Microsoft has been hard at work developing AI tools for users at all levels. Earlier this year, the company released an AI-powered version of Bing and Edge browser for improved search capabilities, providing users with more complete search answers, a new chat experience, and features designed to inspire creativity. And, in May, they began testing Microsoft 365 Copilot with enterprise users. Fast forward to yesterday and the tech giant announced updates to their AI tools: Bing Chat Enterprise and Microsoft Copilot 365.

“AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the largest category of all – search,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft in a February 7, 2023 blog post. “Today, we’re launching Bing and Edge powered by AI copilot and chat, to help people get more from search and the web.”

Yusef Mehdi, corporate vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, addressed the company’s work in OpenAI in the February blog post.

“Together with OpenAI, we’ve also been intentional in implementing safeguards to defend against harmful content. Our teams are working to address issues such as misinformation and disinformation, content blocking, data safety and preventing the promotion of harmful or discriminatory content in line with our AI principles,” Mehdi wrote.

“The work we are doing with OpenAI builds on our company’s yearslong effort to ensure that our AI systems are responsible by design. We will continue to apply the full strength of our responsible AI ecosystem – including researchers, engineers and policy experts – to develop new approaches to mitigate risk,” added Mehdi.

Bing Chat Enterprise

Microsoft launched Bing Chat Enterprise, an AI-powered tool with commercial data protection built in. The release of this new product will expand Bing’s reach to enterprise audiences, giving users the opportunity to use AI-powered chat for work while protecting user and company information. Microsoft said chat data is not saved and that no one inside the software company can view their information or use it to train other AI models. To date, more than 160 million people have access to Bing Chat Enterprise.

“Whether researching industry insights, analyzing data, or looking for inspiration, Bing Chat Enterprise gives people access to better answers, greater efficiency and new ways to be creative,”

The AI-powered tool can increase creativity and improve productivity while protecting sensitive and proprietary data such as product specs and pricing. Microsoft provided an introduction to Bing Chat Enterprise on YouTube.

Bing Chat Enterprise provides “complete, verifiable answers with citations” and visual representations like charts and graphs. Bing Chat Enterprise rolled out as a preview yesterday at no extra cost for Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium customers. Later, it will be available as a standalone product for $5 per user per month. Bing Chat Enterprise can currently be accessed via work accounts where Bing Chat is supported (bing.com/chat) and the Microsoft Edge sidebar. Eventually, it will also be available via Windows Copilot.

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Microsoft 365 Copilot

Microsoft also announced pricing for Copilot, once it is more widely available – $30 per user per month for Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium customers. Microsoft first introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot in March. OpenAI’s ChatGPT offers a paid subscription for $20 a month, though the functionality is likely to be different.

“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 Nadella in a March 16 blog post. “With our new copilot for work, we’re giving people more agency and making technology more accessible through the most universal interface — natural language.”

Copilot integrates with Microsoft 365 through apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and others, and it is also available through Business Chat. Using Copilot, users can give verbal commands like getting status updates on meetings, emails and chat threads.

“Copilot makes you better at what you’re good at and lets you quickly master what you’ve yet to learn,” Microsoft said. “Copilot will fundamentally change how people work with AI and how AI works with people. As with any new pattern of work, there’s a learning curve — but those who embrace this new way of working will quickly gain an edge.”

Key features of Copilot include a focus on security, compliance and privacy; protection for individual, group and organizational data; and integration with other Microsoft apps. Copilot is designed to learn new skills, increasing productivity for users. It has many practical applications including writing a sales pitch based on user input, generating a SWOT analysis based on a presentation, and creating a PowerPoint. The completed work products include citations, so users can fact-check the original source of the data, whether internal or external.

Class action lawsuit filed against OpenAI and Microsoft

It isn’t all sunshine and roses though. AI is a very powerful tool, and many – including government regulators – have serious concerns about how AI can be potentially misused. In late June, a class action lawsuit was filed against Open AI and Microsoft, the company’s primary investor, for secretly harvesting “massive amounts of personal data from the internet,” reports TheStreet.

Other accusations include the defendants’ alleged disregard for “catastrophic risk by humanity” and essentially creating an AI arms race. The lawsuit requests a “temporary freeze” on commercial access to and further development of ChatGPT until OpenAI becomes compliant with transparency and accountability protocols, approval by an AI Council and allowing consumers to opt out of having their data used. Perhaps in response to the lawsuit, or as a preemptive measure, in Microsoft’s promotion of its AI tools, the company says it does not use data to train AI models.

Insider Take

Regardless of how we feel about AI – collectively and individually – it is here, and companies like Microsoft are leveraging it to maximize productivity and differentiate themselves from competitors. So far, investors seem impressed. The day of the announcement, Microsoft stock increased from $345.73 per share to $359.49, pretty close to the company’s 52-week high of $366.78 per share.

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