AI’s transformative power is now evident globally. Deemed a technology of the future not long ago, AI-powered business transformation is unfolding across all sectors. It’s clear that mastering AI is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge, and Japan has risen to this challenge. Bolstered by robust infrastructure, advanced technological capabilities, and significant government support for AI initiatives, Japan ranks second on the Asia-Pacific AI Readiness Index.¹

To support this progress, Microsoft plans to invest $2.9 billion over the next two years to expand hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Japan. This marks the largest investment Microsoft has made in Japan since it opened its first international office there 46 years ago.

The investment also emphasizes AI digital skilling, which Microsoft aims to provide to more than 3 million people in Japan within three years, targeting full-time and part-time workers, developers, students, and especially women. In partnership with Japan’s government, we will open the first Microsoft Research Asia Lab in Tokyo. Here, we’ll focus on embodied AI, societal AI wellbeing, and scientific discovery aimed at strengthening cybersecurity defenses in response to Japan’s updated National Security Strategy.

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Microsoft’s expanded initiatives and partnerships with educational, governmental, and private organizations in Japan are poised to enhance AI capabilities across various sectors and amplify the societal benefits and economic growth that are already part of Japan’s culture of innovation. I’m excited to showcase some of the very organizations that are contributing to AI leadership, not only in Japan or Asia, but globally.

Dentsu unlocks employee creativity with Microsoft Copilot support

Dentsu, a global leader in creative media with a 120-year history and 72,000 employees, has effectively integrated Microsoft Copilot into its operations to tackle the increasing demand for high-quality content across multiple channels. As part of this integration, Copilot has been deployed to automate routine tasks such as email management and meeting recaps, and to enhance creative processes through faster ideation and content visualization. This strategic deployment also includes Microsoft Teams Premium, which offers features like intelligent recap and real-time translations, optimizing communication across dentsu’s global teams.

The adoption of these AI tools has significantly benefited dentsu employees by reducing the time spent on administrative tasks, thereby allowing more time for creative and strategic work. For instance, the automation provided by Copilot has saved employees approximately up to 60 minutes per day, translating into substantial productivity gains across the company. These efficiency improvements have also led to superior creative outputs, enabling dentsu to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-paced media industry.

“We started using Copilot with the hypothesis that it would elevate our people’s potential and bring additional value to our clients. I am delighted our high expectations proved to be accurate based on survey data and insights as we work to broaden access to this and other generative AI technologies,” said Brian Klochkoff, Executive Vice President, Innovation & Emerging Technologies at dentsu.

Moreover, the integration of AI has facilitated a cultural shift within dentsu, fostering an environment where technology enhances creativity rather than replacing it. The company continues to explore new AI capabilities through initiatives like Microsoft Copilot Studio, aiming to expand the use of AI across various functions to further streamline operations and enhance creative capabilities.

Recruit Co., Ltd. uses conversational AI to address nuanced customer requests

Recruit Co., Ltd., a prominent human resources technology company, has implemented a conversational AI user interface for Jalan.net, one of Japan’s leading travel booking platforms, powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Initiated in May 2023, this innovative application aims to quickly gather user feedback and adapt to customer needs not typically met by conventional search functions.

As a result, user interactions on Jalan.net have been significantly enhanced through more dynamic exchanges that accommodate nuanced and implicit customer preferences related to travel themes, purposes, and modes, which were previously difficult to discern. Attracting tens of thousands of users monthly, the implementation has been widely accepted, with negative reactions constituting less than 1% of user responses.

The successful implementation of Jalan.net has prompted wider integration of Azure OpenAI Service within Recruit itself, creating more than 30 internal environments for projects like interactive resume building and internal information sourcing tools. Moving forward, the company plans to automate approval processes for AI usage and integrate internal data into AI models to enhance personalized experiences, maintaining a focus on security and compliance.

TXP Medical enhances emergency response with AI-powered mobile service

TXP Medical has released an AI-based smartphone application for paramedics, NSER mobile. With nearly 22,000 users per month, NSER mobile streamlines traditional, labor-intensive operations such as manual data entry, paperwork, and direct telephone communications, which are error-prone and time-consuming. The service incorporates AI-powered voice command input, allowing emergency personnel to input patient data hands-free using voice recognition algorithms that accurately interpret medical terminology, even in noisy environments, while AI-powered image analysis processes images of medical documents. Employing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and advanced image processing allows NSER mobile to quickly extract essential data, speeding up the conversion of visual information into digital formats and reducing the need for phone confirmations with hospitals.

The impact of the NSER mobile service is notable, particularly in Kamakura, Japan, where it reduced average telephone communication time with hospitals from 3 minutes and 30 seconds to 2 minutes and 44 seconds, doubling the target time achievement ratio.

Overall, TXP Medical’s NSER mobile service not only boosts the operational efficiency of emergency medical teams but also improves patient care quality. It showcases AI’s potential to transform emergency medical services by optimizing critical processes and easing the workload on healthcare providers.

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DENSO enhances robot’s understanding with generative AI

DENSO Corporation, a leading automotive parts manufacturer in Japan, is leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to develop advanced autonomous robots capable of human-like interaction. Designed to understand and execute tasks based on verbal instructions, DENSO faced numerous challenges, including the robots’ ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances as well as managing the complexity of programming, ensuring operational accuracy, and integrating advanced AI technologies into practical robotic applications. These challenges were compounded by the need to create user-friendly interactions that allowed non-technical users to easily operate and instruct the robots based on simple verbal commands.

Advanced generative AI powered by Azure OpenAI Service addressed these challenges by enhancing the robots’ ability to understand and process complex verbal instructions for greater adaptability and functionality. The service improved operational accuracy through features that allowed for precise action selection based on input text, simplifying the programming process and making the technology accessible to non-technical users. Additionally, Azure’s cloud-based infrastructure facilitated scalability and flexibility in deployment, and streamlined the development processes, reducing complexity and boosting efficiency across various applications.

In addition, GitHub Copilot significantly enhanced DENSO’s development process by quickly generating and testing new robotic functions, thus reducing costs and accelerating capability expansion. This tool streamlined code generation and debugging, improving productivity and easing the learning curve for new developers.

