RSMUS.comMicrosoft Build is a conference highlighting the latest innovations and trends in software development. This year, the conference focused on how developers can use Microsoft’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) capabilities to create more intelligent and efficient solutions.
Microsoft branded its AI platform Copilot, which integrates AI features into Microsoft products, including Windows, GitHub, M365, and Dynamics. By embedding AI into these products, Microsoft aims to enable everyone and the organization to achieve more with less effort.
Among the 50+ new announcements made at Microsoft Build this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted his top five favorite features in his keynote speech. These features are:
Bringing Bing to ChatGPT
Microsoft is providing Bing to ChatGPT to ground the answers. The process of Retrieving Augmented Generation (RAG) additional information outside the model to ground the answers provided back. This process aims to ensure that large language models have up-to-date and relevant information that is being asked about outside of the training data set. This new feature’s impact will allow ChatGPT to answer questions outside more accurately and consistently of its training model.
Windows Copilot
The most impactful announcement at Microsoft Build was the integration of Copilot into Windows. The ability of any user to engage and communicate with complex app-specific functionality through an API simply through a chat window will change how people leverage computers and how they view applications.
During the demo, Satya highlighted how somebody looking to build a logo for a coffee shop was simply prompted to use an already installed app of Adobe Express to generate a logo. This is one example of how to use the ability of tapping into the robust functionality that exists within installed applications.
Even complex applications that are installed on the Windows platform will now be able to tap into Windows Copilot through an API.
“This is going to make every user a power user of Windows.” – Satya Nadella, Microsoft Build 2023
Copilot Stack
Microsoft announced this week the Copilot stack. Microsoft has always been a platform company at its core, and this has never been more seen than its announcement of the Copilot stack. This Copilot stack will allow any developer to create a plug-in for Copilot that is available anywhere Copilot is available.
Microsoft touted the fact that they have been able to move fast over the last few months because of the copilot stack and being able to have a solid foundation on which all developers internally at Microsoft can build from.
During the demo, we saw Bing chat utilize the context of a webpage to pull the ingredients list and then leverage Instacart to put them into a shopping cart. The extensibility to create the plugin in one place and have it be accessible via multiple locations increases the value proposition for developers when building a plugin on ChatGPT.
By providing a framework for developers worldwide to engage with ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, Microsoft looks to make Copilot a foundational platform on which users can interact with various companies and perform complex tasks in a single pane of glass.
Microsoft has released information on GitHub for those interested in building a plug-in within OpenAI.
Azure AI Studio
Microsoft has continued to make all of its best practices available through their Azure services. Being able to build anywhere along the stack with one consistent AI studio will allow developers to utilize Microsoft’s best practices, including the investments Microsoft has made into AI safety.
Microsoft continues to allow developers to bring in not just the OpenAI models but developers can also create their own models and use other existing models as part of their AI capabilities. Bringing simplicity to complex items is what Microsoft has focused on.
Microsoft Fabric
One of the most complex challenges for organizations is master data management. Having one source of truth when it comes to data that can be leveraged for machine learning visualizing as well as ad hoc analysis is what Microsoft Fabric seeks to achieve. Organizational data is stored in Microsoft Fabric OneLake, designed to be a single place for all analytic data.
By storing the data in a specific location, governance and security can be applied at the base level of OneLake. Administrators can set data security at the OneLake level, allowing users throughout the organization to use the data without worrying about security.
Integrating OneLake into Microsoft’s other products, including Azure machine learning and M365, empowers every user, whether a data scientist or a business user, to access data from across the organization securely.
If you have any questions or want to explore how Copilot can benefit your business, reach out to us today. Our team is ready to assist you in harnessing the power of Copilot to drive innovation and efficiency in your organization. You can contact us here.
Seth Bacon
As one of RSM’s Consumer Products industry senior analysts, Seth's job is to understand, forecast and communicate economic, business and technology trends shaping the businesses we serve. Seth has more than 10 years of experience serving clients across the country by providing industry- specific insights and thought leadership focused on digital transformation. Seth works with a variety of clients in the consumer products industry helping them focus on acquiring and retaining customers through data driven insight. Seth's primary focus is on architecting and delivering technology that is intuitive using relevant, real-time information so that individuals can make informed and data driven decisions. Seth consistently works with clients to deliver processes and technology improvements that assist in their technology journey. Seth also helps companies with user adoption through organizational change management and through hands-on training.