Microsoft is set to release its M365 Copilot to business customers on November 1, according to an announcement made by the company on Thursday. This AI assistant, developed in collaboration with OpenAI, will be embedded into Microsoft’s M365 collaboration and productivity apps such as Outlook, Teams, Excel, and PowerPoint. The M365 Copilot utilizes generative AI models to automate tasks and generate content, with the aim of improving user productivity. Prior to its official launch, the AI assistant has been tested by several large businesses, including General Motors, KPMG, and Visa.
Following its release in November, the Copilot will be priced at $30 per user per month for customers on the E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium pricing tiers. This pricing is comparable to Google’s recently introduced Duet genAI features in its Workspace suite, which offers similar office software tools such as Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. Other software vendors like Slack and Zoom are also incorporating generative AI into their products.
In addition to its availability for large businesses, Microsoft has also announced a pilot program for small and medium-sized businesses to gain early access to the M365 Copilot. Currently invite-only, this pilot program will be expanded over time. Analysts from Gartner anticipate strong demand for the Copilot, with customers expected to deploy it in smaller rollouts to manage risks and assess its value. However, government and education organizations will have to wait for an announcement on availability in those verticals.
Industry experts view the upcoming release of the M365 Copilot as significant, with expectations for increased productivity running high. Patrick Moorhead, chief analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, highlighted the importance of the Copilot demonstrating immediate value in tasks such as creating presentations from documents and generating accurate meeting notes with action items.
While the Copilot offers productivity benefits, it is important to consider the potential risks associated with the language models used in generative AI. These models have the capability to produce incorrect and copyright-infringing content, as well as present security and data protection risks. To address this, Microsoft has committed to defending M365 customers against any copyright-related legal claims resulting from outputs generated by the Copilot.
In related news, Microsoft has also rebranded its AI chatbot in the M365 suite from Business Chat to Microsoft 365 Chat. The company also announced the upcoming launch of Windows Copilot on September 26, which will be available for free to commercial customers.
Overall, the release of the M365 Copilot marks a significant milestone for Microsoft and its customers, promising increased productivity and automation capabilities. As businesses continue to adopt generative AI technologies, it will be crucial for Microsoft and other providers to address potential risks and ensure the responsible use of these advanced AI tools.
Copyright © 2023 IDG Communications, Inc.
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