Microsoft Corp. is keen to show employees how much AI is converting their workplace, even if the company finishes thousands of staff.
In this week's presentation, Judson Althoff, the top commercial director, said artificial intelligence tools are increasing productivity in everything from sales and customer service to software engineering, according to those familiar with what he said.
Althoff said AI saved over $500 million last year on call centres alone, increasing satisfaction for both employees and customers.
The company is also using AI to handle small customer interactions, Althoff said. The effort is in its early stages, but it has already generated tens of millions of dollars, he said.
Microsoft declined to comment.
Tech executives are increasingly speaking about the possibility that AI can automate the labor currently being done by humans. Salesforce Inc. says 30% of the company's internal work is handled by AI, which can reduce employment in some roles. Executives at Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. say that AI is currently writing a large number of code chunks.
At Microsoft, AI generated 35% of the code for new products and accelerated launch times, Althoff said. The company's Github Copilot is a market leader in AI coding tools with 15 million users, Microsoft said in April.
The implementation of AI has driven replacement anxiety among many workers, especially in the high-tech industry. This year, Microsoft announced its cuts to approximately 15,000 employees. Last week, a wave of layoffs targeted roles for customers such as sales.
Althoff emphasized to employees that AI could become more effective as a seller. With Microsoft's Copilot AI Assistant, each salesperson finds more leads, closes deals faster, and generates 9% revenue, he said.
