March, wepresentThe world of Microsoft 365 Copilot - your work copilot. As we make Copilot more accessible to users and introduce new features, we're excited to share the next step on our journey with you. We also publish new data and insights from ourJob Trends Index 2023About the changed way of working in the age of artificial intelligence.
Microsoft 365 Copilot early access program
We've been testing Copilot with 20 business users since March, learning from companies like Chevron, Goodyear, GM and Dow. Their overwhelming feedback was that Copilot has the potential to revolutionize work. They pointed out how revolutionary this was for conferences and began to change the way conferences are organized. They also identified areas where we could do more to help people adapt to this new way of working, such as the need for more conversational, multifaceted interactions. As we bring Copilot to more users, we'll continue to rely on this feedback to improve Copilot and help users experience this new way of working.
“The potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot is undeniable, and it's exciting to explore the possibilities by combining the ingenuity of our people with the power of the tool. With early access, we can see how it can further streamline processes and accelerate insights, spark ideas, increase productivity and improve the way we work. We are proud to partner with Microsoft as we continue to push innovation to new levels and drive the future of energy.” - Guy Moore, Director, Workforce Enablement, Chevron
Today, we're excited to announce the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access program, a paid preview that's available by invitation only to the first 600 users worldwide.
and helpOneOnce customers are ready for AI, we'll also begin rolling out Copilot Semantic Indexing, a new feature in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5. Copilot's Semantic Index is a sophisticated map of your user and organizational data. For example, if you search for "March Sales Report," not only documents that have those words in their file names or text are searched. Instead, it assumes that "Sales reports were created by Kelly in the finance team and created in Excel." This conceptual understanding is used to determine your intent and help you find what you need. Copilot's semantic indexing is key to getting relevant, actionable instant responses in Microsoft 365 Copilot. And it improves enterprise search results for E3 and E5 customers, whether they use Copilot or not.
Job Trends Index 2023
The transition from platforms to AI is well underway. Just as customers turned to Microsoft to help them transition to remote and flexible working, they are now turning to us to understand how this new age of artificial intelligence will transform the way work is done, change it again.
oursEmployment trends index 2023He interviewed 31,000 people in 31 countries and analyzed trillions of aggregate productivity signals on Microsoft 365 and job trends on LinkedIn to understand what the new era of artificial intelligence means for business. The data paint a clear picture: work pace and workload are growing exponentially, employees are struggling under their workload – and innovation is at risk. Both managers and employees want AI to relieve them of their work.
"The next generation of artificial intelligence will eliminate tedious work and unleash creativity," said Satya Nadella, Microsoft chairman and CEO. "Artificial intelligence tools offer a great opportunity to reduce digital debt, build AI skills and empower employees."
The report reveals three key takeaways that business leaders need to know now as they try to responsibly adopt AI:
Digital debt is costing us innovation
We all carry digital debt: the amount of data, emails and chats is beyond our ability to handle. Every minute you spend managing that digital debt goes unused in creative work. In a world where creativity is the new productivity, digital debt isn't just an inconvenience—it affects business.
When 62% of employees say they spend too much time searching for information, communicating and coordinating, they spend less time thinking deeply, being creative and collaborating socially. Almost two-thirds say they don't have enough time and energy to do their work. The same employees are 3.5 times more likely to struggle with innovation and strategic thinking.
There's a new union for artificial intelligence employees
One of the dominant narratives surrounding artificial intelligence is that employees fear they could end up losing their jobs. Although 49% of respondents are concerned about job security, a whopping 70% would choose to delegate as much work as possible to AI to reduce their workload. In short: employees know what to expect and the hope for a cure outweighs the threat. They envision that AI will not only be used for administrative tasks, but also for analytical and creative work.
Employees and managers agree on this. Our data shows that managers are twice as likely to say they want AI to empower, not replace, humans. In fact, there have been layoffs recently. Your biggest hope for artificial intelligence? Increase productivity, automate tasks, improve employee well-being and free your employees to focus on high-impact work.
Every worker needs AI skills
Artificial intelligence will introduce a completely new model of human-machine interaction and will soon become an integral part of work. A platform change of this magnitude requires new skills – from just-in-time engineering to redesigning work processes with artificial intelligence. With 82% of executives believing employees will need new skills in the age of AI, we've seen a 79% year-over-year increase in US LinkedIn job postings that include "GPT" or "GAI" (generative) artificial intelligence mentioned).
Employees are already prepared for this new skill – learning a new skill is the first thing they spend more time and energy on. Managers think the same way: learning new skills is also the most important thing they want their employees to spend more time and energy on.
Introducing the new capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot
When we launched Copilot in March, we discovered the power of the Microsoft 365 suite of apps that millions of people use every day to get work done. And we won't stop there — we'll continue to add new Copilot features, integrate AI into every part of the suite, and empower employees and organizations to be creative, productive, and educated.
- Copilot on boardMakes Microsoft Teams meetings and brainstorming more creative and effective. Using natural language, you can ask Copilot to generate ideas, organize ideas into topics, create topics that bring ideas to life, and summarize whiteboard content.
- through integrationDALL-E, OpenAI image generator, for PowerPoint,Users can ask Copilot to create custom images to support their content.
- Copilot in Outlook is implementedGuided tips and advice on clarity, mood and tone to help users email more effectively and communicate with more confidence.
- Copilot in OneNoteDirections are used to make plans, generate ideas, make lists, and organize information to help users find what they need.
- former co-pilotHelp your team stay on track by quickly condensing everything into one endless page so everyone is on the same page and can collaborate effectively.
- Copilot for Viva LearningA natural language chat interface is used to help users create a personalized learning journey, including designing competency development paths, discovering relevant learning resources and scheduling allocated training time.
When we offer Microsoft 365 Copilot to our customers, we follow our ownPrinciples of artificial intelligenceIResponsible AI standardsAnd decades of artificial intelligence research, basic machine learning that preserves privacy. A multidisciplinary team of researchers, engineers, and policy experts examines our AI systems for potential harm and corrective actions—improving training data, filtering harmful content, querying sensitive topics and blocking results, applying InterpretML and Fairlearn, among others. Microsoft technology helps detect and correct data distortions. We clarify how the system makes decisions by highlighting constraints, referencing resources, and encouraging users to review, verify, and adapt content based on their expertise.
The transformation from platforms to AI is underway, heralding a new wave of productivity growth. For overworked employees and executives looking to increase their productivity, the promise can't come soon enough. AI represents a completely new way of working – it requires new skills and habits. Organizations that embrace this new way of working, from AI "autopilot" to AI as copilot, will create a brighter and more fulfilling business future for everyone.
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