Alice Chambers |
Microsoft has introduced new artificial intelligence-powered tools and integrations across Microsoft 365 to improve operations, communications and experiences for frontline workers.
Copilot will be available across the Dynamics 365 Field Service application in both Outlook and Microsoft Teams to enable frontline technicians to create work orders and assign them to the right technicians more efficiently, as well as generate draft responses to customer messages. Users will be able to see upcoming work orders, share the details and access Dynamics 365 Remote Assist to troubleshoot problems in real time.
Dynamics 365 Field Service helps frontline workers to deliver efficient service with AI (image credit: Microsoft)
Workers will also be able to better connect with to their colleagues via Announcements in Viva Connections, which enables users to draft, schedule and target important announcements to large groups of people.
“Today, 64 per cent of the frontline workforce says that they don’t have enough of the necessary resources to get their work done efficiently,” said Nicole Herskowitz, vice president of Teams, in a blog post titled ‘Save costs and drive efficiency with next-generation AI on the frontline with Microsoft Teams’. “The lack of easily accessible resources and information causes a disconnect in your teams that reduces their efficiency but also their feeling of connection to the organisation all-up.”
Announcements will be available for tablet and mobile experiences in September.
Announcements in Viva Connections will alert users through push notifications on mobile devices (image credit: Microsoft)
In addition, Windows 365 Frontline became generally available in July to enable shift and part-time employees to access their personalised Windows accounts on any device from anywhere.
Windows 365 Frontline provides shift and part-time workers the flexibility to work from anywhere (image credit: Microsoft)
“The recent Work Trend Index shows that there is an opportunity for digital tools to help ease the burden on these essential workers,” said Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president of business applications and platform at Microsoft, in a blog post titled ‘Microsoft solutions boost Fortune 500 frontline productivity with next-generation AI’. “At Microsoft, we believe that technology can be a powerful force to reimagine how work gets done. By investing in innovative solutions for the frontline workforce, we are helping to drive positive change for frontline employees, customers and the bottom line.”