Microsoft takes AI further into enterprise

Microsoft shook up the world of artificial intelligence (AI) when it added a ChatGPT-like engine to Bing, allowing the als–ran search engine to leapfrog Google. When Goolge failed spectuacularly in a demo of its equivalent, Bard, Bing became the flavour of the moment.

Microsoft doesn’t have the same Bing-level irrelevance challenge with its enterprise productivity tools, but it is giving them the same AI treatment.

This week it announced the next generation of AI capabilities across its enterprise applications portfolio with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. These updates signal the next generation of CRM, ERP, and low code, leveraging AI to bring a more intuitive experience for business tools and data. 

Ryan Cunningham, VP for Power Apps at Microsoft, described the functionality after CEO Satya Nadella first announced the capabilities at the Build conference in 2021: 

“The ultimate low-code app building experience is one where you describe in plain language what you want an app to do, and in an instant that app is created for you. We’ve fine-tuned one of the most advanced natural language AI models on the planet, a model known as OpenAI GPT-3, to automatically generate Power Fx formulas based on natural language input. … we’re adding GPT-3 and other Microsoft AI technology directly into Power Apps Studio in a way that will help every maker quickly build the apps they need and more easily learn advanced concepts in the process.”

The updates announced this week, as described by Microsoft, include:

• Introducing Dynamics 365 Copilot, the world’s first Copilot in both CRM and ERP: The new Dynamics 365 Copilot provides interactive, AI-powered assistance to transform how work gets done across business roles. The Copilot now puts CRM and ERP to work for business users to accelerate their pace of innovation and help business professionals spend more time on the best parts of their jobs and less time on mundane tasks. The Copilot capabilities are included for Dynamics 365 Sales and Viva Sales, Dynamics 365 Marketing and Customer Insights, Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and the Microsoft Supply Chain Center. 
• New generative AI features in Power Platform: In 2021, Microsoft launched GPT capabilities within Power Apps, ushering in a new AI-driven era for low code development. Today, Power Platform is bringing new generative AI features in Power Virtual Agents and AI Builder creating a more intuitive, iterative experience for citizen developers and accelerated development for professional developers. 
• Power Virtual Agents conversation booster – Simply point your bot to your company-specific resources, like your company website or an internal knowledge base, and watch how it can start to answer questions in minutes, right out of box with no manual authoring. 
• AI Builder model for content generation – AI Builder now brings Azure OpenAI Service to its user-friendly interface, enabling makers to use a new low code generative AI model and templates with Power Automate and Power Apps.  

See more information on the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform blogs.