Takeshi Narisako, Executive Officer of Cloud Service Development Department at DENSO, views the project as “a good start to research and development to create social value through the use of generative AI.” Looking forward, the company will invest in ongoing collaboration with various organizations, including Microsoft, to harness technological and operational strengths, furthering the development of AI-powered robotics and enriching society through human-robot interactions.

Mitsubishi Corporation leverages Azure OpenAI Service for customer GPT

Mitsubishi Corporation, one of Japan’s leading trade, investment, and management companies, is using generative AI to streamline text operations and support better investment and management decisions. Having explored AI from various vendors since 2015, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the company’s IT Services Department opted for Azure OpenAI Service to further the development of its custom generative AI application, MC-GPT, emphasizing security and comprehensive features.

“First of all, Azure itself is largest global service with the ability to handle a variety of languages including Japanese and English and operates securely at a high speed,” explained Hidenori Kurashima, team leader of the Process Transformation Promotion Team of Mitsubishi Corporation’s IT Services Department. “In fact, in the area of generative AI, Microsoft is ahead of the competition. On the other hand, peripheral tools such as Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Analytics are also available, making it easy to integrate with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel that we use in our daily work.”

Within two months of adoption, the company had created and evaluated two prototype applications internally. In collaboration with partner Knowledge Communication Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi established a robust environment for deploying Azure OpenAI Service extensively, integrating it with additional Azure services like Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Analytics for superior data handling and user interface development.

The prototypes generated interest from 12 different departments, prompting the company to create a customized AI engine using its internal data to address both overlapping needs and department-specific requirements. Looking forward, Mitsubishi plans to harness Microsoft’s extensive AI offerings, including Copilot for Microsoft 365, to further streamline business processes, boost operational efficiency, and enhance decision-making in investments and management.

AI for everyone in Japan

These stories illustrate the substantial progress Japanese companies are making in integrating AI across sectors and highlight Japan’s collective commitment to reinforcing its position as a global leader in innovation.

Microsoft’s extensive investment and strategic initiatives underscore the robust foundation being laid for cutting-edge technological advancements and AI integration, focusing on enhancements in digital skilling, cybersecurity, and AI-powered automation that supports economic growth and fosters an environment where technology enhances human creativity and operational efficiency.

We hope these narratives have not only informed but also inspired you to explore how AI can revolutionize your own fields of interest or business. As we conclude our series, we encourage you to take the next steps in your AI journey, leveraging the insights and innovations shared to ignite transformative projects in your own organization.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft’s AI solutions, diving into our insightful white paper on the five pillars of AI success, and getting skilled up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

Footnote

¹New Salesforce Report Reveals How Asia Pacific AI Readiness Will Impact Deployment of Generative AI, Salesforce.

The post Showcasing AI-powered business transformation in Japan appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

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MICROSOFT TEAMSLearn more 

In the race to deliver engaging in-store experiences, Microsoft Teams is uniquely positioned to equip retailers, such as La Vie en Rose and Domino’s, with a single platform to transform their store team’s operations and deliver first-in-class customer experiences. And with the potential to streamline tasks and save valuable time, AI is quickly becoming a critical layer on top of existing communication solutions to help retailers deliver. Even employees are ready and waiting for AI to be introduced, with 65% of frontline workers optimistic about how AI will help them in their job. With Microsoft Teams, you can level up your retail workforce with smarter and simpler experiences for communications and operations in your stores.

Take your retail teams’ productivity to the next level with generative AI 

It’s no secret that store associates can work more effectively when they have the right tools. By harnessing the power of smart solutions in the communication tools they use every day, retailers can not only make their operations more productive but also keep their store communications agile.

We’ve enhanced essential communication tools in Microsoft Teams—like chat, channels, phone calls, and meetings—with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Copilot combines the power of large language models (LLMs) with your data in the Microsoft Graph—your calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings, and more—and Microsoft 365 apps to turn your words into the most powerful productivity tool on the planet. This fosters a smart workplace that elevates productivity and streamlines information access for retail teams.

In November, we announced Microsoft Copilot Studio, a versatile low-code tool designed to customize Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. Copilot Studio enables you to extend your own retail data to Copilot, or to build standalone copilots that bring together a set of powerful conversational capabilities from custom GPTs, to generative AI plugins, to manual topics. 

Copilot Studio provides a quick and easy way to create and publish a plugin directly to Copilot for Microsoft 365 via a drag-and-drop low-code approach that includes the logic and data connectivity to answer questions based on your retail data and processes.

Learn more about Copilot in Microsoft Teams.

Target communications and engagement on the frontline 

Reaching the frontline with key information and news can be difficult, both in targeting the right groups and then engaging them with the content once delivered. It especially gets difficult if different communications are being sent to different apps, adding cognitive load onto the frontline to find the right information across multiple communication sources. 

Continuing to deliver on a single destination for frontline communications, we’re excited to announce Copilot in Viva Engage in Teams, available in public preview in January 2024. This Copilot experience uses AI-created conversation starters, prompts, and images to help inspire retail leadership and corporate communications teams to post in frontline communities and increase engagement with store teams right from the same place where they work. And this AI-enhanced communication tool helps frontline retail teams increase the quality of questions being asked with suggested prompts.

Copilot in Viva Engage in Teams speeds up your ability to create impactful and dynamic communications for your organization. Combining this with the power of Teams simplifies your ability to target communications to specific teams, whether at the company, store, or role level. We are excited to share that retail corporate communications teams will soon be able to easily send important announcements like safety policy changes and store sales targeted to frontline employees based on location, department, and job roles from the Teams home experience. These operational announcements will be pinned at the top of frontline workers’ home experience so they will never miss key messages that keep your business running smoothly. This feature in Teams will be generally available in March 2024.

Simplify in-store operations with modern task management

Microsoft Teams helps automate and streamline processes across your organization, keeping all information in one place to simplify frontline workers’ daily work. We’re building on the existing task publishing and automation capabilities in Microsoft Planner, formerly known as the Tasks app in Microsoft Teams.  

Your retail organization will be able to schedule recurring lists within task publishing. With this new capability, you can now choose the cadence of recurring task lists—for example, let’s say every Monday you send a store audit task, then task publishing will automatically take care of scheduling the publication.

