AI is reshaping our world as the fastest adopted technology in history—a global phenomenon with profound local implications. As we witnessed during the Microsoft AI Tour event in São Paulo, Brazil is quickly emerging as a world-class AI innovation hub, a testament to the country’s collective ambition and optimism in the power of AI to deliver economic results, foster inclusive development, and ultimately benefit markets, organizations, communities, and individuals. In fact, “By massively adopting AI, Brazil can experience productivity gains that will add a few percentage points to its GDP in the near future,” said Tânia Cosentino, General Manager of Microsoft Brazil.

AI technology harbors significant potential for our customers and partners, echoing the transformative impact envisioned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates when he first sought to place a personal computer in every home worldwide. I am proud and excited to continue this vision of driving digital transformation across the globe alongside Microsoft. At the same time, it is crucial to embrace of this innovation through responsible usage.

As Brazil takes the lead during its G20 presidency in 2024, it faces a significant opportunity to spearhead discussions on establishing global AI governance guidelines. This will help maximize AI’s benefits while addressing matters related to privacy, security, and employment, thus supporting equitable and inclusive growth. The report, AI in Brazil: Exploring Opportunities, examines this junction and illustrates Microsoft’s dedication to making AI technology beneficial and sustainable, considering economic, social, and environmental factors. Together with our customers and partners, we are not merely observers but active participants in a technological revolution that fosters global unity, economic mobility, and local transformation.

The creativity and ingenuity of Brazilian organizations in leveraging cutting-edge AI technology for tangible, real-world impact are incredibly inspiring. As showcased by the companies and public entities featured here, AI presents unlimited opportunities across all sectors. These are inspiring examples of how we can reimagine what we can achieve with AI.

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Petrobras enhances productivity and decision-making with ChatPetrobras AI tool

Petrobras, a leading company in the global energy sector, has formed a partnership with Microsoft to create ChatPetrobras, an internal tool powered by AI. Utilizing the GPT model and AI technologies from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, ChatPetrobras aims to facilitate faster decision-making, provide valuable business insights, and improve internal workflow efficiency for more than 100,000 Petrobras workers, while ensuring compliance with strict information security standards, data protection laws, and Brazilian government regulations.

Azure OpenAI Service powers ChatPetrobras with capabilities in natural language understanding and generation, translation, and code generation. This tool is set to benefit a wide range of business and administrative tasks, including Exploration and Production (E&P), Reservoirs and Wells, Commercialization, Information and Communication Technology, Engineering, Legal, and Human Resources. Its versatility demonstrates the potential of generative AI to revolutionize both technical and corporate segments of the company. In addition, ChatPetrobras incorporates advanced security and protection layers native to Azure OpenAI Service, ensuring all data remains under the company’s internal domain.

In keeping with the company’s commitment to pursuing innovative solutions to industry challenges, “ChatPetrobras represents our latest effort to harness artificial intelligence to enhance the productivity, quality, and efficiency of our processes,” said Carlos Augusto Barreto, Executive Manager of Information and Communications Technology at Petrobras.

ChatPetrobras is not just a standalone tool but part of a broader strategy to incorporate AI usage within the company, empowering every employee to leverage data science capabilities. Petrobras envisions a future where all employees can easily access advanced tools and technical skills, driving value creation through AI.

SEDUC-SP aims to enhance efficacy of education with AI copilot

The Government of the State of São Paulo has partnered with Microsoft to integrate AI Copilot into daily classroom activities, in a move that aims to benefit teachers and over 3 million students across São Paulo by streamlining tasks such as assignment corrections, test scoring, and providing student guidance.

The integration of Azure OpenAI Service is designed to serve as a comprehensive record center, offering a range of functionalities from analyzing student texts to suggesting potential grades for assignments. For instance, a student can write a text on a computer, and upon completion, the app provides suggestions for improvement and identifies errors. This immediate feedback mechanism is followed by personalized guidance from the teacher, ensuring a holistic learning experience. According to Secretary of Education of São Paulo, Renato Feder, this approach not only streamlines the educational process but also enriches learning outcomes.

The partnership between the Government of São Paulo and Microsoft, through the deployment of Generative AI, marks a significant step forward in leveraging technology to support education. By automating routine tasks and providing immediate, actionable feedback, this initiative promises to enhance the efficiency of teaching and the quality of learning for millions of students in Brazil.

Comgás: Fueling efficiencies with AI-driven data management

Comgás, the largest natural gas distributor in Brazil, is leveraging AI to enhance data utilization, aiming to improve decision-making and customer service. In partnership with Microsoft, the company embarked on a significant digital transformation journey that sought to not only migrate to the cloud but to also create a sophisticated data environment that could leverage AI for better customer understanding and service.

“We realized the possibility of extracting data more efficiently with the use of AI,” said Thiago Rolemberg, Head of Data and AI at Comgás, “and, thus, better understand our customers for more assertive decision-making.”

AI algorithms, alongside standardized data presentation facilitated by Power BI, have streamlined data extraction processes from a duration of 8 to 15 days to real-time in certain areas. As a result, greater operational efficiency enabled Comgás to better understand and meet customer needs, resulting in a more personalized and efficient service.

