In a major leap towards integrating artificial intelligence into everyday office life, Microsoft Outlook is set to become your virtual email writer. As Microsoft extends its deployment of AI tools for corporate users, we dive into the details of this technological transformation.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Tool
The Microsoft 365 Copilot tool, heralded as “your everyday AI companion” by the company, is poised to revolutionize email composition in Microsoft Outlook. Its primary mission is to assist users in crafting emails that are concise and devoid of errors. But that’s not all; this tool also possesses the capability to summarize lengthy email threads and generate prompt suggestions for responses.
Advanced AI Assistance for Subscribers
For users holding Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions, an even more advanced AI aid awaits. Microsoft Editor, the intelligent writing assistant, is undergoing an update that promises to offer suggested edits for improved clarity, conciseness, inclusive language, and more. The goal here is to help workers in creating emails that exude professionalism and polish, as indicated in a September blog post by the company.
Corporate Adoption
Microsoft has set a date for expanding this tool to more corporate clients: November 1st. It has already undergone rigorous months-long testing with corporate giants like Visa, General Motors, KPMG, and Lumen Technologies.
Expanding AI Across Productivity Tools
This isn’t an isolated development. In March, Microsoft unveiled its ambitious plan to infuse artificial intelligence into its flagship productivity tools, including Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. The promise? A transformation in how millions carry out their daily work. The AI-powered “copilot” function, which facilitates editing, summarizing, document creation, and comparison, builds on the same technology underpinning ChatGPT.
A Multitude of AI-Enhanced Features
Beyond email composition, Microsoft 365 users will soon harness AI to summarize meetings and generate suggested follow-up tasks. They can request specific Excel chart creation, and even convert a Word document into a PowerPoint presentation within seconds. Corporate clients, on the other hand, will gain access to Microsoft 365 Chat, previously known as Business Chat, which acts as a personalized secretary by scanning the internet, employee emails, meetings, chats, and files.
The OpenAI Influence
This expansion comes less than a year after OpenAI unleashed ChatGPT, an AI chat tool that left users in awe of its ability to produce original essays, stories, and song lyrics in response to prompts. The tool’s initial surge in popularity reignited a tech industry arms race to integrate similar AI capabilities into their products.
Competition in the AI Space
As time has passed, other tech companies have introduced features inspired by or directly aligned with this technology. Google, a key Microsoft rival, has also brought AI to its suite of productivity tools, including Gmail, Sheets, and Docs.
The future of email composition and office productivity tools is rapidly evolving, ushering in a new era of AI-powered assistance and automation, though not without its share of excitement and apprehension.