Microsoft Will Allow Clients To Build AI Agents For Routine Tasks Starting November

Copilot Studio, makes it easier for developers to use AI. (photo; @MSFTCopilot)

JAKARTA - Microsoft will allow its customers to build autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents starting next month. This is the latest step in the company's efforts to capitalize on the fast-growing technology amid increasing investor oversight of their large investments in AI.

The Portland company positions autonomous agents as programs that require little human intervention, in contrast to chatbots as "applications for an AI-driven world" that can handle customer questions, identify sales prospects, and manage inventory.

Other big tech companies such as Salesforce have also promoted the agent's potential, a tool that some analysts say could provide an easier way for companies to monetize the billions of dollars they invest in AI.

Microsoft states that their customers can use Copilot Studio apps that require little knowledge of computer code to make such agents in public previews from November. The company uses several internally developed AI models and by OpenAI for these agents.

The company also introduced 10 ready-to-use agents that can help routine tasks, ranging from supply chain management to expenses tracking and communications with clients.

In a demonstration, McKinsey & Co, which has early access to the tool, created an agent who can manage client questions by examining interaction history, identifying consultants for the task, and scheduling a follow-up meeting.

"The main idea is that Copilot (the company's chatbot) is a user interface for AI," said Charles Lamanna, vice president of the Corporat Copilot business and industry at Microsoft, quoted by VOI from Reuters.

"Every employee will have Copilot, their personal AI agent, and then they will use the Copilot to interact with many other AI agents who will be out there."

Tech giants are facing pressure to show the outcome of their large investment in AI. Microsoft shares fell 2.8% in the September quarter, below the S&P 500 (.SPX) performance, but remain more than 10% higher for this year.

Some concerns have arisen in recent months regarding the speed of Copilot adoption, with research firm Gartner saying in August that their survey of 152 IT organizations showed most of them had not resumed their Copilot initiative from the pilot stage.