The technology behind artificial intelligence engine ChatGPT is headed to the Microsoft Office suite, bringing with it a ‘fundamental change’ to the way we work.
ChatGPT made headlines around the world in recent months, being described as arguably the most advanced AI chatbot software to ever reach the open market. Many column inches were devoted to the sophisticated answers, essays and even poetry it has been able to produce.
Now, one of the world’s most hyped tech products is joining forces with one of the most ubiquitous – Microsoft Office.
Under the name ‘Copilot’, this new merger will see the AI that drives ChatGPT automating a number of menial but time-consuming tasks. Indeed, Microsoft said in a statement how it aimed to help users who wish to dedicate more time to the 20% of their work that really matters, and not the other 80% “that bogs us down”.
Some of the jobs this technology could handle include taking minutes at meetings, analysing long documents or threads to pick out the most salient points, drafting PowerPoint presentations, and pulling Excel data into graphs and reports.
Microsoft is optimistic about the opportunities that Copilot could present, with CEO Satya Nadella claiming it could bring about seismic changes to workers across the world.
That said, the company did chime a note of caution, advising users that it fully expects Copilot to make mistakes – just as many other AI services have in the past, often to comic or even rather disturbing effect. Of course, mistakes aren’t always black and white, and surely enough Microsoft hopes any that creep through would still be “usefully wrong” – to provide insight but maybe not quite as anticipated or in exactly the right format.
It’s not just Microsoft that sees the potential in its latest project. BBC technology editor Zoe Kleinman wrote: “Bringing the powers behind ChatGPT to the humble Word, Excel and PowerPoint programmes, quite possibly the most used work programmes in most offices, plonks it directly in the daily lives of millions of workers.
“Putting Copilot into Office365 is a real game-changer.”