Retail organizations will be able to enforce additional rules for a task to be marked as completed, such as uploading photos, completing a form, as well as requiring manager approval before marking a task complete. With this feature, tasks can only be marked as complete once specific conditions are met, ensuring high-quality work across the frontline. 

Task publishing will also allow your organization to create a task that every member of the recipient team must complete. Retailers can use this to publish a training task—for example, health and safety trainings—to designated stores and locations.

These task management features will be generally available in March 2024. Sign up to be notified when these enhancements to Planner are available.  

Streamline on-the ground voice communication    

Teams Phone is a cloud calling service that keeps your entire workforce connected with flexible, reliable, and smart calling—all in Teams. We are excited to announce a new Teams Phone for Frontline Workers offer that will be generally available in February 2024. With Teams Phone, frontline workers can securely communicate and collaborate with customers, teammates, and suppliers through an intuitive and easily customizable solution. This offer can be purchased as an add-on to Microsoft 365 F1 and F3 SKUs for $4 per user per month.¹

Unlock instant push-to-talk for store teams  

Heads-up and hands-free communication is key for real-time collaboration and quick problem-solving in retail settings. To continue to enable seamless store communication, we are excited to announce that Walkie Talkie in Teams will now work with any generic wired headsets on Android. This feature will be generally available starting in February 2024.

To enhance and simplify store communication, frontline workers who use Walkie Talkie in Teams can now choose to automatically listen to incoming messages from any of the channels they have pinned as favorites. With this new feature, users can easily stay connected to multiple channels without needing to switch channels manually. This feature is now generally available.

Meet us at NRF 2024 

Microsoft is committed to empowering retail organizations around the world to modernize the in-store experience. We continue to invest in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams innovations for the frontline, with solutions like Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Teams Phone.  

This week at the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2024, we are announcing new solutions designed to enable store teams to efficiently meet customers’ expectations and improve the retail experience in this new era of AI. We’ll be in New York City for retail’s biggest show January 14 to 16, 2024, on level 3 at booth #4503, conveniently located at the main entrance of the Javits Exhibition Hall. We can’t wait to see you there.  

• Read the Forrester study, The Total Economic Impact™ Of Microsoft 365 For Frontline Workers In Retail.  
• For a deeper dive into our product announcements, read the MTC blog. 
• Transform and unify your frontline workforce with Microsoft Teams. 
• Visit our NRF landing page for more details and guided tours of our solutions. 
• Take our Guided Tour to see how to leverage Planner in Microsoft Teams for your stores. 
• Learn how to power your AI transformation with the Microsoft Cloud for Retail blog. 

¹ Microsoft Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers ($4 user/month) will be available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 F1 ($2.25 user/month) and F3 ($8 user/month).

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Retail is one of the most dynamic and competitive industries in the world, where customer expectations and preferences are constantly evolving. A recent McKinsey report confirms the retail sector has experienced as much disruption in the past five years as it has in the previous 25.¹ Perhaps never before in the history of the industry have we seen every single one of retail’s primary stakeholder groups—customers, suppliers, employees, and investors—simultaneously change their behavior and expectations. According to McKinsey, a retailer’s actions in the next two to three years could position it for success in the next 20.¹ In this environment, retailers are turning to the power of generative AI to provide differentiated value across the shopper journey. Take Walmart, for example. Two days ago, Walmart announced how they’re using Microsoft’s generative AI technology to build engaging new shopping experiences and provide enhanced productivity to store associates. When the world’s largest retailer decides to make big bets on generative AI, it’s clear the stakes are high and the opportunity to provide value is here.²  

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Around the world I’m hearing from retailers who are excited about the potential of AI. The most common question I was asked by retail executives in 2023 was where to start to find the most value. Retailers are looking for ways to begin working with generative AI that will allow them to learn quickly and scale effectively. I’m excited to share new tools that help retailers more easily incorporate AI across the shopper journey. Microsoft has lowered the barriers to building generative AI solutions that improve shopping experiences, support store associates, and enhance retail media campaigns. Through new Microsoft Copilot capabilities in Microsoft products, copilot templates for building applications, and retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft makes AI implementation more accessible to retailers of all sizes. Retailers can now more easily take the first steps with generative AI.

Let’s look at these new offerings in more detail:

Shopper value

Delight shoppers with more personalized experiences. Retailers can use a copilot template on Azure OpenAI Service to build more individualized shopping experiences across their existing web sites and applications (in public preview).

With applications built using the copilot template, shoppers can engage in helpful and natural conversations that guide them to precisely the goods they need, while saving them time. Generative AI produces experiences that leave shoppers with the confidence they have found the best items. Microsoft Cloud for Retail copilot template pairs the breadth of expressiveness found in a Large Language Model (LLM) with deep knowledge about a retailer’s catalog and expertise. This new approach to commerce comes from advances in generative AI, all built with Responsible AI principles in mind.

Enhance shopping through personalizing marketing with new Copilot capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (coming soon to public preview).

Our AI-first experience enables marketers to describe the desired marketing outcome in natural language and let generative AI suggest, build, launch, and monitor campaigns in real-time. Transform marketing workflows and improve campaign ROI by uniting business data with Copilot features that deliver outcomes faster and more efficiently. These Copilot capabilities will be available in preview in the first quarter of 2024, with general availability by the third quarter of 2024. Existing Dynamics 365 Customer Insights customers can sign up now for the early access public preview program.

Store associate value

Empower store associates to improve productivity, job satisfaction and customer experiences. Using a copilot template on Azure OpenAI Service, retailers can infuse AI into store operations, better supporting associates (in public preview).

Our copilot template for store operations helps build a generative AI-powered LLM based assistant that enables Q&A from store documentation such as store operating procedures and natural language-based task creation (form filling). Store associates can use natural language to quickly and easily access the information they need in the flow of work, increasing their productivity and efficiency. With this copilot template, retailers can more easily build experiences that enable store employees to quickly get answers to their questions on store operating procedures, HR policies, and benefits. In addition, store associates and managers can save time through natural-language prompt-enabled task creation and assignment.

Using the copilot template, in combination with Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Dataverse capabilities, retailers are empowered to seamlessly connect data across multiple lines of business systems to generate AI driven recommendations and actionable solutions that will help store associates make the right decisions.

