Microsoft Launches Copilot Chat for Businesses to Boost AI Adoption

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
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Microsoft Launches Copilot Chat for Businesses to Boost AI Adoption

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

Microsoft on Wednesday rolled out a chat service allowing businesses to use on-demand AI agents for routine tasks, betting on the pay-as-you-go model to drive up the adoption of the technology.

The free service, Copilot Chat, which uses OpenAI's GPT-4, lets users create AI agents using natural languages such as English and Mandarin for tasks such as market research, writing strategy documents and preparing for meetings, Reuters reported.

However, features including summarizing and transcribing Teams calls and creating PowerPoint slides require a $30 monthly Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.

Microsoft, like other big technology companies, is under pressure to show returns on its hefty investments in AI, as the software giant is set to spend about $80 billion during its current fiscal year on data centers and AI infrastructure.

After a Gartner report last year raised doubts about Copilot's adoption, Microsoft has been pushing its uptake.

In November, Microsoft began allowing customers to create autonomous agents requiring minimal human intervention, a strategy which some analysts say could offer tech companies a simpler path to monetization.



Nvidia Says New Rule Will Weaken US Leadership in AI

The Nvidia logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)
The Nvidia logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)
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Nvidia Says New Rule Will Weaken US Leadership in AI

The Nvidia logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)
The Nvidia logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. (Reuters)

Nvidia on Monday criticized a new effort by the Biden administration to tighten Washington's grip on artificial intelligence chip flows around the world, saying the regulation would jeopardize current US leadership in AI.

The new rule, which is expected to be published as soon as Monday, "threatens to derail innovation and economic growth worldwide," and would "undermine America's leadership," Nvidia Vice President of Government Affairs Ned Finkle said in a statement.

Reuters reported last month on the US Commerce Department's plan for approving global AI chip exports while also preventing bad actors from accessing them. One aim of the restrictions is to keep AI from supercharging China's military capabilities.

Finkle argued America's leading role in AI would be hurt because the rule "would impose bureaucratic control over how America's leading semiconductors, computers, systems, and even software are designed and marketed globally."

The Santa Clara, California-based company also said the rule would not improve US national security and it would control technology that is already widely available in gaming and consumer hardware.

"Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America's global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the US ahead," Finkle said.