Since the implementation, Comgás has processed over 55 TB of information, with the platform encompassing 60% of the company’s representative data. A third of the company’s employees have already utilized the environment, with expectations to increase to 55% by the end of the year. This strategic use of AI has not only facilitated a more dynamic use of data but also positioned Comgás at the forefront of the industry in terms of innovation and customer satisfaction.

Atento streamlines customer communications with customer service copilot

One of the world’s leading Customer Relationship Management and Business Process Outsourcing providers, Atento, has unveiled a new AI-driven solution designed to improve customer service and enhance the company’s service agent productivity. Developed with Azure OpenAI Service, the tool automates the distribution of processes and ensures swift, appropriate responses during negotiations. It oversees system formalization steps and update statuses, integrating smoothly with the communication channels preferred by customers. “The new solution enhances the consumer-brand experience and aligns with the demand for increasingly efficient and personalized service. During a pilot program, we observed a more than 20% increase in customer satisfaction within the first few weeks,” stated Eduardo Aguirre, Chief Information Officer of Atento.

In addition, Power Automate facilitated the integration of legacy systems, reducing manual labor and improving response times. This integration led to a 30% boost in team productivity and nearly a 20% decrease in operational errors.

A key focus during the solution’s development was ensuring data security, privacy, and compliance. Leveraging Azure OpenAI Service, Atento was able to anonymize information and maintain data within its own environment, adhering to strict confidentiality standards.

“The project’s success began with a detailed analysis of the customer and employee relationship cycle,” Aguirre added, highlighting the vital role of Atento’s team of experienced consultants in this endeavor.

Brasilprev unlocks new business with a GPT tool for consultants

Brasilprev’s deployment of its AI tool, Brasilprev GPT, marks a transformative leap in using data to empower over 20,000 consultants and relationship managers. This not only facilitates new business but also enables the delivery of more personalized services to end customers. The private pension firm’s collaboration with Microsoft builds upon data-focused digital transformation, leveraging Azure OpenAI Service and ChatGPT within their data hub to streamline interactions and make platform data more accessible and user-friendly.

This integration, a first in Brazil, features the creation of an API that not only stores queries for further analysis but also enhances the user experience by tailoring responses to user profiles, utilizing Azure’s API Management and Azure Cosmos DB. This integration illustrates how the powerful collaboration between human expertise and technological innovation can boost the company’s performance, contributing to a remarkable 28% conversion rate and surpassing $9.86 billion in business.

“Users have embraced the opportunity to explore, understand, and apply generative AI to access information and boost their productivity. This engagement has a profoundly positive effect on the end customer, who enjoys a more personalized and comprehensive response to their needs,” notes Bruno Venceslau, Superintendent of Data and Digital Business at Brasilprev, “that’s what AI has made possible.”

This innovation has not only driven exceptional business outcomes but also reinforced Brasilprev’s commitment to data governance and the strategic application of AI, setting a new standard for the integration of technology in enhancing business and technical operations.

B3 democratizes access to capital market through AI-powered financial education

B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, has launched the first AI tool dedicated to supporting the public in conscious investment. The free tool, developed by B3 in partnership with Microsoft, is part of B3’s purpose to democratize access to the capital market through financial education.

“The financial market is constantly evolving, and so is the way we communicate with investors. Our mission is to simplify the world of investments and show that B3 is for everyone. The financial education chat joins other initiatives as an open and uninhibited dialogue channel. We want individuals to clear their doubts in a light and interactive way, demystifying the idea that investing is complicated,” explains Felipe Paiva, director of Customer Relations at B3.

Based on information from a database curated by experts from the Brazilian stock exchange, the platform’s questions and responses have undergone significant testing. The tool is constantly evolving as the database continues to expand, resulting in more refined answers for investors.

In addition to verifying information, another advantage of this search format is that it minimizes ‘shyness’ when asking questions, which can often inhibit novice investors from asking basic questions. “The answers generated by the chat can serve as a starting point to better understand the concepts of the financial market and encourage investors to deepen their knowledge in other channels”, reinforces Paiva.

“Artificial intelligence can be a great ally in the search for quality information, analyzing huge volumes of data quickly and objectively. This simple and summarized answer format serves as a gateway for those interested in the world of investments, adapting in a light and interactive way to the needs of the user,” says Rodrigo Nardoni, Vice President of Technology at B3.

AI for everyone in Brazil

Brazil has shifted into high gear in terms of AI innovation, propelling not only Latin America but also having an impact on international markets. Microsoft is committed to empowering key Brazilian organizations like Petrobras, SECUC-SP, Comgás, Atento, Brasilprev, and B3, supporting their ongoing digital transformation journeys and unlocking potential across various sectors. This level of engagement is positioning Brazil as a potential leader on AI innovation, capable of setting benchmarks for the region and beyond by influencing global AI strategies and practices.