Consumer brand value

Provide consumer goods brands with tools to auto-generate and edit campaigns with Retail Media Creative Studio (in preview).

Microsoft is introducing generative AI to the Microsoft Retail Media platform (powered by PromoteIQ) through the launch of Retail Media Creative Studio, a comprehensive, end-to-end banner ad creative solution tailored for retail media, available in preview starting in January 2024. With Retail Media Creative Studio, retailers can unlock new revenue with optimized retail media campaigns across multiple retail media channels, such as the retailer’s owned digital properties and across the open web. The solution optimizes banner campaign performance using AI-powered algorithms and delivers a more personalized shopping experience.

The data solutions providing AI to retail innovation

Make the most of retail data to uncover insights that lead to better shopper journeys with retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric (in public preview).

One of the greatest, if not the greatest, challenges retailers face today is the need to unify data from disparate systems in order to gain insights from it. We are very excited to offer this industry specific set of capabilities in Microsoft Fabric that enables retailers to accelerate time to insight generation by unifying, enriching, and modeling industry data in Fabric. With seamless data harmonization, cross-application analytics, and AI applications, retailers can unlock the full potential of their data and drive their business forward. By using Fabric, retailers can consolidate relevant retail data from multiple systems into a unified, governed hub providing a secure single source of truth for all data and analytics needs. And, with retail data solutions in Fabric, retailers can use the same copy of data without needing to move it from its original source.

Our connector with Sitecore OrderCloud means that data for three important areas: product, customer, and orders, has been mapped to our industry data model, reducing engineering effort and accelerating time to insights.

Across the Microsoft Cloud, retailers now have multiple options when applying AI to key business outcomes across the shopping journey. From building their own solutions to leveraging the copilot templates, Microsoft Cloud for Retail integrates with retailers’ existing systems, seamlessly connecting a retailer’s customers, employees, and data. In each industry, Microsoft builds unique assets to verticalize the Microsoft Cloud and enable a broad partner ecosystem. Built on a foundation of trust and Microsoft’s Responsible AI principles, retailers can safely and securely unlock productivity across their entire business with Microsoft Cloud for Retail.

See it all at NRF 2024 and beyond

According to AI adoption in Retail, the most recent research Microsoft commissioned with The Futurum Group, 87% of retail companies globally have implemented AI in their store operations. Clearly the adoption of AI is increasing as this new technology brings substantive rewards to organizations. Microsoft is here to connect with you, listen to your needs, and support developing your AI strategy. Learn more at the links below and reach out to a Microsoft representative at any time for conversation.

Join us to hear the latest on how Microsoft is helping customers by attending our sessions at NRF 2024 or listening on-demand after the event: 

• Retail Unlocked: Achieve more with Microsoft: Hosted by Shelley Bransten, Corporate Vice President, Global Retail, Consumer Goods and Gaming industries, Microsoft. Sunday, January 14, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM Eastern Time. Join this interactive session to hear about one retailer’s AI journey to date. Hosted by Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, Retail, Consumer Goods & Gaming industries, Shelley Bransten, you’ll also learn about new AI-focused findings from Futurum Research and all new AI capabilities in Microsoft Cloud for Retail that will help power your AI transformation.
• Unlocking true customer-centricity: Optimizing touchpoints across the shopper journey with AI: Hosted by Kathleen Mitford, Corporate Vice President, Global Industry Marketing. Monday, January 15, 2024, from 11:45 AM to 12:15 PM Eastern Time. Generative AI and large language models have captured the attention of executives across industries. While the technology’s use cases seem endless, smart retailers and brands must identify and prioritize the applications of generative AI that will be most valuable to their organization and partner with organizations who will treat their data with the highest privacy standards. Join us to hear how Microsoft is helping organizations large and small maximize their generative AI opportunities safely and responsibly..  
• Unify your data to unlock AI opportunities: Hosted by Martin Kostal, General Manager, Microsoft Industry Clouds. Tuesday, January 16, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM Eastern Time. Retailers are swimming in data all day. Even with sophisticated legacy technologies and cutting-edge data science, the majority of that data goes uncollected. Insights stay hidden—often in plain sight. But that’s starting to change. AI tools are enabling retailers to understand their customers, merchandising, supply chains, operations, and workforces better than ever before. Join us to hear about the myriad insights that retailers are drawing from newfound and increasingly precise data sources to run leaner, smarter stores.   

Additional Microsoft announcements at NRF 2024

• Read the Microsoft 365 blog to learn how to drive AI-enabled efficiency with Microsoft Teams for your retail frontline. 
• Read the blog from Martin Kostal, General Manager, Engineering, Microsoft Cloud for Retail.
• Read the Official Microsoft Blog, “Walmart unveils new generative AI-powered capabilities for shoppers and associates.”
• Read the official Microsoft press release “Microsoft unveils new generative AI and data solutions across the shopper journey, offering copilot experiences through Microsoft Cloud for Retail.” 

Learn more about implementing AI in store operations

• Download the full Futurum Group research report.
• Stay informed about Microsoft Cloud for Retail.
• Follow Microsoft Cloud on LinkedIn. 

¹Retail reset: A new playbook for retail leaders, McKinsey & Company.

²IDC Infographic, sponsored by Microsoft, The Business Opportunity of AI, #US51315823, November 2023.

The post Microsoft introduces new capabilities that help retailers bring AI to the shopper journey and enhance store associate experiences appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

The importance of data in AI-driven retail fuels the algorithms, insights, and personalized experiences that are increasingly integral to success of the modern retailer. The ability to collect, harmonize, and derive meaningful insights from vast amounts of data empowers retailers to make informed decisions, create personalized experiences, and stay competitive. Understanding that data is key to success, we’ve also released retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric—helping retailers to standardize and enrich raw data with connectors to engage customers more effectively. Read on to learn how you and your employees can maximize benefits from your data.

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Optimize shopper experiences with personalization  

Generative AI models have vastly improved the experience of chatting with virtual assistants—providing expert advice and bringing ease and convenience to online shoppers. The copilot template for personalized shopping on Azure OpenAI Service (preview) enables retailers to build tailored shopping experiences that allow consumers to shop using natural language. Online shopping is now akin to consulting with a specialist in a store. Personalized shopping taps into the retailer’s vast expertise and knowledge base to apply across shopping situations with the convenience of anytime, anywhere availability. Using a retailer’s current systems and data, this prebuilt template can be embedded into existing experiences, such as a website or app, making it easier for shoppers to find and purchase the products they want. With the prebuilt copilot template, retailers can offer customers personalized expert advice as well as guide the shopper to find unexpected items and learn more about the retailer.  

