Microsoft 365 users will soon be able to revise, summarize, create, and compare documents with the assistance of an artificial intelligence "Co-pilot," the company announced at an event on Thursday. However, do not nickname it Clippy. The new features, which are based on the same technology as ChatGPT, are significantly more potent (and less anthropomorphized) than its paperclip-shaped predecessor with wide-eyed eyes.

With the recent enhancements, users will be able to transcribe meeting notes during a Skype call, summarize lengthy email threads to rapidly draft suggested replies, request the creation of a specific chart in Excel, and convert a Word document into a PowerPoint presentation in a matter of seconds.

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Microsoft is also introducing a concept called Business Chat, which is essentially an agent that works alongside the user as he or she attempts to comprehend and make meaning of Microsoft 365 data. According to the company, the agent will know what's in a user's email and calendar for the day, as well as the documents and presentations they've been working on, the people they're meeting with, and the chats occurring on their Teams platform. Then, users can request Business Chat to perform tasks such as writing a status report by summarizing all of the documents across platforms for a specific project and drafting an email that can be sent to their team with an update.

Microsoft's announcement comes a month after it added similar AI-powered features to Bing and amid a renewed arms race in the tech industry to develop and deploy AI tools that can transform the ways in which people work, purchase, and create. This week, Google announced that it will incorporate artificial intelligence into its productivity tools, including Gmail, Sheets, and Docs.

Microsoft outlined its strategy for incorporating artificial intelligence into its Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, during a Thursday presentation to its customers.

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The news comes two days after OpenAI, the company responsible for Microsoft's artificial intelligence technology and creator of ChatGPT, introduced its next-generation model, GPT-4. In early tests and a company demonstration, the update astounded many users with its ability to draft lawsuits, pass standardized examinations, and create a functional website from a hand-drawn sketch.

OpenAI stated that it has added more "guardrails" to keep conversations on course and has worked to reduce the tool's bias. However, the update and the efforts of larger tech companies to integrate this technology may raise difficult questions about how AI tools can disrupt professions, enable students to deceive, and alter our relationship with technology. Microsoft's new Bing browser has been utilizing GPT-4 for some time.

A Microsoft spokesperson advised 365 users who utilize the new AI tools to keep in mind that the technology is still in development and information will need to be verified. Although OpenAI has made significant enhancements to its most recent model, GPT-4 retains the same limitations as its predecessors. The company stated that it can still make "simple reasoning errors" or be "overly gullible in accepting obviously false statements from a user," and that it does not conduct fact checks.

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Microsoft nonetheless believes that the changes will significantly enhance the workplace experience of employees by making duties easier and less monotonous, thereby freeing them to be more analytical and creative.