We work at the forefront of AI evolution, ensuring our advancements align with the needs of customers, partners, and society. Our commitment is to harness AI’s potential to empower every individual, including upskilling employees, guiding students, and supporting vulnerable communities. This approach ensures that technology serves as a catalyst for equitable and inclusive progress worldwide.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft AI solutions, diving into The AI Strategy Roadmap, and skilling up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

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As technology advances rapidly, AI emerges as a source of innovation, promising to redefine what’s possible in our world. This sense of wonder and anticipation was palpable during our recent stop in Sydney for the Microsoft AI Tour. The vibrant enthusiasm for AI was displayed by businesses and governments in Australia and New Zealand showcasing the region’s commitment to leveraging AI to transform services, enhance efficiency, and solve complex challenges with unprecedented agility.

Microsoft’s recent investment of AUD $5 billion in Australia’s digital infrastructure is a testament to our belief in AI’s potential to empower every individual and organization to achieve more. This significant investment not only reflects our confidence in AI’s transformative power but also highlights the pivotal role Australia and New Zealand are poised to play in global AI innovation. It is against this backdrop of optimism and groundbreaking investment that we delve into success stories that demonstrate the tangible benefits AI is already bringing to the Australia and New Zealand region.

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Telstra: Revolutionizing customer service through AI

Facing the challenge of improving customer service efficiency and reducing the need for repeated information, Telstra turned to Microsoft Cloud and Azure OpenAI Service to develop their generative AI solutions, “One Sentence Summary” and “Ask Telstra.” These tools, by summarizing customer histories and providing quick access to internal knowledge, have drastically improved the efficiency and personalization of customer service, setting a new standard in telecommunications.

The successful pilot programs underscored the solutions’ impact, demonstrating marked improvements in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, prompting Telstra to expand these AI tools across its network. This strategic move underscores Telstra’s commitment to innovatively enhancing service delivery through responsible AI use, in collaboration with Microsoft and Accenture.

South Australia’s Department for Education: Empowering education with AI

Confronted with the advent of generative AI services like ChatGPT, the South Australia Department for Education harnessed AI to create EdChat, a pioneering chatbot designed to enrich teaching and learning. This innovative tool, developed in collaboration with Microsoft and IT partner, Insight Enterprises, has equipped students and teachers with a dynamic resource for exploring AI safely, fostering essential future skills.

The outcome of the eight-week EdChat trial revealed a significant shift in how students engage with information and learning, promoting a culture of inquiry and critical thinking, while ensuring a secure and ethical AI learning environment. EdChat serves as a secure environment where students can ask questions without fear of judgment, granting them increased agency over their own educational paths.

This initiative not only highlights the department’s proactive approach to educational challenges but also sets a precedent for integrating AI in education, empowering the next generation with the knowledge and skills for a future where AI plays a central role.

“EdChat is a truly inspiring example of how the education sector can embrace generative AI to deliver value to its most important stakeholders – students,” says Veli Mati-Vanamo, CTO (APAC) of Insight Enterprises.

CommBank: Enhancing financial services with AI

As an early adopter of AI in the banking sector, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) has embraced a variety of innovative AI use cases to redefine customer service and enhance operational efficiency. The bank ran a successful trial of GitHub Copilot with the goal of accelerating the coding processes, and it has deployed generative AI for personalized customer notifications, a Q&A tool to expedite staff response times, and AI-driven analysis to streamline loan processing.

Informed by these successes, Commbank recently announced an exciting expansion of their partnership with Microsoft. This collaboration will focus on generative AI to develop tools like the CommBank copilot to resolve customer queries faster and help customers better understand their money.

“Through our ongoing partnership,…we also see this as an opportunity to work together with leading global technology teams to ensure CBA’s safety and security is constantly upgraded and improved, to keep pace with the evolving threat landscape,” said Gavin Munroe, CommBank’s Group Executive, Technology and Group Chief Information Officer.

The partnership also emphasizes the development of AI-driven solutions to support CommBank staff and customers, with Microsoft engineers already collaborating on projects to elevate customer service and security.

This strategic and planned adoption of AI technologies is solidifying CommBank’s position as a leader in responsible and ethical AI use, demonstrating a forward-thinking approach to leveraging AI for comprehensive business and community betterment.

Australian Government: Innovating public service with AI

In a pioneering initiative, the Australian Government is harnessing generative AI through a strategic partnership with Microsoft to revolutionize public service. Through the current pilot, 7,000 government staff members are receiving AI literacy and skills training of Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 based on a six-month trial aimed to significantly enhance productivity and the delivery of services to the public.

“By strengthening our partnership with Microsoft, we are charting a course for the future of public service – one where generative AI is used responsibly to enhance the work of the APS in delivering for Australians without compromising on safety,” said Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese when he announced the trial in November 2023.

The initiative positions Australia at the forefront of global leaders in integrating AI within government operations, reflecting a deep commitment to innovation and responsible AI use, paving the way for a robust digital future.

LawVu: Transforming legal workflows with AI

Embedded deeply within LawVu’s operational fabric, AI is transforming legal workflows and decision-making processes. As a pioneer in Microsoft’s AI First Movers program, LawVu leverages Azure OpenAI Service to power its AI Assist feature, significantly streamlining contract reviews with rapid access to essential details, thereby bypassing exhaustive document examinations.

