41 At Microsoft Ignite 2024, Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, revealed new AI-powered agents across Microsoft 365 Copilot to help organisations better scale individual impact and transform business process. For example, SharePoint agents allow every employee to quickly tap into their SharePoint knowledge base with agents that can answer questions about specific files, folders or sites. Meanwhile, the Facilitator agents in Teams take real-time notes from meetings and chats. These agents complement the 10 autonomous agents announced for Dynamics 365 users, which help build capacity for team members in sales, services, finance and supply chain departments to drive business outcomes and improve customer experiences. Organisations are already starting to build their own AI agents with Microsoft technology. For example, vehicle manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation has used Azure OpenAI Service to build a collection of AI agents for its O-Beya system. Using OpenAI’s multimodal GPT-4 large language models, the system answers questions on a variety of topics using information sourced from Toyota’s design data, including past engineering design reports, regulatory information and documents handwritten by veteran engineers. For instance, an engine agent can answer questions related to engine output while a regulatory agent provides answers on emissions limits. Microsoft customers can also build and manage custom agents with Copilot Studio, and connect them to Copilot. These agents can range from simple prompt-and-response to fully autonomous. “Think of agents as the new apps for an AI-powered world,” says Jared Spataro, chief marketing officer of AI at Work at Microsoft. “Every organisation will have a constellation of agents – ranging from simple prompt-andresponse to fully autonomous. They will work on behalf of an individual, team or function to execute and orchestrate businesses process. Copilot is how you’ll interact with these agents, and they’ll do everything from accelerating lead generation and processing sales orders to automating your supply chain.” As AI continues to evolve, several emerging trends are set to further revolutionise how businesses and public sector organisations operate, unlocking even greater potential for innovation and efficiency. Murley explains that the integration of AI with edge computing, AI-driven digital twins and advancements in natural language processing all have the potential to open new possibilities across various industries. “As we stand on the brink of this technological revolution, it is imperative that we harness AI not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for change,” he says. “By fostering a culture of continuous learning, we can ensure that AI serves as a force for good, driving sustainable growth and creating a world where technology and humanity coexist harmoniously.” Toyota has built AI agents to answer employee questions based on its own design data “ Industry-specific AI models can significantly enhance organisational efficiency ” Photo: By Noriko Harashi for Microsoft
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