scale rapidly, operate with agility, and generate value faster. The report highlights the emergence of "Frontier Firms," organizations built around on-demand AI and human-agent teams, where employees act as "agent bosses."
Microsoft envisions a future where every employee will have an AI assistant, and AI agents will join teams as "digital colleagues," taking on specific tasks. Eventually, humans will set directions for these agents, who will then execute business processes and workflows independently, with their human supervisors checking in as needed. This shift represents a move from simple coding assistance to AI agents capable of handling complex tasks, such as end-to-end logistics in a supply chain, while humans guide the system and manage relationships with suppliers. This transformation is expected to impact various knowledge work professions, including scientists, academics, and lawyers. The company also introduced AI service agents for Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Contact Center. These agents are available in public preview and include Case Management, Customer Intent, and Customer Knowledge Management agents. These AI agents learn to address emerging issues, uncover new knowledge, and automate manual processes to boost business efficiency and reduce costs. The Case Management Agent simplifies case management, reduces handling time, and improves customer satisfaction, while the Customer Intent Agent uses generative AI to analyze past interactions and provide tailored solutions. Microsoft is also emphasizing the importance of securing, managing, and measuring agent workstreams with the Copilot Control System, ensuring that businesses can effectively mitigate risks and track the ROI of their AI agent deployments. Recommended read:
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Thomas Claburn@The Register
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Microsoft is significantly advancing human-agent collaboration with the latest upgrades to its Microsoft 365 Copilot. The tech giant is rolling out new updates, including Researcher and Analyst agents designed to enhance workplace productivity by providing in-depth research and data analysis. These AI agents, powered by OpenAI's deep reasoning models, are envisioned as digital colleagues capable of performing complex workplace tasks, helping professionals tackle intricate challenges with advanced reasoning capabilities. This aligns with Microsoft’s broader AI-first strategy, aiming to scale digital labor and drive substantial productivity gains for companies adopting these technologies.
Microsoft is also unveiling a redesigned Microsoft 365 Copilot app featuring AI-powered search and an Agent Store, positioning it as the central hub for human-agent collaboration. The new AI-powered enterprise search tool, Copilot Search, organizes data across the enterprise, providing rich, context-aware answers from first-party and third-party apps like ServiceNow, Google Drive, and Jira. The Agent Store provides access to Microsoft’s Researcher and Analyst agents, initially introduced in March and available to those enrolled in Microsoft’s Frontier program. Moreover, Microsoft is adding new capabilities to its Control System feature to assist IT professionals in overseeing and measuring bot usage effectively. These updates are part of a broader effort to integrate AI across the Microsoft ecosystem, addressing the increasing demand for AI-powered solutions in the enterprise. According to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index report, a significant majority of companies are rethinking their strategies to leverage AI, signaling a decisive move toward full-scale AI transformation. Key features include AI-powered enterprise search, personalized memory capabilities, specialized reasoning agents like Researcher and Analyst, and the Agent Store. The Researcher agent helps with multi-step research tasks, while the Analyst agent provides data science capabilities. Recommended read:
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Alexey Shabanov@TestingCatalog
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The Lalit Blogs
, www.microsoft.com
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Microsoft is significantly enhancing its AI integration within knowledge work tools, focusing on boosting critical thinking, decision-making, and creativity. This initiative is underscored by findings from the Semantic Telemetry Project, revealing that professionals who incorporate AI into their routines are more likely to continue using these tools and increase their usage. Microsoft Research is actively exploring AI systems as "Tools for Thought," aiming to reimagine AI's role in augmenting human intellect. The company presented four new research papers and cohosted a workshop at the CHI 2025 conference, diving deep into the intersection of AI and human cognition.
Microsoft's Copilot AI is expanding with the early testing of a new podcast-generation feature. This tool can transform nearly any topic or user-provided material into a concise, conversational show. Copilot analyzes the content, develops a script for two synthetic hosts, and uses neural text-to-speech technology to create a dynamic summary. Users can interact with the podcast in real-time, pausing to ask questions that Copilot will adapt to, streamlining multitasking and improving the user experience. The Microsoft Copilot AI Podcast feature was outlined during Microsoft's 50th-anniversary Copilot event on April 4, 2025, and in a follow-up blog post. Microsoft is also focusing on user-friendly automation with the New Copilot Studio Feature. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is being introduced as an AI-powered conversational assistant that integrates with tools like Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook. It can interpret context, offer suggestions, and draft responses, leveraging OpenAI's capabilities to make work smarter and faster. Copilot Chat provides context-aware assistance, enhanced communication by drafting emails and summarizing threads, efficient data insights in Excel, and real-time collaboration, bridging the gap between documents and communication tools. Recommended read:
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@betakit.com
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Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke has mandated that employees must now justify why AI cannot perform a task before requesting additional resources or new hires. This directive, outlined in an internal memo, signifies a pivotal shift toward integrating AI into every facet of the company’s operations. Lütke emphasizes that using AI effectively is now a "fundamental expectation" for all Shopify employees, viewing it as an essential skill that will only grow in importance. The memo encourages a "reflexive AI usage strategy," urging employees to explore how AI can enhance their workflows and boost productivity.
