Microsoft is expanding preview access to Microsoft 365 Copilot. This is OpenAI’s GPT-4-powered digital assistant that brings AI-powered capabilities across Microsoft 365 apps and services. The tech giant also announced several new Copilot features for apps like Microsoft Whiteboard, Outlook, and PowerPoint, as well as new indexing tools to help Copilot report on internal data more accurately.
The company launches the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program. This is an invite-only paid preview and will initially roll out to 600 customers worldwide. Prior to this expansion, only 20 customers were able to test Microsoft 365 Copilot. These new customers will be asked to pay an unspecified amount for the perk, but Microsoft has not said when the rollout will begin. I have sent an email to Microsoft asking for clarification. I will update this story if I get a response.
Microsoft is also introducing various new features to Microsoft 365 Copilot. A new semantic indexing feature is rolling out for enterprise customers running the Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 suites that create intuitive maps of both user and enterprise data. Microsoft states that the semantic index is “critical to getting good and actionable responses to Microsoft 365 Copilot prompts.” For example, according to Microsoft, if you ask Copilot about the “March sales report,” the tool will not simply search for documents containing those keywords, but will say, “The sales report was written by Kelly on the finance team. , was created in Excel.”
Microsoft claims the update will also enhance enterprise-based search results for E3 and E5 customers, even if they don’t use Copilot. Existing automation and workflows may be more robustly streamlined if internal data can be leveraged.
Copilot will also be added to Whiteboard, Microsoft 365’s collaborative digital canvas app for brainstorming. Users can invoke Copilot to generate ideas on specific topics or summarize whiteboard content. Copilot can also bring ideas to life by using Microsoft Designer, the company’s new graphic design app, to generate images based on idea prompts created on the whiteboard.
We are also introducing new features to applications that already support Microsoft 365 Copilot Preview. For example, DALL-E, OpenAI’s text-to-image generator, will be added to Microsoft PowerPoint. Users can ask Copilot to generate an image based on the text description and include the image in the presentation. Copilot for PowerPoint can also optimize your text, such as converting bullets to paragraphs (or vice versa) and changing the tone.
Finally, Outlook adds a new Copilot Coaching feature to provide writing guidance when drafting emails for tight deadlines or confidential matters. Copilot advises users on how to effectively deliver information with appropriate clarity and tone under these circumstances. Microsoft has not said when these new features will be available to paid preview customers.
A public release (or open beta) of Microsoft 365 Copilot has not yet been announced. Perhaps we’ll see a few more of these preview updates expand functionality first, which tells us Microsoft wants to take its time before rolling it out to the general public.
Nearly every service that utilizes large language models, including Microsoft’s own Bing chatbot, has come under scrutiny for providing inaccurate information (known as hallucinations). While Microsoft has so far disclaimed Copilot’s warnings about inaccurate results, organizations using generative AI technology now risk embedding false or misleading information in their workflows and corporate communications. exposed to
