Microsoft will host a “Future of Work with AI” event on March 16, detailing how artificial intelligence (AI) technology affects work.
According to Engadget, although Microsoft didn’t say much about the content of the event, CEO Satya Nadella and head of Microsoft 365 Jared Spataro will host the presentation.
Reports last month suggested the company could introduce AI-powered versions of Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook and Word. While the exact functionality is unknown, The Information claims Outlook can use AI to help improve search results and suggest email replies. Meanwhile, Word can offer writing suggestions.
Microsoft is also rolling out a number of AI features aimed at enterprise customers. Dynamics 365 and Viva Sales now have AI ” Copilot ” that helps answer customer chats and emails, summarize Teams meetings, and explore marketing data. These are based on the existing Azure OpenAI service, where the rumored Microsoft 365 features could be based on Prometheus’ AI model used in Bing.
The expansion of AI technology into Microsoft products should not come as too much of a surprise. Microsoft has been integrating AI into services like Teams for a while and has been investing in OpenAI for years. The company recently committed to a multi-year $10 billion funding agreement with OpenAI, in which Microsoft will host OpenAI cloud services. This helps the company move towards its goal of leading in the adoption of this nascent technology.