Microsoft started through the lens of how people really want to interact with the emerging technology of AI. They thought of this concept of a co-pilot. The first one was the GitHub co-pilot. It was a programming partner for the developers. It helped them to write code more efficiently and effectively. It should be noted that co-pilot is not an auto-pilot. It keeps humans at the centre.

Microsoft initiated being a co-pilot for the web. Microsoft 365 brings co-pilot in Teams and in Word. There is co-pilot in PowerPoint and Excel. There could be co-pilot in security.

The intent is to have co-pilots in products across the spectrum, whether in Windows or Microsoft 365.

Microsoft had an AI layer with Cortana for a few years. The present rendezvous with AI is not sudden. It is a result of 10 plus years of work and research. There was AI in Word as autocorrect. There was designer in PowerPoint. However, the LLMs are more powerful and have given us the new interface. It has enhanced our ability to talk to the computer. The question-answer sessions were not possible in past.

Humans are well-versed in asking questions. Computers have not been great at answering those questions. The search results make you hop from one result to another. However, we can ask specific questions and if the answer does not satisfy us, we can ask follow up questions. The same thing is possible with a Word document. It has become a natural process.

Microsoft is a tool company. It is a platform company. Microsoft has a security co-pilot allowing security researchers to move at machine speed.

Microsoft has evolved and published two versions of responsible AI standard. Technology is both a tool and a weapon.

These are the views of Frank X Shaw, chief communication officer, Microsoft. These have been paraphrased here for the benefit of the readers.