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Microsoft to Let Clients Build AI Agents for Routine Tasks from November

General view of Microsoft Corporation headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo
General view of Microsoft Corporation headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo
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Microsoft to Let Clients Build AI Agents for Routine Tasks from November

General view of Microsoft Corporation headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo
General view of Microsoft Corporation headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

Microsoft will allow its customers to build autonomous artificial intelligence agents from next month, in its latest push to tap the booming technology amid growing investor scrutiny of its hefty AI investments.
The company is positioning autonomous agents - programs that need little human intervention unlike chatbots - as "apps for an AI-driven world" that can handle client queries, identify sales leads and manage inventory, Reuters said.
Other big technology companies such as Salesforce have also touted the potential of such agents, tools that some analysts say could provide companies with an easier path to monetizing the billions of dollars they are pouring into AI.
Microsoft said its customers can use Copilot Studio - an application that requires little knowledge of computer code - to create such agents in public preview from November. It is using several AI models developed in-house and by OpenAI for the agents.
The company is also introducing 10 ready-for-use agents that can help with routine tasks ranging from managing supply chain to expense tracking and client communications.
In a demo, McKinsey & Co, which had early access to the tools, created an agent that can manage client inquires by checking interaction history, identifying the consultant for the task and scheduling a follow-up meeting.
"The idea is that Copilot (the company's chatbot) is the user interface for AI," Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president of business and industry Copilot at Microsoft, told Reuters.
"Every employee will have a Copilot, their personalized AI agent, and then they will use that Copilot to interface and interact with the sea of AI agents that will be out there."
Tech giants are facing pressure to show returns on their big AI investments. Microsoft's shares fell 2.8% in the September quarter, underperforming the S&P 500, but remain more than 10% higher for the year.
Some concerns have risen in recent months about the pace of Copilot adoption, with research firm Gartner saying in August its survey of 152 IT organizations showed the vast majority had not progressed their Copilot initiatives past the pilot stage.

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Social Media Companies Slam Australia's Under-16 ban

Social media companies slam Australia's under-16 ban - AFP
Social media companies slam Australia's under-16 ban - AFP
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Social Media Companies Slam Australia's Under-16 ban

Social media companies slam Australia's under-16 ban - AFP
Social media companies slam Australia's under-16 ban - AFP

Social media giants on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law banning them from signing up under-16s, describing it as a rush job littered with "many unanswered questions".

The UN children's charity UNICEF Australia warned the law was no "silver bullet" against online harm and could push kids into "covert and unregulated" spaces online.

The legislation, approved by parliament on Thursday, orders social media firms to take "reasonable steps" to prevent young teens from having accounts, AFP reported. It is due to come into effect after a year.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the age limit may not be implemented perfectly -- much like existing restrictions on alcohol -- but it was "the right thing to do".

The crackdown on sites like Facebook, Instagram and X would lead to "better outcomes and less harm for young Australians", he told reporters.

Platforms have a "social responsibility" to make children's safety a priority, Albanese said.

Social media firms that fail to comply with the law face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million) for "systemic breaches".

TikTok said it was "disappointed" in the law, accusing the government of ignoring mental health, online safety and youth experts who had opposed the ban.

"It's entirely likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet where no community guidelines, safety tools, or protections exist," a TikTok spokesperson said.

Tech companies said that despite the law's perceived shortcomings, they would engage with the government in shaping how it could be implemented in the next 12 months.

The legislation offers almost no details on how the rules will be enforced -- prompting concern among experts that it will be largely symbolic.

Members of the public appeared doubtful.

"I don't think it will actually change a lot because I don't see that there's really a strong way to police it," 41-year-old Emily Beall told AFP in Melbourne.

Arthur McCormack, 19, said some things he had seen on social media when he was younger were "sort of traumatic".

"I think it's good that the government is on this ban. But in terms of enforcement, I'm not sure how it will be carried out," he said.

Meta -- owner of Facebook and Instagram -- called for consultation on the rules to ensure a "technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens".

- 'Serious concerns' -

But Meta said it was concerned "about the process, which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people".

A Snapchat spokesperson said the company had raised "serious concerns" about the law and that "many unanswered questions" remained about how it would work.

But the company said it would engage closely with the government to develop an approach balancing "privacy, safety and practicality".

UNICEF Australia policy chief Katie Maskiell said young people need to be protected online but also included in the digital world.

"This ban risks pushing children into increasingly covert and unregulated online spaces as well as preventing them from accessing aspects of the online world essential to their wellbeing," she said.

Leo Puglisi, a 17-year-old online journalist based in Melbourne, was critical of the legislation.

He founded streaming channel 6 News, which provides hourly news bulletins on national and international issues, in 2019 at the age of 11.

- Global attention -

"We've been built up by having 13 to 15-year-olds see 6 News online and then join the team," Puglisi said in a statement.

"We have said that this ban seriously risks restricting creativity from our young people, no matter what passion or future career they want to explore," he added.

One of the biggest issues will be privacy -- what age-verification information is used, how it is collected and by whom.

Social media companies remain adamant that age verification should be the job of app stores, but the government believes tech platforms should be responsible.

Exemptions will likely be granted to some companies, such as WhatsApp and YouTube, which teenagers may need to use for recreation, school work or other reasons.

The legislation will be closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans.

Lawmakers from Spain to Florida have proposed social media bans for young teens, although none of the measures have been implemented yet.

China has restricted access for minors since 2021, with under-14s not allowed to spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.