Build the future of your business with AI

Generative AI uses deep learning to create new content in response to natural language prompts. It can also generate text, images, music, and code.

There are several types of AI, each designed for different purposes:

• Traditional AI - Automates specific tasks using predefined rules and algorithms, often used in manufacturing and data processing.
• Predictive AI - Analyzes historical data to forecast future outcomes, commonly used in finance, healthcare, and marketing.
• Conversational AI - Powers chatbots and virtual assistants to facilitate natural language interactions, generating human-like responses.
   

Generative AI is different because it creates content rather than simply analyzing or predicting based on existing data.

Copilots are chat-based generative AI interactions from Microsoft. They have specialized functionality based on their users and use cases. Some Copilots are experienced standalone, while others are integrated into Microsoft products, services, and devices.

Included in this portfolio is Microsoft Copilot,  Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Security Copilot, and GitHub Copilot, among other generative AI solutions and experiences.

AI can be a powerful ally in boosting productivity and efficiency. Here are some ways Microsoft AI can help streamline your daily tasks:
 

1. Microsoft Copilot understands your questions and provides direct answers, assists with writing, and even creates images. For example, Copilot can help you give your resume a quick update, craft a post for social media, or write an email.
2. Microsoft 365 Copilot integrates AI with Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. It can assist with tasks like drafting emails, summarizing lengthy documents, creating reports from data, and managing your calendar.
3. AI features in Microsoft Teams include real-time transcription, translation services, meeting summaries, and action items following the meeting.
4. With Copilot Studio, you can easily design, test, and publish agents that suit your needs for internal or external scenarios across your industry, department, or role. You can build a standalone agent or publish to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
5. For more customized productivity solutions, Azure AI offers a suite of tools to help you develop and deploy intelligent applications tailored to your needs.

If you’re looking to use Copilot outside of work, you can start using Microsoft Copilot for free at copilot.microsoft.com or by downloading the Microsoft Copilot app on your mobile device.

If you want to use Microsoft 365 Copilot at work, you’ll need to have an existing license for a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan and a license for Microsoft 365 Copilot. If you’re not an existing customer, you need to buy an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription.

Additional business and enterprise licenses for GitHub Copilot are available, as well as licensing plans for Microsoft Security Copilot.

Microsoft offers several AI-powered tools to help you create and enhance visual content.  Here are a few options:

1. Microsoft Designer allows you to create custom images from text descriptions. Just describe the visual you'd like, and Designer will generate a high-resolution image for you. You can also edit photos with AI, remove unwanted objects, replace backgrounds, and apply artistic styles to your images.
2. Image Creator in Bing lets you generate images based on your words. 
3. AI Image Editor offers various tools to enhance your photos. You can remove unwanted elements, change backgrounds, and apply different artistic styles to your images.

To have full access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams, your organization needs to have a license for a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan and a license for Microsoft 365 Copilot—even if you already use Copilot outside of work or have limited access in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.

AI features are available in Microsoft 365 applications through Copilot and can be used in many ways, such as:

• Writing and editing. Copilot in Word can provide prompts to help you start writing quickly, help edit existing documents, and help trim down and summarize longer texts.
• Data analysis. Copilot in Excel can help analyze data, write formulas, and organize unstructured data into a more digestible format.
• Creating presentations. Copilot in PowerPoint can help build presentations, edit notes, and rearrange slides.
• Streamlining collaboration. Copilot in Teams can summarize meetings, provide transcripts, and share insights from discussions.
   

There are additional partner AI solutions that tailor Microsoft 365 to individual business needs.

Microsoft Copilot remembers details that matter to your daily life while keeping your personal data secure and protecting your privacy. You can always manage your privacy preferences in your Copilot Privacy settings.

When you’re using Copilots at work, all your existing security and compliance requirements are inherited, so only people with the right permissions can access the content it generates.

As a company, Microsoft is committed to providing trustworthy AI—with decades of research, customer feedback, and learnings informing the capabilities that deliver privacy, safety, and security

Implementing generative AI comes with several considerations, including data security, biases, misinformation, and regulatory compliance. Ensuring the security of sensitive data and managing potential biases in AI-generated content are critical concerns—in addition to challenges related to transparency, accountability, and the potential misuse of AI technologies. Microsoft’s strategy paper, Minimize Risk and Reap the Benefits of AI, provides a comprehensive guide to navigating the challenges and opportunities of using generative AI.

Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated content requires evaluating and monitoring the performance of generative AI models. Microsoft's Azure AI Foundry offers evaluation metrics that assess the quality, safety, and relevance of generated content. Techniques such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) can also improve accuracy by using sourced data instead of relying solely on the model's training data. 

Microsoft offers a wide range of resources to help you get the most out of AI. The AI learning hub is home to trainings, documentation, and videos, while Microsoft Adoption can help you find out how to most effectively bring AI to your organization.

You can also find e-books, insights, use cases, and other resources for organizations on the AI for business leaders page.