The new policy includes specific requirements for new projects, particularly during the prototyping phase. Shopify expects AI exploration to "dominate" the prototyping process. Furthermore, the company will incorporate AI usage questions into performance and peer review questionnaires. Teams must demonstrate why they cannot accomplish their goals using AI before seeking more headcount or resources. Lütke believes that AI has the potential to increase productivity exponentially, potentially achieving "100X the work done." Lütke's memo serves as an inspiration for other workplaces to consider integrating AI. He highlights the transformational qualities of AI as a productivity multiplier and encourages employees to "tinker" with AI to discover its full potential. The Shopify CEO also expressed in the memo that some employees had shown an improvement of "10X" what was previously thought possible, and the hope is that AI tools can now provide "10X" themselves. The changes mark a bold step toward an AI-native future for Shopify and a potential blueprint for businesses worldwide. Recommended read:
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@PCWorld
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Microsoft has unveiled a significant overhaul of its Copilot AI assistant, introducing new features designed to enhance its capabilities and transform it into a personalized AI companion. This marks a pivotal moment as Microsoft aims to make AI more accessible and beneficial for everyday life. The updates include improvements to memory, allowing Copilot to remember user preferences and details such as favorite foods, movies, and important dates. This personalization enables Copilot to offer customized solutions, proactive suggestions, and timely reminders, making it more intuitive and responsive to individual needs.
The upgraded Copilot now boasts enhanced multimodal capabilities, including the ability to analyze live video from mobile devices and answer questions based on visual content. It can also perform tasks on websites, such as booking tickets, making reservations, and shopping online, streamlining various online activities. The introduction of "Pages" organizes notes and research into a cohesive workspace, while the "Deep Research" function synthesizes information from documents and images, aiding in comprehensive information gathering and analysis. These features are aimed at making Copilot a more versatile and indispensable tool for both personal and professional use. These enhancements position Microsoft's Copilot as a direct competitor to other AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. However, Microsoft has not provided detailed performance data or addressed potential limitations. User feedback has also highlighted mixed experiences with its functionality and privacy concerns regarding data tracking, suggesting that further refinement and transparency are needed. The rollout of these features and subsequent user reception will likely shape future iterations of the chatbot, as Microsoft strives to create an AI assistant that truly understands and caters to individual user needs. Recommended read:
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@laptopmag.com
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The Microsoft Cloud Blog
, www.laptopmag.com
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Microsoft is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a renewed focus on artificial intelligence, particularly through its Copilot assistant. At the anniversary event, Microsoft highlighted its plans to transform Copilot into a more personal and proactive AI companion, aiming to make AI work for everyone. The goal is to move beyond basic Q&A responses and create an AI that understands users in the context of their lives, showing up on their terms at the right time. The company envisions Copilot becoming an AI for everyone, more intuitive, and capable of remembering user preferences to provide customized solutions.
Microsoft is supercharging Copilot with upgrades designed to make it more responsive and helpful. New features include enhanced memory to recall important details such as favorite foods and birthdays, and the ability to complete tasks on the user's behalf. These enhancements aim to make Copilot more personable, with Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman emphasizing the importance of personality and tone in differentiating AI products. Microsoft is working to establish Copilot as the most personable AI companion, feeling like someone the user knows really well. Copilot Actions, another new feature, will allow the AI to browse the web and carry out tasks like booking event tickets, making dinner reservations, and even buying gifts through partnerships with various websites. In addition to these upgrades, Microsoft is launching two AI reasoning agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot: Researcher and Analyst. Researcher integrates OpenAI's deep research model with Microsoft 365 Copilot's orchestration and search capabilities to perform complex, multi-step research workflows. Analyst, powered by OpenAI's o3-mini reasoning model, is designed to help turn raw data into actionable insights within minutes by running Python code to process complex data queries. These agents, along with other upcoming Copilot features, will be available to customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses through a new program called "Frontier". Recommended read:
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Alexey Shabanov@TestingCatalog
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Microsoft is supercharging its Copilot assistant with new capabilities, transforming it into a companion for all. The company is equipping Copilot with new features designed to make it more responsive and helpful, including memory recall and personalization. This will allow the AI assistant to better understand and remember user preferences, complete tasks, analyze surroundings, and keep life organized. Microsoft aims to make AI work for everyone and wants Copilot to become the AI companion people want, tailored just for them.