While LawVu’s focus is on streamlining internal processes for in-house legal teams, “Now, with the power of AI embedded in that workflow, we are taking a crucial next step in transforming what in-house legal teams can do and how efficiently they can do it,” said Sam Kidd, CEO and Co-founder of LawVu.

The use of AI extends beyond customer-facing features to internal operations, where LawVu harnesses ChatGPT for swift resolution of employee policy queries and GitHub Copilot to accelerate software development, embodying AI as a core component of its innovation strategy. This holistic adoption of AI not only alleviates administrative loads but also marks a profound shift towards efficiency and enhanced productivity, symbolizing a leap forward in legal technology evolution.

Qscan Group: Advancing medical diagnostics with AI

In the face of a global radiologist shortage and heightened demand for diagnostic imaging, one of Australia’s leading medical diagnostic imaging providers, Qscan Group, turned to AI to optimize the productivity of its radiologists. Utilizing Microsoft’s cloud and AI capabilities, including Nuance’s PowerScribe One, Qscan Group radiologists improved their productivity by more than 5%.

“We’ve seen some significant improvements in our cybersecurity posture and our overall technology performance by leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem,” says Simon Button, Chief Technology Officer at Qscan Group. “It ensures that we have a high performing, yet safe and secure organization.”

Qscan is already exploring ways that generative AI and the latest AI advances can improve patient and employee experience from improving the quality of radiology reports to automating call centers, setting new benchmarks for excellence in healthcare technology.

Stuff Group: Strengthening te reo Māori language with AI translation

In their ongoing effort to support the revitalization of te reo Māori, New Zealand’s Stuff Group Te Puna has launched an exciting pilot program that leverages AI to translate news articles, videos, and audio content at scale.

“Bilingual articles aren’t new at Stuff, we’ve been producing them for years,” said Stuff’s Pou Tiaki Matua Carmen Parahi (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Hine, Rongowhakaata). “But this is the first time we will be using AI to translate even more articles at scale, which will be quality-checked by a human translator and our editorial team before being published.”

Using technology from Microsoft and Straker Translations, the AI tool will not only multiply the number of articles published each week in te reo Māori but greatly increase its ability to translate live or breaking news.

Contrasted with his own experience as a young Māori in the 1970s and 1980s, Grant Straker (Ngāti Raukawa), Founder and Chief Executive of Straker Translations proudly noted, “Today’s generation of Māori and everyone that comes after will be able to engage with regular news content in their own language.”

Microsoft and ASD: Elevating cyber resilience with Sentinel-CTIS integration

The cybercrime threat landscape is escalating, with bad actors exploring the use of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI to research and plan cyber-attacks. As part of the Microsoft-Australian Signals Directorate Cyber Shield, Microsoft Australia and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing program (CTIS) have partnered together to advance cyber resilience and ensure a safer future for Australians.

The collaboration will enable public-private exchange of threat intelligence to boost ASD’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing program (CTIS) and a world-first integration with Microsoft Sentinel technology. Microsoft Sentinel customers will be offered a free download capability to integrate into the CTIS program more easily and benefit from Microsoft’s global threat analysis of more than 78 trillion signals every day to support the fight against the evolving cybersecurity threats.

“Cyber security is a team sport, and the collective efforts of both the public and private sectors are vital to defend our nation,” said Rachel Noble PSM, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate. “By fostering such partnerships, we can more quickly identify threats, combat threat actors and make a lasting impact on Australia’s state of security.”

By actively disrupting cybercrime, including dismantling phishing domains and targeting ransomware groups like Black Basta, the collaborative use of AI between government, industry, and international partners has proven effective in bolstering Australia’s cyber defense.

AI for everyone in Australia and New Zealand

These compelling stories from Australia and New Zealand illuminate the transformative potential of AI across sectors, serving as a source of inspiration for business leaders to explore how AI can revolutionize their operations.

Microsoft’s dedication to empowering organizations with AI technology and ethical guidance underpins a future where innovation leads to sustainable growth and enhanced human experience. As we continue this series, stay tuned for further insights and stories that celebrate the transformative journey of AI across industries and regions.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft AI solutions, diving into The AI Strategy Roadmap, and getting skilled up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

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In the ever-evolving world of technology, AI stands out as a beacon of transformative power, heralding a new era of innovation and opportunity. With a diffusion rate faster than any other technology to date, it is imperative to recognize that AI is not just a technological leap but a global opportunity that transcends borders, industries, and cultures.

Reflecting on my recent discussions during Microsoft’s first AI Tour in India, I’m thrilled by the seismic shift underway in India’s AI landscape. India’s GDP is on track to grow from about USD3.5 trillion to USD5 trillion in the next three years,¹ fueling expected digital technology growth beyond 20% in the same period.² Equally impressive is how the country’s talent and innovative spirit are propelling us into a new era of technological advancement. In fact, India boasts one of the world’s largest pools of AI developers, with more developers contributing to GitHub than almost anywhere else in Asia. Indian AI projects on GitHub account for a quarter of the global total. Simply put, India’s role in shaping the future of AI is undeniable.