The copilot template is designed to be easy for any retailer to use. Its open architecture lets each organization leverage existing investments in commerce, inventory, and personalization solutions to support a wide range of buying environments, including e-commerce sites and mobile apps. Designed to have interactive discussions with shoppers, the copilot template can be adapted to each seller’s brand and values, responds to their questions and facilitates decision-making to create a personalized experience that feels natural and easygoing. 

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Increase productivity and efficiency with copilot for store operations   

Whether associates are long-term employees or seasonal workers, empowering the workforce and optimizing their performance is critical to customer satisfaction and retailer success. With the new generative AI-powered copilot template for store operations on Azure OpenAI Service (preview), retailers can build technology that allows frontline workers to quickly and easily access the information needed for their work day, increasing productivity and efficiency with text and voice commands.  

Retail frontline workers can easily get answers to questions on store operating procedures like how to handle refunds or set up product displays. Using natural language, associates can ask questions about the product catalog to support shoppers, review HR policies and benefits, or complete surveys. Copilot template for store operations enables workers to independently manage issues such as addressing damaged items. For example, with a few prompts, an associate can ask copilot template for store operations for the company’s standard operating procedure for replacing damaged products. In addition to getting the right steps to handle the process, the associate can also create a task to replace products and send an alert through Microsoft Teams to the store manager. Copilot template for store operations eliminates the need for pen and paper, data in multiple systems, or the retail frontline tracking down the store manager for every problem that arises.  

Likewise, the copilot template for store operations helps store managers optimize the work experience for their associates and deliver improved customer experiences. They can ask Microsoft Teams for a summary of key performance indicators (KPIs)—such as sales, inventory, and customer feedback. Using copilot template for store operations, a manager can quickly create tasks and assign associates to address. Copilot template for store operations provides retailers insights and information in the normal flow of work, helping managers and associates increase productivity and responsiveness.

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Gain actionable insights fast with retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric

Microsoft Fabric is a complete analytics platform built for the era of AI. It enables the transformation of data into predictive insights, to ensure better business outcomes and reduce costly data replication and movement to support data analysts and data scientists. With these solutions in place, organizations can also automate duplicative tasks resulting in data efficiency and resource management.   The self-serve ability enables organizations to equip everyone in the company with their own access to these powerful analytics. Underscoring all of this is a commitment to help keep data secure and protected in a single source while meeting stringent compliance requirements.  

Retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric is an industry specific workload that enables customers to accelerate time to insight generation by unifying, enriching, and modelling industry data on Microsoft Fabric​. Organizations can plan, architect, and design data solutions for data governance, reporting, business intelligence, and advanced analytics. Using data definition, formats, and storage enhancement, a standardized data model is created to help organizations derive actionable insights from large volumes of retailer data. Retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric provide seamless integration across different systems and applications. By establishing a foundation for naming, data classification, and access controls, retailers can be assured effective governance of their data. 

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Sitecore OrderCloud connector enhances your digital capabilities 

Sitecore OrderCloud connector, one of the key capabilities of retail data solutions, gives you a quick and reliable platform to get commerce data onto Microsoft retail industry standard schema. The connector performs transformation and orchestration on top of the data from Sitecore OrderCloud to align with the data model. The connector works across three key data sets:   

1. Products: All the sellable products available in Sitecore OrderCloud. 
2. Customers: End customers who are shopping from your e-commerce portals. 
3. Orders: Customer generated online sales orders.  

The key role of the connector is to get data into the retail data solutions schema, giving users the benefit of access to solutions that are built on top of retail data solutions. Microsoft Power BI reports on sales, products, and customer data solutions can be enabled on top of Sitecore OrderCloud data out of box. 

Using the connector in combination with Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse capabilities empowers customers to seamlessly connect data across multiple line-of-business systems to generate AI-driven recommendations and actionable solutions that will help store associates make the right decisions. The connector ensures that no personal customer information is transferred when using Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform capabilities such as Power BI reports and other related solutions. The Power BI reports provide actionable insights on top of data. Each report provides a specific view of data across sales, customers, and products that can help make impactful merchandising, marketing, and supply chain decisions.  

“Sitecore OrderCloud delivers limitless commerce capabilities and opportunities to consolidate commerce channels into a single managed marketplace. The out-of-the-box integration with Microsoft Fabric unlocks the ability to be a forward-looking AI retail organization. Retail organizations can benefit from stateful services, reliable messaging, orchestration, monitoring, and security, while continuing to focus on their roadmap and strategic business objectives.” Steven Davis, Vice President of Engineering Commerce, Sitecore 

Make strategic product decisions with frequently bought together

Lastly with this release, the frequently bought together model is a data-driven tool that empowers retailers to make informed decisions about product placement and promotions. By analyzing point-of-sale (POS) data, frequently bought together identifies the combinations of products that are most often selected and purchased at the same time. This way, retailers can effectively promote cross-selling activity and boost joint sales by placing associated products closer together.  

Frequently bought together analytics enables retailers to: 

• Find the top revenue products and boost cross-sales by putting identified products closer. 
• Check the lowest revenue products and decide which ones to drop from the product catalogue. 
• Measure how past marketing actions, like new shelf layout or promotion performance, affected the sales of each item in a product group by comparing before and after sales revenues when purchased together. 

Learn more

MICROSOFT INTRODUCES PREBUILT AI SOLUTIONS FOR RETAILERSRead the blog 

• Join us at NRF 2024 from January 13 to 16, 2024 in New York City, New York to learn more about Microsoft Cloud for Retail’s cutting-edge AI technologies and how they can optimize your business.
• Join Shelley Bransten at the Microsoft Retail Digital Forum on February 6, 2024 for the How AI Unlocks Value for Retail session to learn about the research and gain insights into what is driving AI transformation among leading retailers.
• To get started, you can sign up here or learn more about our latest capabilities on the Microsoft Cloud for Retail homepage. 

