Microsoft (MSFT) released a flurry of updates to its cloud and artificial intelligence services at its Ignite conference in Chicago on Tuesday. The tech giant showed off a number of improvements to its Microsoft 365 Copilot platform, including new AI agents; said it previews the use of Nvidia’s (NVDA) Blackwell GB200-powered AI servers; and announced a slew of security upgrades to its systems.
Microsoft shares were flat immediately after the announcements.
The software giant also touted its customer growth in the AI space. Microsoft Chief Communications Officer Frank Shaw noted in a statement that “nearly 70% of the Fortune 500 now use Microsoft 365 Copilot.” Microsoft, like its Big Tech rivals, is pouring billions of dollars into expanding its AI capabilities, and Wall Street is eager to see these investments pay off.
Microsoft’s latest AI updates include what they call Copilot Actions. The feature is available in a private preview and can, for example, provide users with summaries of their daily meetings or, more importantly, summaries of all the emails and notes they received while on vacation. Removing the daily pain of catching up on emails alone might make Copilot Actions worth it.
Microsoft is also going all-in on AI agents. Think of AI agents as a more advanced version of an AI chatbot. While chatbots can respond to user prompts with text only, AI agents are designed to perform automated tasks such as taking meeting notes or, on the more advanced side, helping companies process customer proposals and requests.
New AI agents include Interpreter for Teams, which translates voice conversations in real time with the option to simulate the sound of your voice, and Employee Self-Service Agent, which aims to help employees find important answers to HR questions or IT issues.
The Windows maker also showed off its Azure AI Foundry software development kit (SDK), which aims to help companies build and manage their own AI apps and agents, and the Azure AI Foundry Agent Service, which lets developers agents can put together to automate various business processes.
In addition to software, Microsoft is also making hardware moves with the debut of Microsoft 365 Link. The Link, a small PC designed to access Microsoft’s cloud services, will be available in April 2025 for $359. The company also said it’s previewing the use of Nvidia’s (NVDA) GB200 servers to offering customers access to AI-optimized virtual machines and cloud-based computers that users can use to perform AI training and inference.