Microsoft launched two AI reasoning agents for 365 Copilot: Researcher and Analyst. Researcher handles complex research using multiple sources, while Analyst functions as a data scientist to transform raw data into insights. These agents will roll out this month as part of a new program called "Frontier". The company is also adding new mobile and web features, personalization options, and exclusive tools for Surface devices. Recommended read:
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Alex Woodie@BigDATAwire
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AI agents are poised to revolutionize day-to-day life across various industries. Enterprises are increasingly adopting these agents to automate tasks, streamline operations, and enhance customer experiences. A recent Salesforce report highlights that 75% of retailers consider AI agents essential for staying competitive, underscoring the growing importance of these systems. The trend signifies a move towards more autonomous AI, capable of independent action to achieve specific goals, impacting sectors such as retail, logistics, and security.
Enterprising AI's agentic capabilities are also transforming how companies are handling fraud and maximizing returns on investment. AI tools are no longer limited to data scientists as enterprise leaders are enabling employees to use AI in new innovative ways. Browser Use, an AI startup, has recently secured $17 million in funding to further enhance the web's accessibility for AI agents, streamlining their interactions with online interfaces for faster and more precise browsing. Recommended read:
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Matt Marshall@AI News | VentureBeat
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AI News | VentureBeat
, Source Asia
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Microsoft is introducing two new AI reasoning agents, Researcher and Analyst, to Microsoft 365 Copilot. These "first-of-their-kind" agents are designed to tackle complex problems by utilizing methodical thinking, offering users a more efficient workflow. The Researcher agent combines OpenAI’s deep research model with Microsoft 365 Copilot’s advanced orchestration and search capabilities to deliver insights with greater quality and accuracy, helping users perform complex, multi-step research.
Analyst, built on OpenAI’s o3-mini reasoning model, functions like a skilled data scientist and is optimized for advanced data analysis. It uses chain-of-thought reasoning to iteratively refine its analysis and provide high-quality answers, mirroring human analytical thinking. This agent can run Python to tackle complex data queries and can turn raw data scattered across spreadsheets into visualizations or revenue projections. Researcher and Analyst will be available to customers with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license in April as part of a new “Frontier” program. Recommended read:
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Mike Wheatley@SiliconANGLE
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Microsoft is enhancing its Copilot AI assistant with advanced reasoning and agent capabilities aimed at boosting productivity across various Microsoft 365 applications. Key updates include deep reasoning within Copilot Studio and the introduction of specialized AI agents like Researcher and Analyst, designed to tackle complex problems and provide more nuanced insights. These agents leverage advanced reasoning models, such as OpenAI's o1 and o3-mini, to perform detailed analysis, methodical thinking, and data-driven decision-making, simulating the approach of skilled professionals.
Microsoft is also integrating its Security Copilot with AI agents to automate tasks. New agents being added to Security Copilot include ones designed to sort through large volumes of security info, analyze notifications, and fix insecure user access rules. Microsoft also released a new Knowledge Base-Augmented Language Models (KBLaM) system which is a more efficient way to incorporate external knowledge into language models. All of these tools are designed to give you the help you need faster. Recommended read:
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Ken Yeung@Ken Yeung
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Microsoft is enhancing its Copilot Studio platform with new 'deep reasoning' capabilities, allowing AI agents to solve complex problems more effectively. This upgrade also includes 'agent flows' which blend AI's flexibility with structured business automation. The new Researcher and Analyst agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot represent a significant step forward in AI agent evolution, enabling them to handle sophisticated tasks requiring detailed analysis and methodical thinking.
Microsoft's Security Copilot service is also getting a boost with a set of AI agents designed to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up security professionals to focus on more critical threats. These AI agents are designed to assist with critical tasks such as phishing, data security, and identity management. These agents showcase the breadth of what can be created when combining enterprise business data, access to advanced reasoning models, and structured workflows. Recommended read:
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Ben Lorica@Gradient Flow
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Gradient Flow
, AI News | VentureBeat
AI is rapidly evolving, moving beyond simple predictions to tackle complex, structured problems. New AI agents, open models, and a focus on productivity are driving this change, with reasoning and deep research capabilities leading the way. China's Monica.ai has developed Manus, an AI agent that autonomously handles tasks like real estate research and resume analysis, demonstrating the potential of multi-agent systems.
