Microsoft allows customers to create autonomous artificial intelligence agents

Coin World News Report:
Microsoft customers will begin building their own artificial intelligence agents starting in November, as part of efforts to harness the growing technology industry amid intensifying competition.
At the same time, Microsoft is also considering countering competition from rival Salesforce, which launched its own customizable AI tool last month. Microsoft revealed this development at its AI Tour in London, promising businesses the opportunity to start building their own customized AI assistants.
Microsoft’s AI agents to serve as virtual workers
Microsoft initially announced the AI agents in May, which were previously available in a private preview. However, as more and more businesses begin building their own agents, agents that can serve as virtual workers will be launched in November.
The AI agents are seen as a significant evolution from chat interfaces to large language models (LLMs), creating a seamless integrated experience.
With this move, Microsoft is positioning autonomous programs that require minimal human intervention as “applications driving the world with AI,” which can respond to customer queries, identify sales leads, and manage inventory.
Peers in the tech industry, such as Salesforce, also believe in the potential of AI agents and tout their capabilities. Analysts believe these tools may help monetize the billions of dollars invested in the AI industry for tech companies.
For Microsoft, the company stated that its customers can utilize the Copilot Studio, an application that requires little knowledge of computer code, to create such agents in a public preview in November.
The tech giant also revealed that customers can use both internal models and OpenAI models as agents.
Microsoft introduces 10 ready-to-use agents
According to Reuters, Microsoft has also introduced 10 ready-to-use agents that can assist with everyday tasks such as supply chain management, expense tracking, and customer communication.
One of its customers, McKinsey & Co., is already using these tools. In a demonstration, the company created an agent that managed customer queries by examining interaction histories, identifying advisors for specific tasks, and scheduling follow-up meetings.
During the demonstration, as reported by CNBC, the agent was shown browsing emails to understand the content of communications. The agent reviewed its history, mapped it to industry standard terms, and found appropriate companies to take the next steps.
“Every employee will have a Copilot, their personalized AI agent, and they will then interact with the upcoming multitude of AI agents using that Copilot,” said Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President of Business and Industrial at Microsoft, to Reuters.
In recent months, there have been concerns about the adoption of Copilot, and Microsoft is facing pressure. Research firm Gartner’s survey of 152 IT organizations in August showed that most organizations’ Copilot plans have not progressed beyond the pilot stage.
The tech giant’s stock price fell 2.8% in the quarter ending in September, but is still up 10% for the year.