Microsoft's Copilot to Compete with Google in Business Software
2023-03-23
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1Microsoft announced its plan to add artificial intelligence (AI) into its line of office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook last week.
2The announcement came a day after Google released its own AI tools to be used with Gmail, Google Docs and other products to developers and selected businesses.
3Called "Copilot", Microsoft's AI tools will offer writing and input suggestions in these applications.
4Microsoft said it will speed up content creation and free up workers' time.
5Copilot will be available for testing by around 20 companies.
6While Alphabet-owned Google is making progress in AI, Microsoft's early investments in OpenAI have set it apart from its competitors.
7OpenAI is the creator of ChatGPT which learns from past information to quickly produce human-like writings.
8Just last week, OpenAI started to release a more powerful version known as GPT-4.
9The new version, along with the older GPT-3.5, are part of Copilot features, Microsoft said.
10Rishi Jaluria is a researcher with the Canadian company RBC.
11He said the new capabilities, offered through Microsoft's cloud service, are set to increase its business and growth.
12Jaluria predicts Copilot will "drive more usage of Microsoft Office and increase the separation versus competitors".
13One of the big updates was in the electronic document, or spreadsheet, program Excel.
14Microsoft said anyone can describe a calculation they would like in plain text and its AI program would create a spreadsheet.
15The task often requires the knowledge of trained analysts.
16Jon Friedman, a Microsoft vice president, spoke with Reuters.
17He said Microsoft's new "business chat" experience is the biggest development last week.
18He said it can handle tasks across several business programs.
19For example, a user can ask, "Tell my team how we updated the product strategy," and the AI will use information from a morning's worth of emails, meetings, and chat records.
20Making the technology as good as possible and ensuring that its answers are factual are key concerns for Microsoft.
21Friedman said that is why Copilot is being tested with just some customers before a wider release.
22An "amazing thing about large language models is they're very confident, and they get things wrong," Friedman said.
23Friedman said the long-term plan for Microsoft is to develop a more personalized AI experience.
24"We often make people adapt to the machines and systems we have built," Friedman said.
25"This is a thing that will start to adapt to you."
26I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Microsoft announced its plan to add artificial intelligence (AI) into its line of office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook last week. 2The announcement came a day after Google released its own AI tools to be used with Gmail, Google Docs and other products to developers and selected businesses. 3Called "Copilot", Microsoft's AI tools will offer writing and input suggestions in these applications. Microsoft said it will speed up content creation and free up workers' time. Copilot will be available for testing by around 20 companies. 4While Alphabet-owned Google is making progress in AI, Microsoft's early investments in OpenAI have set it apart from its competitors. 5OpenAI is the creator of ChatGPT which learns from past information to quickly produce human-like writings. Just last week, OpenAI started to release a more powerful version known as GPT-4. The new version, along with the older GPT-3.5, are part of Copilot features, Microsoft said. 6Rishi Jaluria is a researcher with the Canadian company RBC. He said the new capabilities, offered through Microsoft's cloud service, are set to increase its business and growth. Jaluria predicts Copilot will "drive more usage of Microsoft Office and increase the separation versus competitors". 7Taking notes for you 8One of the big updates was in the electronic document, or spreadsheet, program Excel. Microsoft said anyone can describe a calculation they would like in plain text and its AI program would create a spreadsheet. The task often requires the knowledge of trained analysts. 9Jon Friedman, a Microsoft vice president, spoke with Reuters. He said Microsoft's new "business chat" experience is the biggest development last week. He said it can handle tasks across several business programs. 10For example, a user can ask, "Tell my team how we updated the product strategy," and the AI will use information from a morning's worth of emails, meetings, and chat records. 11Making the technology as good as possible and ensuring that its answers are factual are key concerns for Microsoft. Friedman said that is why Copilot is being tested with just some customers before a wider release. 12An "amazing thing about large language models is they're very confident, and they get things wrong," Friedman said. 13Friedman said the long-term plan for Microsoft is to develop a more personalized AI experience. 14"We often make people adapt to the machines and systems we have built," Friedman said. "This is a thing that will start to adapt to you." 15I'm Gregory Stachel. 16Jeffrey Dastin reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17___________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19artificial intelligence - n. the development of computer systems that have the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence 20versus - prep. used to indicate two different things or choices that are being compared or considered 21task - n. a piece of work that has been given to someone 22chat - n. a talk held over the Internet by people using a chat room 23strategy - n. a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time 24adapt - v. to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose 25________________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? 27We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.