Through the lens of India’s vibrant innovation ecosystem, we witness firsthand the remarkable potential of AI to redefine the way businesses operate, solve complex challenges, and create unparalleled value for customers and communities alike.

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Genpact’s AI Guru: Empowering teams through generative AI

The deployment of Genpact’s AI Guru, a generative AI chatbot, exemplifies the transformative impact of AI on employee learning and development. By leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Genpact, a global professional services firm, has revolutionized its internal learning platform, enabling employees to access a wealth of knowledge and expertise at their fingertips. AI Guru assists in everything from IT migration projects to providing management advice, showcasing the power of AI to enhance team collaboration, problem-solving, and productivity.

“Today it’s a learning companion,” said Prashant Shukla, who heads learning and content management for Genome, the company’s online learning platform and knowledge base for AI Guru. “The next step is guiding people on skills they should be learning. In future, we look at this as a coach for specific roles.”

This initiative not only boosts employee engagement and retention but also underscores the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Shiksha copilot: Revolutionizing education with AI

In the realm of education, the Shiksha copilot project, developed in collaboration with the Sikshana Foundation and powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, demonstrates the incredible potential of AI to enrich teaching and learning experiences. By generating customized lesson plans, activities, and resources in minutes, Shiksha copilot enables teachers to deliver more engaging and effective instruction, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

“Obviously, they like these experiments,” said veteran science and math teacher Mahalakshmi Ashok, who uses Shiksha copilot to find engaging lesson activities for her students. “Each and every class is becoming lively. The learning has become easier.”

Indeed, AI-driven innovation like Shiksha copilot is not only a time saver for educators, but it provides new avenues for student engagement and learning, democratizing education and fostering a love for learning among students.

Myntra’s AI shopping assistant: Solving the “search” problem for online retail

In the online fashion retail space, Myntra’s AI shopping assistant represents a leap forward in enhancing customer experience through generative AI. By understanding abstract user queries and offering personalized fashion recommendations, the AI assistant breaks new ground in search functionality, moving beyond keywords to understand the nuances of customer preferences.

“This is big,” said Arit Mondal, director of product management at Myntra, “Why? Because this is the first time we have a solution which is solving the unsolved ‘search’ problem in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle industry. And it’s live for customers at scale.”

Beyond streamlining the shopping experience, Myntra’s AI assistant reveals new possibilities for product discovery, significantly increasing the likelihood of purchase and customer satisfaction. Myntra’s success story illustrates the power of AI to understand and cater to the diverse needs of consumers, setting a new standard for personalized online retail.

Jugalbandi: Bridging language barriers with AI

The Jugalbandi project, an AI-driven chatbot initiative, showcases the transformative potential of AI in bridging language barriers and enhancing access to government services for India’s diverse population. By enabling users to interact with the chatbot in multiple languages and receive information in their local dialect, Jugalbandi democratizes access to essential public services and information, empowering individuals and communities.

“It understands your exact problem in your language and then tries to deliver the right information reliably and cheaply, even if that exists in some other language in a database somewhere,” said Abhigyan Raman, a project officer at AI4Bharat, an open-source language AI center based at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai that is a collaborator on the chatbot. “This is revolutionary for people who could not interact with tech because of language barriers.”

This initiative exemplifies the role of AI in fostering inclusivity and equity, ensuring that the benefits of technology reach every corner of society.

Air India’s AI.g: Pioneering AI in aviation customer service

Air India’s introduction of AI.g, the world’s first generative AI virtual agent in the airline industry, marks a significant milestone in leveraging AI to enhance customer service. Handling a wide array of queries across multiple domains, AI.g exemplifies the efficiency and scalability of AI in managing customer interactions, reducing the need for human intervention in routine tasks, and allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues.

“After the emergence of Large Language Model-driven Generative AI capabilities, we are increasingly seeing a definitive shift in guest preferences to use chat interactions to get the information and support they need quickly and directly as compared to browsing several web pages,” said Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Air India.

Air India has set a new benchmark for responsive customer service excellence in the aviation industry.

Karya’s platform narrows the digital divide while generating data

I also want to share how Karya is bridging the digital opportunity gap by providing people in India’s low-income and marginalized communities with access to AI-enabled digital work. Capitalizing on the increasing affordability of smartphones and data, Karya has developed a smartphone-based platform that integrates AI into daily life, opening up a range of language-based digital tasks to those in underserved rural areas. Serving not only as a source of income but also as a means to enhance digital literacy, Karya highlights the multiplex possibilities of AI to create economic opportunities and narrow the digital divide.

IndiGo’s 6Eskai chat assistant slashes workload for customers service agents

India’s leading airline, IndiGo, has introduced 6Eskai, an AI chat assistant built on Microsoft’s GPT-4 designed to revolutionize customer service by providing assistance in 10 languages and simplifying the ticket booking process. This initiative, developed in-house by IndiGo’s digital team in collaboration with Microsoft, has significantly reduced the workload on customer service agents by 75% and improved the efficiency of the booking journey.

