Earlier this year (Jan 2023), Microsoft announced its partnership with OpenAI concerning artificial intelligence (AI) development in the coming years. This announcement was particularly interesting because, just a few weeks earlier, OpenAI released ChatGPT3, which caught the world by surprise, to say the least. So what does this mean for Microsoft users, in particular those using its business applications?
To answer this question, I researched one new product, Sales Copilot, and tested it (see below). It is an add-on to Outlook that integrates CRM data with Outlook emails using AI. This seems appropriate as Outlook is the app many people use to talk with colleagues and partners. ChatGPT (the underlying technology) is precisely that, i.e., an interface used to chat with AI to solve problems or find solutions to questions. Imagine an AI agent that is always available in case we have questions or need answers to work-related issues. Wouldn’t that be something?!
Before we get too excited, GhatGPT, and other systems based on similar technology, are still in their infancy. These systems are not yet mature enough to have a serious transformational impact on our daily work. Nevertheless, the impact has been large in terms of people’s increased interest in AI, which, generally, I think is a good thing. This interest will drive further investments into AI research and development.
Anyway, turning to the topic at hand. In the announcement mentioned above, Microsoft said: “we will deploy OpenAI’s models across our consumer and enterprise products and introduce new categories of digital experiences built on OpenAI’s technology.” Moreover, it talks about how Microsoft has supplied the company with the IT infrastructure needed to develop its products, including ChatGPT and other solutions. However, Microsoft didn’t reveal much about its intentions to use these solutions until months later when it announced Microsoft Sales Copilot (previously Viva Sales).
The Sales Copilot is an AI application that enables sales teams to better access relevant client information to help them close more deals.
Sales Copilot can show you highlights from email conversations with clients or prospects, which you can use to perform various tasks, e.g., create a reply, save information to the CRM (Salesforce or Dynamics 365).
If you would like to test the AI, it’s easy to add it to Teams and/or Outlook. Let me know in the comments what you think.
Stirna Consulting 