Microsoft is preparing to demonstrate how its new ChatGPT-like AI will transform its Office productivity apps. After announcing and demonstrating its Prometheus model in its new Bing search engine earlier this week, Microsoft is preparing to show how it will expand to its core productivity apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans say so The edge that the company is preparing to flesh out its productivity plans for the integration of OpenAI’s language AI technology and its Prometheus model in the coming weeks. The software giant tentatively plans an announcement in March, highlighting how quickly Microsoft plans to reinvent search and productivity apps through its OpenAI investments.
The information previously reported that GPT models have been tested in Outlook to improve search results, along with features for suggesting replies to emails and Word document integration to improve user writing. Microsoft announced a new generative AI experience in Microsoft Viva Sale just a week ago. It uses the Azure OpenAI service and GPT to create sales emails, and it’s similar to some of the features Microsoft has tested in Outlook.
While Microsoft’s new Prometheus model (based on a next-generation OpenAI model) has already transformed Bing web search, the next steps to integrate this functionality into core Microsoft Office apps and Teams will test how much trust Microsoft has in his AI work. Technically, you can already use the Prometheus model in Office web apps, thanks to the Bing sidebar integration in Microsoft’s Edge browser.
This sidebar includes a Compose tab that gives you an early preview of some of the work Microsoft has been testing for Word and Outlook. Microsoft is also working on ways to generate charts and graphics for PowerPoint, according to sources. Bing can already generate tables and charts for basic data, but turning them into visual charts for presentations or even for use in Excel is a logical next step.
Microsoft is moving fast with this integration, mostly thanks to Google. Tell sources The edge that Microsoft originally planned to launch its new Bing AI at the end of February, but pushed the date to this week, just as Google was preparing its own announcements. Google then announced its ChatGPT rival Bard a day before Microsoft’s event.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is keen for the software maker to be seen as a leader in AI and counter any backlash from rival Google. In fact, he’s so eager to push Microsoft in this direction that he arrived early Tuesday morning at the company’s Bing AI event. Although the event was scheduled for 10 a.m. PT, Nadella wanted to start 20 minutes early. That caused event organizers to rush to start earlier than expected, with the event kicking off five minutes ahead of schedule and Nadella appearing on stage two minutes before the original 10 a.m. PT start time.
Internally, a number of Microsoft executives are convinced they are way ahead of Google with Bing AI and its upcoming integration into productivity apps. But they are also wary, warning employees to be on the lookout for rivals trying to disrupt their productivity activities, just as Microsoft is trying to disrupt Google’s search activities.
Nadella’s push for AI in Microsoft’s products is driven by consumer response to ChatGPT. Analysts at UBS estimate that ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users after just two months. More than 1 million people signed up for the Bing waitlist within 48 hours, and Bing is the third most popular app on the App Store in the US as of Thursday.
Microsoft aims to seize the AI opportunity in 2023 and unlock some of the features and power of its Prometheus model that it has not yet publicly discussed. Expect AI to be the big buzzword for the entire tech industry for the rest of the year as Microsoft and Google begin the battle for the future of search and AI.