The post Microsoft Cloud for Retail unlocks a new level of productivity with AI appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

To this end, earlier this year, we introduced Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365, the world’s first AI copilot natively built for CRM and ERP. Since then, more than 130,000 organizations have experienced copilot capabilities in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform firsthand. In fact, a survey revealed that 70 percent of the Copilot users were more productive, 73 percent could complete tasks faster, and 68 percent of users improved the quality of their work.

Organizations, however, depend on a range of business applications across roles and functions, from customer relationship management (CRM) systems for marketing, sales, and service roles to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for finance, supply chain, and operations departments. At Microsoft Ignite, we are announcing new Microsoft Copilot experiences that empower organizations to unlock value from a multitude of systems of record. In conjunction with these copilot experiences, we are announcing new and updated copilot capabilities in Dynamics 365 applications.

Microsoft Ignite 2023

Access recordings of keynotes and sessions, including opportunities to learn about the copilot capabilities announced.

Get on-demand access 

Announcements include:

• Updates to Copilot for Dynamics 365 to drive efficiency across the organization, featuring capabilities that help marketing, sales, and field service professionals provide exceptional customer experiences.
• Introduction of Microsoft Copilot for Service and Microsoft Copilot for Sales, the evolution of Sales Copilot, bringing together the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 with role-specific insights and actions. Both provide flexibility to integrate with an organization’s existing contact center and CRM systems respectively. 

Together, these capabilities empower organizations to harness secure and enterprise-ready, generative AI experiences, helping employees to perform at their highest potential across every role and function. 

Reimagine ways to drive efficiency across the organization with Copilot for Dynamics 365

We’re introducing new and enhanced copilot capabilities for Dynamics 365 that help marketers, sellers, and field service professionals elevate customer experiences.

The following Copilot updates are in addition to recently-announced copilot and demand planning capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, as well as the 2023 release wave 2 for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, a six-month rollout of new and enhanced capabilities scheduled for release between October 2023 and March 2024.

Copilot delivers answers and information to field service workers in a chat-based conversation

Field service workers depend on quick access to a variety of customer and technical information precisely at the moment it is needed. A recent survey by Microsoft highlighted that not being able to easily find the information they need ranks in the top five disruptive issues faced by frontline workers in their current day-to-day role.¹ This can significantly affect key performance indicators such as first-time fix rates, customer satisfaction, and retention.

We’re introducing AI-powered experiences for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, available for preview in December, that enable frontline workers to quickly access information on a job site by asking questions in conversational language, directly within Teams.

We’re also announcing the general availability of AI-assisted work order creation and technician scheduling, and the public preview of financial and inventory data flow between Dynamics 365 Field Service and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist are available at no additional cost.

Explore the full set of updates to Dynamics 365 Field Service.

Reimagining CRM systems with natural language experiences

The innovation and scale of Copilot have established Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales as an innovative leader in sales technology, as recognized by Gartner and Forrester. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales enhances seller productivity and effectiveness in their flow of work, enabling them to automate the sales processes and make informed decisions with AI-powered insights and actions. Copilot features help sellers save time, boost productivity, and eliminate mundane workloads to maintain focus on connecting with customers and closing deals.

We’re announcing new copilot experiences in Dynamics 365 Sales that allow sellers to interact with their data using natural language.  

Now in preview, sellers can use their own words to get contextual insights and recommendations for leads and opportunities.

In addition, Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales has a new full-screen view where sellers can use natural language or prebuilt prompts to gain a quick understanding of customers, deals, meetings, forecasts, and more. The feature is now available in Asia and Europe and will be available in North America in December.

Deliver more personalized customer experiences with Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights

New capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights provide a deeper understanding of target customers and segments, helping to hyper-personalize campaign content and improve engagement.

Available for preview in December, sellers can use Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights to instantly generate a customer profile summary—including demographic, transactional, behavioral, and analytics data—to uncover key insights on customers. The capability is available for organizations that have both Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise or Premium subscriptions.  

We continue to build capabilities that enable a seamless handoff from marketing to sellers. Now in preview, marketers can qualify their leads using metrics such as engagement scores, ensuring marketing and sales teams maximize the opportunity pipeline and improve win rates.  

Adding to our growing ecosystem, we’re announcing a unique partnership with Optimizely. In preview this December, organizations can use the segments and journeys built in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights directly within Optimizely. This enables Optimizely users to build personalized campaigns in real time without writing any code. Through bi-directional integrations, organizations can deliver hyper-personalized omnichannel experiences across web, social, email, and offline channels.

Bring together the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and business insights and actions

Most organizations depend on a range of applications to manage the business, including CRM, ERP, and supply chain management systems. Integrating innovative technology, like generative AI, into these systems can be challenging—especially when security, privacy, and compliance are a top priority.

Responding to this need, we’re introducing a new category of Microsoft Copilot solutions that tap into data from various applications—including Microsoft 365 and third-party systems of record—to bring a new level of efficiency and automation to business functions across the organization. 

Modernize the contact center with Microsoft Copilot for Service

In a recent Microsoft survey, it was revealed that three out of four customer service agents feel less inspired and motivated by their work. With insufficient focus time, over half of them are struggling to deliver exceptional customer service and efficiently address customer issues.¹ The surveyed agents express confidence that AI can positively impact their performance, as well as provide, analytical insights, including trend and sentiment analysis. 

We’re meeting the needs of service agents with a Microsoft Copilot solution that integrates generative AI capabilities into the tools and processes that they depend on every day. Microsoft Copilot for Service integrates an organization’s trusted knowledge with the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 to boost agent productivity in the tools they already use every day, such as Outlook and Teams; providing AI-guided answers and resources personalized for each customer issue and conversation. 

Microsoft Copilot for Service provides the flexibility to integrate with an organization’s existing CRM and contact center systems. Organizations can train Microsoft Copilot for Service using trusted websites, knowledgebase articles, files, and other critical data sources from their existing contact center to unlock generative AI-powered guidance across all of their data. Microsoft Copilot for Service provides out-of-the-box integrations with Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Zendesk, and can be extended to other systems through a vast array of more than 1,100 prebuilt and custom connectors.

