With ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) is now becoming something tangible and usable. Microsoft is currently working on integrating ChatGPT into its Office365 applications. The first glimpses of what the Copilot, as the future AI assistant will be called, will be able to do are now available.
Most users only use some of the extremely extensive functions of Microsoft's Office applications. Even experienced experts cannot know all the features, let alone use them optimally in their day-to-day work. Copilot, the AI tool recently launched by Microsoft, is designed to optimize your work as it prepares the available data and information in the way the user wants - as a pre-formulated email, a presentation, a quote, an analysis or whatever else, across all applications and sources. The perfect assistant.
With an investment worth billions, Microsoft has secured exclusive licenses from OpenAI, the inventors of ChatGPT, and is thus decisively driving development forward. You may have already had the opportunity to try out the AI chatbot, and the results are impressive. Because the software uses Natural Language Processing (NLP), it can not only formulate natural-sounding texts, but also understand normal speech as a command. The abbreviation GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformator and refers to the underlying algorithm: it is pre-trained on the basis of defined data and transforms this information into answers to questions posed.
It sounds abstract, but it works very well. Especially when the required information can actually be narrowed down well. And this is exactly the case in a business office context. An example: You want to create a sales quote. Naturally, this involves a lot of information that you need to gather together: Notes from the meeting with the customer, e-mail correspondence, production and delivery times, perhaps even prices and conditions from the competition, your product roadmap and so on and so forth. Copilot does almost all of this work for you. You say what you want and narrow down the database accordingly. Copilot creates an offer for you, which only needs fine-tuning or the individual adjustments you require. Take a look at some examples of this in our on-demand webinar - here you can get an impression of how AI will really transform our working world in the future.
The Microsoft Copilot for Office365 now makes the practical benefits of AI technologies more tangible and suitable for everyday use. But of course, development is also continuing in other areas: for example, Copilot is already integrated into the Microsoft Viva Sales CRM system and provides data-based support for the sales team. In addition, various supply chain applications are now based on AI algorithms. With data analyses and corresponding interpretations, they help to avoid unnecessary stock levels, identify problems within the supply chain at an early stage and automate collaboration with suppliers.
In principle, any process can be optimized with AI - if the right data is available. Companies that want to prepare for an AI-driven future now should therefore take a critical look at their data. What data is actually generated in the company and where is it located? Which other data sources are used and where would it make sense to add more? Practice shows that medium-sized companies in particular often work with several main applications, which are also highly customized. This often leads to confusing data management and frictional losses, which even an AI algorithm can only partially compensate for.
AI technologies such as ChatGPT will change the way we work. We will no longer think about which application we need for a particular task. We will simply "tell" our AI assistant what we need. It will decide which functions to use in order to deliver the best possible result. And the AI will get better and better as it learns with every task it completes. Get inspired now by our overview in the webinar video and contact us if you need more information.