OpenAI is also advancing agent-building tools, including the Responses API and Computer Use Tool, enabling developers to create sophisticated applications. Additionally, Google's Gemma 3 offers an open-weight language model family, providing developers with greater flexibility. These advancements signify a shift towards artificial general intelligence (AGI), where AI can genuinely reason and solve novel problems. AI's impact is also evident in content creation, with platforms like n8n enabling users to build content creator agents without coding. These agents can automate tasks and streamline workflows, boosting productivity for individuals and businesses. This reflects a broader trend of AI being used to enhance productivity across various sectors, from research to code generation and content creation. Recommended read:
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Richard Speed@The Register
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Microsoft is enhancing its Copilot product with new AI-powered features, including voice chat and the integration of agents created in Microsoft Copilot Studio. Windows 11 users will soon be able to initiate voice queries instantly using a new "Press to Talk" feature. This feature allows users to summon Copilot with a simple shortcut – holding down Alt + Spacebar for two seconds – triggering a microphone to appear on the screen, enabling voice interaction with the AI assistant. The update is gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders through the Microsoft Store.
These agents, built using the Microsoft Copilot Studio agent builder, will be directly accessible within Copilot Chat. Microsoft aims to empower every employee with a Copilot and transform business processes with agents, enabling workforces from customer service to marketing to use Copilot and agents. This aims to make AI interactions more seamless and efficient. Copilot Studio usage is measured in "messages" and can be purchased through the Copilot Studio meter in Microsoft Azure. Recommended read:
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stclarke@Source
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Source Asia
, Microsoft Research
Microsoft is aggressively integrating AI across various platforms to enhance productivity and transform business processes. A key focus is on understanding human-AI interactions through a project called Semantic Telemetry at Microsoft Research. This project employs a novel data science approach using Large Language Models (LLMs) to analyze user behavior and classify these interactions, aiming to build and support increasingly high-value use cases for Copilot and other AI tools. This innovative approach reimagines traditional telemetry by using LLMs to generate meaningful categorical labels from chat log data, providing valuable insights into how users interact with AI systems.
The integration of Microsoft 365 Copilot is also enabling companies like Estée Lauder to reimagine trend forecasting and consumer marketing. By building a generative AI ecosystem with Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI Service, and Azure AI Search, Estée Lauder is leveraging AI to gather data, identify trends, build marketing assets, and inform research, ultimately accelerating the process of bringing beauty products to market. This transformation is part of Estée Lauder's "Beauty Reimagined" initiative, aiming for leaner, faster, and more agile operations. Recommended read:
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stclarke@Source
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Microsoft is enhancing its Copilot capabilities by introducing new sales agents designed to streamline the sales process. These agents, accessible through Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, aim to help sales teams close deals faster by providing assistance with lead qualification, meeting setup, and customer outreach. The Sales Agent can autonomously work around the clock to grow the sales pipeline, even completing sales for low-impact leads by leveraging CRM data, company information, and web resources.
Estée Lauder is using the Sales Agent to reimagine trend forecasting and consumer marketing. Estée Lauder is also building a generative AI ecosystem with Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search to move product to market faster. Vodafone projects to double or triple the number of requests for proposals its sales team can respond to each week. Salesforce has also launched Agentforce 2dx, enabling AI agents to work proactively across enterprise systems without human prompting. This update allows companies to embed agentic AI into workflows, monitor data changes, and initiate processes autonomously. IT leaders at TDX 2025 discussed the impact of AI on their businesses, with some experiencing significant revenue increases with AI implementation. Recommended read:
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The Copilot@Microsoft Copilot Blog
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References:
9to5mac.com
, www.engadget.com
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Microsoft has announced significant expansions and updates to its Copilot AI assistant, aiming to broaden its accessibility and utility. Key features like unlimited Voice access and the Think Deeper function are now available to all users, free of charge, in nearly every market where the Copilot app is offered. The Voice feature now supports over 40 languages, enabling hands-free interaction with the AI, while Think Deeper offers enhanced insights without usage limits, beneficial for tasks ranging from interview preparation to complex problem-solving.
Microsoft has also launched a native Copilot application for macOS, marking a notable step in making its AI accessible across different ecosystems. The macOS app, requiring macOS 14.0 or later and running on Apple's M1 chip or later, provides a dedicated platform for users to interact with Copilot, complete with keyboard shortcut support (Command + Space) for quick access. The initial rollout is focused on the US, UK, and Canada. The app allows users to upload images, generate images and text, use the shortcut launcher, dark mode, and use Think Deeper. Recommended read:
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