“This innovative tool will offer seamless support to our passengers, providing quick and personalised assistance for their travel needs,” said Summi Sharma, Senior Vice President at IndiGo, “reflecting IndiGo’s dedication to technological advancements and customer-centric services.”

Equipped with 1.7 trillion parameters, 6Eskai offers a wide array of services, including ticket bookings, promotional discounts, and trip planning, through both type-written and voice-to-text natural language interactions, setting a new standard in airline customer service.

AI for everyone in India

The instances showcased in the blog reflect a larger story of Microsoft’s dedication to bolstering Indian enterprises through AI, fostering remarkable gains in efficiency and innovation. At the Mumbai tour, I encountered numerous business leaders who testified to the tangible benefits and significant return on investment (ROI) from AI integration. Avinash Raghavendra, President and chief information officer (CIO) of Axis Bank, remarked, “Our AI collaboration with Microsoft not only drives optimized and robust processes but also delivers employee satisfaction by providing the means to be always productive and resourceful.”

Similarly, Anup Purohit, CIO of Wipro, emphasized the transformative impact of generative and foundational AI: “Solutions such as Copilot have aligned with our objective of empowering our teams to achieve more efficient workflows and deliver high quality output. It has driven innovation and reinvention of our processes while helping us render better services to our clients.”

India is gaining attention not only for its output in terms of AI innovation but for the incoming investment it is attracting. During his visit in February 2024, Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Satya Nadella underscored the company’s dedication to bolstering India’s shift towards an AI-first economy, mirroring the country’s ambition for self-reliance through AI proficiency. Speaking at the Microsoft CEO Connection event in Mumbai, Nadella unveiled the ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA initiative aimed at equipping 2 million Indians with AI skills by 2025, addressing the national skills shortage and positioning India as a frontrunner in the AI domain.

This initiative not only reflects Microsoft’s commitment to closing the AI skills gap but also showcases India as a pivotal center for output and a prime destination for Microsoft’s investment.

“India is uniquely positioned to make the promise of AI a reality,” said Nadella. “We are committed to partnering broadly across the public and private sector to help close the nation’s AI skills gap and create new opportunity throughout the country.” 

Indeed, India’s innovative spirit and synergistic endeavors with Microsoft stand as a powerful testament to AI’s capacity to forge a more efficient, inclusive, and innovative global future. We can expect that India will continue to lead and innovate in the AI domain, punching above its weight on the global stage.

Take the next step in your AI journey

The era of AI is a global opportunity, beckoning us as business leaders to explore, innovate, and lead the way in shaping a future where technology and humanity converge to create a better world for all.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft AI solutions, diving into The AI Strategy Roadmap, and getting skilled up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

Footnotes

¹The Economic Times, India to become USD 5 trillion economy, third-largest by 2027: RBI DG Patra.

²Reuters, India’s AI market seen touching $17 bln by 2027, notes Nasscom-BCG report.

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Organizations like 3M, Prada Group and Campari have been testing copilot features in Dynamics 365 and Power Platform firsthand, while General Motors, Visa, KPMG, AGL, Data #3, Bupa, NAB, Powerlink Queensland, Rest Super and Suncorp are now part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program. Our collaboration with IBM is helping clients accelerate the deployment of generative AI with its new Azure OpenAI Service offering, and we are enabling thousands of organizations like PepsiCo, Vodafone and Voya Financial with Azure cloud services through our expanded partnership with Oracle. To empower employees across 34 countries, Grupo Bimbo developed a solution with an integrated copilot in two weeks to help prevent non-compliance and save time when asking questions about company policies. All of Microsoft’s AI-powered copilots are backed by our Copilot Copyright Commitments to extend IP and legal protection to enterprise customers who use these services, building upon our AI Customer Commitments.

Helping healthcare professionals and providers focus on patient care and support through secure data automation and training

By securely centralizing its data in an AI-powered intelligent data platform on Azure, Mercy is able to use generative AI to help patients schedule appointments more efficiently and better understand their lab results. Mayo Clinic is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to ease the burden of administrative demands on healthcare providers so they can focus on patient care, while Duke Health is partnering with Microsoft to responsibly and ethically harness the potential of generative AI and the Microsoft Cloud to redefine the healthcare landscape. To speed up care and improve patient experiences, MultiCare has automated its medication reconciliation process and increased efficiency by 175% with help from Microsoft and partner 3Cloud. By consolidating data such as lab results, medications and plan coverage in the cloud, Blue Shield of California is making services more accessible to members while reducing the cost of care. With help from Healthanea, France-based insurance company AXA is connecting hospitals, pharmaceuticals, health tech solutions and insurers to provide patients with reliable and accurate health information while protecting sensitive health data through the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. Paige and Microsoft are collaborating to transform patient care by building the world’s largest image-based AI to detect cancer with higher accuracy. To ensure patient confidentiality and automate threat reporting, Hamad Medical Corporation is working with Mannai to proactively detect and respond to cyber threats while providing real-time visibility to its executives. Sanofi is improving training and collaboration for employees in different locations with HoloLens 2 — saving two weeks of training time for its production line operators and meeting increased demand for pharmaceuticals.