MICROSOFT COPILOT STUDIOLearn more 

Copilot for Service can be further customized with Microsoft Copilot Studio, also announced at Microsoft Ignite 2023. With Copilot Studio, service teams can fine-tune copilot experiences by incorporating their own data, logic, and actions tailored for specific scenarios, frequent conversations, or other unique use cases.

Copilot for Service will be available in public preview in early December and generally available in early 2024. Pricing is USD50 per user per month. Learn more about Microsoft Copilot for Service.

Unlock sales productivity in the flow of work

Microsoft Copilot for Sales is the evolution of Sales Copilot, used by leading brands including 10,000 sellers within the Microsoft sales team. A recent survey revealed that 83 percent of Microsoft sellers claim that Microsoft Copilot for Sales helps them improve productivity, with sellers saving an average of 90 minutes per week.¹ Read our ebook on the AI advantage for sellers for details. 

Copilot for Sales brings together the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in seller workflows, using customer data within the CRM system they already use, along with information in documents, email, and chats from Microsoft 365 applications.

The innovations enabled in Copilot for Sales include a newly integrated experience with Microsoft Word and Teams. Sellers can prompt Copilot to create a meeting preparation brief in Word, automatically populated with customer information such as an account and opportunity summary, names and titles of meeting participants, pending tasks, and highlights from recent meetings and email threads. In addition, meeting recaps in Microsoft Teams can surface action items and tasks, key performance indicators (KPIs), and sales keywords mentioned. These experiences help sellers save time and energy, generate innovative ideas, build stronger customer relationships, and ultimately close more deals.

Like Copilot for Service, sellers can customize AI-assisted sales processes with Copilot Studio, bringing tailored experiences informed by their own data, logic, and actions for specific scenarios.

Copilot for Sales² will be available in the first quarter of 2024 for USD50 per user per month.

Learn more at Microsoft Ignite

Register for Microsoft Ignite to access on-demand recordings of keynotes and sessions, including opportunities to learn about the copilot capabilities announced. You have the opportunity to engage with the global community online, regardless of your location, and participate in live discussions at no cost. To get started, we recommend the following sessions: 

• Becoming an AI-powered organization with Microsoft Copilot (keynote, in-person and online)
• Transform customer experience with Dynamics 365 and next-generation AI (breakout, in-person and online)
• Transforming service organizations with generative AI (breakout, in-person and online)
• ERP in the era of AI: A new face of business efficiency and agility (breakout, in-person and online)

In addition, learn more about what’s possible with Copilot for Dynamics 365 and get started on your journey today. 

¹ Microsoft 2023 Work Trend Index survey

² Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise and Premium customers will retain rights to capabilities in Sales Copilot. As today’s news demonstrates, copilot capabilities in Dynamics 365 Sales will continue to innovate. To get the full value of the new Copilot for Sales, including access to Copilot for Microsoft 365, customers will work with their Microsoft account representative to upgrade.

The post Introducing new Copilot experiences to boost productivity and elevate customer experiences across the organization appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides assists workers in industrial settings who deal with complex equipment and processes. New technicians need to ramp up quickly while learning how to operate and service that equipment. When equipment stops functioning, workers must act quickly to diagnose the problem, implement a fix, and then document their work. Instead of workers needing to search through volumes of digital documents or paper manuals, Copilot enables workers to ask for relevant information using natural language and human gestures, such as looking and pointing. Copilot uses generative AI to search for information from technical documentation, service records, training content, and any other data sources that customers curate. Copilot then summarizes the information to provide interactive guidance through content and holograms overlaid on the equipment in operation or maintenance.

Mixed reality together with AI presents a human-first interface that promises to transform real-world operations. Now, Copilot can assist industrial workers in real-time with speech and holograms.

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides capabilities
Here are the capabilities we plan to unlock with Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides:

Point and Ask Guidance
Woman in a HoloLens 2 gestures with her index finger at a machine. The part she points to is lit up with a holographic outline.
Humans have always learned from and interacted with their environment in a hands-on manner, asking questions of others as they work. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides builds on that natural way of interacting to help workers better understand the world around them. Workers can point to a component on an asset and ask Copilot questions, such as “What is the torque limit for these bolts?” New workers can ask general questions, such as “What is the function of this component?” without needing to interrupt a more experienced coworker. Copilot recognizes what the user is pointing at and provides answers. 3D models and spatial maps provide the foundation for the technology to identify what the worker is looking at and then project a hologram to show instructions. Workers can ask more complex questions, such as “Which direction does this part fit?” or “Show me where the sensor module is on this machine,” and Copilot will display holograms to show where the part belongs.

Spatial Content Generation
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides accelerates the out-of-the-box value of mixed reality by significantly reducing the upfront investment needed to create spatial content. Copilot simplifies the creation, management, and delivery of mixed reality content using customer-defined data sources, enabling companies to adopt mixed reality much faster.

Step-by-Step Assistance
A well lit desk and machine in a dim office displays steps to completing the work at hand. There are blue and yellow holograms, highlighting the asset and pointing to steps 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, large language models allow Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides to do far more than answer one-off questions. Workers can have progressive conversations, such as “Walk me through the steps to disassemble this filtration unit,” or “I disconnected the motor, what’s next?” Copilot follows along with the process and conversation using customer’s curated knowledge base to articulate answers with speech, text, or 3D holograms, eliminating ambiguity and reducing the need for rework.

On-demand Information
A woman is engaged in deep work in front of a tall machine. Around her are holographic infographics displaying the relevant data she needs to reference.
With connections to the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, operational data, and service records, Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides can answer questions, such as “What is the current humidity rating?” or “When was this last inspected, and were there any concerns?” HoloLens 2 allows Copilot to pinpoint specific assets, identify them, and access relevant information sources in real time. Frontline workers can access rich information to troubleshoot or repair with AI assistance in the context of their work.

Expert Knowledge Integration
Often only a more experienced worker has the knowledge required to complete a complex task or repair a vital piece of equipment. When that worker is unavailable or retires, that knowledge is lost. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides can leverage notes or call transcripts from previous expert activity to guide new workers through the same process. This makes it easier and faster for workers to learn from each other and automate internal knowledge transfer—bolstering workforce productivity and business agility.

