Microsoft, OpenAI’s ChatGPT collaborate in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Microsoft recently introduced its biggest upgrade yet through a collaboration with artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, bringing together AI technology and the company’s iconic tool.

Microsoft and OpenAI, which owns the viral superbot ChatGPT, announced on Thursday Microsoft 365 Copilot, which embeds Generative tools and chat in every module in the suite: from Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, Outlook, and Viva.

“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,” said Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella. 

Dubbed as “Your Copilot for Work,” the tool helps users write, analyse, summarise, and search for information. There is also a module called Business Chat which works across the entire Microsoft data set to help users find materials, summarise them, and index them for business purposes.

Copilot uses the recently released version of ChatGPT, GPT-4, to draft documents, summarise information, analyse data from Excel, or create PowerPoint slides. 

This new release from Microsoft and OpenAI uses artificial intelligence to outline and summarise meetings, select graphics that fit the text of a presentation, or analyse a spreadsheet. It can access a user’s calendar or contacts to give them a history of work, projects, and activities.

Copilot learns more and gets smarter every time it is used. Although the GPT-4 Large Language Model (LLM) does not share a user’s local data, users can still ground it in local information so it can develop skills based on user’s information. 

For instance, a user analyses data from a spreadsheet showing sales from a particular quarter. Copilot would remember this data and a user could make the information available for others.

The possibilities are truly endless. If a user misses a meeting, they can ask Copilot what was discussed. Text can be rewritten and users can request the kind of tone used in the piece of writing. Users can ask Copilot to search for emails regarding a particular topic and summarise what was agreed. All the while Business Chat can summarise across everything.

Copilot provides users more agency and makes technology accessible for them through the most universal interface, said Nadella.

Jared Spataro, head of Microsoft 365, was quick to point out however that Copilot may not always be accurate. “Sometimes Copilot will get it right, other times it will be usefully wrong, giving you an idea that’s not perfect but still gives you a head start,” he said.