Empowering government workers, non-profit volunteers, students and teachers to expand social impact and save costs with data and AI

Working with AltaML, the Government of Alberta has built an AI-powered tool to help firefighting duty officers become more confident in predicting and sustainably managing the risk of wildfires, creating the potential to save up to $3 million in annual operating costs. In the U.K., Aberdeen City Council is making it easier for workers to access social care data within minutes to provide faster and more accurate service to vulnerable citizens while saving more than $2 million annually on manual data collection. To help ensure seamless service to citizens and prevent cyberattacks to critical infrastructure like traffic light systems and utilities, the City of Brampton is helping its IT team improve its cybersecurity maturity and reduce attack alerts by 70% with help from partner Difenda. To quickly scale the creation of thousands of audiobooks and reduce volunteer labor, nonprofit Project Gutenberg is making its e-books more accessible to people with visual impairments by using text-to-speech capabilities in Azure AI and Microsoft Fabric. German-based Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald is using AI to help research students pre-classify wildlife images in two days instead of 30 — saving 95% on the cost of wildlife monitoring and distance measurement. Working with teachers to offer more individualized support to students, New York City Public Schools has developed a secure, custom AI-powered teaching assistant on Azure OpenAI to answer questions and give real-time feedback.

Providing financial services employees and customers with AI capabilities for more meaningful and personalized interactions

Ally Financial launched a proprietary platform as its foundation for generative AI innovation across the company, including live summarization of customer service calls so employees can spend more time focusing on customer interactions. With Azure OpenAI, Swiss investment firm Vontobel is boosting employee productivity in programming and data analysis, while automatic payments company Sem Parar is responding intelligently and contextually to customer inquiries to help them resolve their questions more quickly. Emirates NBD is empowering more than a thousand developers with its coding assistant leveraging the capabilities of GitHub Copilot X, while automating repetitive tasks and content generation for employees using Microsoft 365 Copilot. MetLife is helping pet parents access health records and connect with veterinary technicians more easily through its app built with AI-powered search and machine learning capabilities. With a focus on making financial services more accessible in Qatar, CWallet has saved $1 million by building its secure and compliant fintech platform on Azure to meet data regulations in the Middle East, and now plans to explore AI capabilities to simplify customer transactions.

Equipping manufacturing workers with AI-driven data and insights to improve customer support and streamline complex operations

Using Azure OpenAI, electrical equipment manufacturer ABB is integrating generative AI into its platform and applications to provide industry executives, specialists and engineers with real-time insights for better decision making and increased productivity. To reduce waiting time for customers, Dubai-based BMW Group importer AGMC is building an AI solution to more quickly locate and transport vehicles from its largest service center. By creating a scalable AI platform in Azure, Swedish steel manufacturer Epiroc is helping automate complex processes for its global employees to ensure consistent quality of its products, increase efficiency and reduce waste. Printer and imaging company Lexmark has improved its technician support efficiency by 20% with AI-driven predictive modelling, contributing to a 20% increase in customer satisfaction ratings. Xiaomi has developed an AI service bot with Power Virtual Agents to handle customer questions more efficiently and is better using Azure Translator to quickly generate product manuals in multiple languages. Indian textile company Arvind is leveraging the integrated AI capabilities of Power Apps to reduce sampling errors by 90%, production errors by 70% and order turnaround time by 30%.

Enhancing employee productivity and providing customers with AI-enhanced solutions across professional services 

Lumen Technologies is empowering employees across organizations with Microsoft 365 Copilot, making it easier for customer service teams to access repair manuals and helping sales teams summarize actionable steps from customer communications. In France, consulting firm Arthur D. Little is unifying its complex, unsorted data while maintaining data confidentiality and maximizing human capital — helping its consultants prepare for client meetings faster and curate presentation content in 50% less time. Jacobs Solutions is making it easier for staff to access and share high-quality data by integrating Microsoft Fabric with its end-to-end platform for seamless data management and advanced AI capabilities. INSPIRE Environmental is reducing costs and client turnaround time for image analysis of complex ocean data using Azure AI and machine learning. By leveraging Azure OpenAI, Orca Security is speeding up response times to customers and increasing data security while meeting regulatory compliance, Amadeus is working with Microsoft and Accenture to assist corporate travelers with trip logistics through its interactive assistant — as well as building a plug-in for Microsoft 365 Copilot, and professional services firm Atera is helping IT technicians focus on high value work while improving efficiency by 10x with its AI-powered platform.