Streamlined Documentation
Workers will be able to use Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile to speed up the process of completing and documenting their work. Instead of filling out paperwork, workers can simply describe their progress to Copilot using their voice. Copilot will provide suggestions to efficiently check off service tasks, add notes, and update product quantities as well as statuses, accelerating data entry.

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides transforms the real world into a prompt and an anchor for AI. Keeping human agency at the center of the product, this tool radically transforms how computing technology can help frontline workers take action in the real world. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides holds significant potential for businesses seeking greater efficiency and effectiveness in their operations.

Dynamics 365 Guides
Empower employees with step-by-step holographic instructions

Explore
a man and a woman standing in a room
Deploy Dynamics 365 Guides and Remote Assist today
The private preview for Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides is launching today with a limited set of customers and capabilities. The upcoming public preview of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides will be available first on HoloLens 2, and we are planning to bring this capability to mobile devices. Interested customers can get started today by deploying Dynamics 365 Guides and Remote Assist on either HoloLens 2 or mobile devices as the first step.

Microsoft believes that when you create technologies that can change the world, you must also ensure that the technology is used responsibly. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides is developed in alignment with Microsoft’s responsible AI standards, and consistent with our long-standing commitment to data security and privacy, helping to ensure AI systems and solutions that are trustworthy and safe.

Learn more about Microsoft Ignite 2023 announcements for Dynamics 365 and industry transformation.

The post Introducing Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides, bringing generative AI in mixed reality to frontline workers appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

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.

The recent Work Trend Index shows that there is an opportunity for digital tools to help ease the burden on these essential workers. Over 60% of frontline workers struggle with having to do repetitive or menial tasks that take time away from more meaningful work and not having enough of the necessary resources to get their work done efficiently.ⁱⁱ In addition, 1 in 2 frontline workers cite being burned out in their jobs, and 45% note they are likely to consider changing employers in the next year.ⁱⁱ Investment in technology that enables frontline workers to thrive is a huge opportunity for business leaders – one that will drive positive outcomes for employees, customers, and the bottom line if solved correctly.

Today, over 60% of the Fortune 500 use Microsoft 365 to empower frontline workers. Microsoft is committed to investing in innovative solutions to help frontline workers thrive. With AI transforming productivity across most segments of the workforce, our survey found that 65% of frontline workers are optimistic that AI will help them in their jobs.^ii.

We are excited to introduce new tools and integrations including bringing the power of next-generation AI to the frontline across three key areas:

• Intelligent operations
• Effortless communication
• Trusted experiences

These innovations will improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and enable faster decision making.

Intelligent operations

Whether it’s for an inspection, installation or a maintenance request, frontline service managers want to spend their time helping their team deliver exceptional service operations and not on inefficient tasks like copying and pasting information from one system to another. We seek to infuse the productivity applications frontline managers use everyday with the robust data and intelligence of underlying business applications. This helps streamline the frontline experience and drive efficiency with operations.

• Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service with Outlook and Microsoft Teams integrations brings the power of next-generation AI to service professionals on the frontline. Frontline service managers who receive customer escalations in Outlook or Microsoft Teams can use Copilot in Dynamics 365 to streamline work order creation with relevant details pre-populated from emails or chats, optimize technician scheduling with data-driven recommendations based on factors such as travel time, availability and skillset, as well as generate draft responses to customer messages summarizing next steps without switching apps.
• Dynamics 365 Field Service app in Microsoft Teams will enable frontline technicians to access key work order functionality in their flow of work. Technicians will now be able to see upcoming work orders at a glance in their home experience in Teams, share full work order details and easily access Dynamics 365 Remote Assist in one click to troubleshoot with remote experts in real time if they need additional support to complete jobs.

Maintaining end-to-end visibility on operations can be time-consuming for frontline managers with fluctuating team schedules and often a large, dispersed team. Soon Microsoft 365 Copilot can ground prompts and retrieve insights for frontline managers, leveraging data from the Shifts app with a new Shifts plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot, in addition to user and company data it has access to such as Teams chat history, SharePoint, emails and more. This will enable frontline managers to quickly get a list of important items specific to their team and location to speed up time-consuming tasks like covering shifts and onboarding new employees.

Effortless communication

Workplace culture is built upon a connection to the company mission, and it all starts with strong lines of communication. When companies establish an easy way to access consistent communications, frontline workers feel informed and connected. With a single communications platform to reach their entire workforce, corporate communicators don’t have to switch out of their digital workspace to connect to the frontline.

• Announcements in Viva Connections enables corporate communicators to draft, schedule and target important announcements like urgent communications, role-specific updates and safety policy changes to frontline workers. Communicators can quickly send messages directly from Viva Connections without having to leave Teams. Messages are delivered to the frontline through push notifications on their mobile devices and announcement cards in their Teams home experience.
• To build a sense of belonging and purpose across your entire workforce, Targeted Campaigns in Viva Engage enables communicators to create campaigns that promote company-wide initiatives targeted to frontline audiences.

Trusted experiences

Many on the frontline work across multiple devices and often hand them over after a shift ends. To enable shift and part-time workers to be productive from the moment they log in, Windows 365 Frontline makes it easy and affordable to extend the power of Cloud PCs to employees on the frontline so they can securely access their personalized Windows experience on any device, no matter where they work.

Securing data across shared devices, while still ensuring a seamless end-user experience can be challenging. A digital identity allows frontline workers to access and move between the technology needed to do their work, whether they are on a shared device or a dedicated one.

• For organizations using Intune, they can use Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) to enable a single sign-in and sign-out experience for Teams, Outlook, Power Apps and more with shared device mode for Android and iOS devices. This allows frontline workers to wipe their device quickly and compliantly for the next shift.
• And organizations using SOTI or VMware Workspace ONE as their endpoint management solution can now also enroll Android devices in Microsoft Entra ID with shared device mode.

At Microsoft, we believe that technology can be a powerful force to reimagine how work gets done. By investing in innovative solutions for the frontline workforce, we are helping to drive positive change for frontline employees, customers and the bottom line. Frontline innovations across Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Windows 365 Frontline, Intune and partner endpoint management solutions push the boundaries of what is possible and work toward a brighter future for all.

The post Microsoft solutions boost Fortune 500 frontline productivity with next-generation AI appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.