Today’s AI advancements have also generated new opportunities for digital natives to build upon their cloud-first strategies and shape the future of industry. To combat and identify cyber financial crime behaviors, SymphonyAI developed an AI assistant to help investigators securely and automatically collect, collate and summarize financial and third-party information. By applying AI capabilities across thousands of interactions each day, CallMiner is unlocking insights that empower organizations with a better understanding of the customer journey. Striving to be a leader in empathetic personal intelligence, Inflection AI is developing an AI chatbot that helps people accelerate development while reducing downtime. Building upon its cloud-based solution on Azure, Elastic is giving customers more focused answers to search queries by combining internal company knowledge with context from actual documents. With Azure OpenAI and Azure Cognitive Services, DeepBrain AI is cutting down chatbot development time and reducing manual processes while increasing language understanding and translation capabilities; while Commerce.AI has already started driving up to 50% increases in productivity for clients with its consumer sentiment analytics solutions.

We have a collective opportunity to put generative AI to work to help solve the biggest challenges facing organizations, industries and society today. Microsoft is helping customers and partners prioritize work and pragmatically innovate with generative AI to meet their most pressing business needs. From our unwavering commitment to building products responsibly and securely to how we engage with our customers and partners, I am proud of the trust we have forged along the way. Whether you are leveraging our copilot capabilities across the Microsoft Cloud, working with our partners to apply industry-specific cloud and AI solutions or seeking to co-innovate and co-develop to build custom solutions, I look forward to working alongside you to accelerate your AI transformation.

The post Innovating with responsibility: How customers and partners are bridging data, AI and trust with the Microsoft Cloud appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

Today, when I talk to government customers about their needs, there’s incredible excitement about how AI can transform their operations and services in ways that will make my old weekly reporting process obsolete. Microsoft has a compelling vision for empowering governments with technology that helps solve society’s biggest challenges, and we’re working with customers around the world to achieve outcomes across the full scope of government needs.  

The AI promise for governments 

Government customers are excited about generative AI’s potential to not only save them money through new efficiencies, but also to innovate on personalized services. The development of new tools and solutions will profoundly improve the effectiveness of employees and budgets in the long run.  

Take, for example, a digital twin of a bridge. Using real-time data from sensors and other sources, a digital twin lets an agency monitor a bridge throughout its lifecycle, as well as run simulations, perform inspections, and plan for the future.  

AI is redefining what digital twins can do. At the core, they process data from multiple sources with analytics and machine learning and apply insights back to the digital copy. It is likely that governments will employ AI-enhanced digital twins for such activities as infrastructure maintenance, developing sustainable, low-carbon megacities, better public access to real-time data, and more.  

Prepare for the government AI journey by completing your digital transformation 

When we talk to government leaders about how they can begin to explore AI, they inherently understand that generative AI can help their organizations empower their employees and create new solutions. The most common question they ask is, “Where do I start?”  

This leads to a conversation about data. Having spent time in government, I know firsthand that governments typically sit on mountains of data. Some are well-structured and ready to use. However, other data is often out of reach and unavailable, residing in spreadsheets, unstructured databases, and documents. Still, more is constrained by regulatory or compliance requirements.  

Removing the data bottlenecks is a long-term challenge. A key step is investing in cloud-based infrastructure which is the foundation of a data platform. Put another way—the best way to prepare for AI is to complete the digital transformation journey.

For example, the Municipality of Alkmaar in the Netherlands is creating a digital twin that is transforming its ability to track and plan infrastructure projects across the city. City leaders then correlate those projects with operational data such as road congestion and electric vehicle charging stations. This empowers the city council to make more informed decisions and enables officials to better track and operate public infrastructure. 

In Canada, the City of Kelowna is using generative AI to help residents access services and better understand regulations around building permits, thereby streamlining the process to begin construction. The city combined this with a focus on transparency, ethics, and security to build public confidence in solutions. 

Tackling the challenge by starting small 

Transforming an entire data estate into a single, vast, overarching project is challenging for most governments. A more practical approach is to start small and focus on realistic use cases. Identify a specific use case that delivers a clear outcome and supporting data sources. This is particularly important in government, as transformation projects often require as much effort on the policy, process, and stakeholder consensus sides as on the technology side. 

With the infrastructure in place to expand and the momentum gained from a short-term success, governments can add additional use cases at a quick pace, and thoughtfully plan for an AI-ready data estate. This allows organizations to make incremental investments that reduce risk and give them the flexibility to address new opportunities over time.  

A good example of this is the Cornwall Council in England, which provides a wide range of services to more than 570 thousand citizens. They brought together their core data assets—people, places, and money—to enable vertical reporting across departments and organizations while also eliminating inefficiencies. Beyond those immediate benefits, the project positioned them to innovate on important new use cases, such as generating a “golden record” for each Cornwall resident.

Transformation with Microsoft

Governments around the world are embarking on and continuing their unique digital transformation journeys. These initiatives will change the way governments operate and deliver services. They now also provide the foundation on which transformative tools like AI can be adopted. To get started, governments should focus on use cases that will provide short-term impact and rely on data that is readily available, either from internal sources or third parties. By starting small, governments can gain the momentum they need for larger-scale transformation and adoption of tools like AI. 

Start your journey today

Visit the Microsoft for Critical Infrastructure page to learn more about how we’re helping governments transform the way they operate and serve people. 

For further resources and to learn more about our offerings, visit the Microsoft for Government website or get in touch with your Microsoft sales representative.  

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