This is an unpublished throwback from 2023. Obviously, the Copilots are here and its much scarier than I thought.

In “The age of copilots” Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, outlines the company’s vision for Microsoft Copilot, positioning it as an integral tool across all user interfaces.

Microsoft Copilot
Meet your everyday AI companion for work and life.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot

Copilot incorporates search functionality, harnessing the context of the web. This was a genius pivot of Bing Chat into a multi-platform service. They even have an enterprise version with added data protection (they are listening to the streets). And they are giving power to the people, Microsoft 365 now features Copilot, which operates across various applications. As a developer, my Semantic Kernel plugins can be easily integrated, my OpenAI GPTs and Assistants can be integrated. I can build some things, my team can build more things and considering the world currently needs so many Copilot things, I’m so excited. So many tasks to optimize, so many roles to bring efficiency to, so many jobs-to-be-done to be supported by automation and AI.

We believe in a future where they will be a copilot for everyone and everything you do. 

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

Nadella emphasizes the customizability of Copilot for individual business needs, highlighting its application in different roles. GitHub Copilot aids developers in coding more efficiently, while SecOps teams leverage it for rapid threat response. For sales and customer service, Copilot integrates with CRM systems and agent desktops to enhance performance.

Furthermore, Nadella speaks about the extension of Copilot through the creation of a Copilot Studio, which allows for further role-specific adaptations. He notes the emerging ecosystem around Copilot, with various independent software vendors and customers developing plugins to foster productivity and insights. I hope this means there is a Copilot Store coming with some revenue share with independent software vendors like the me and the company I work for.

You will, of course, need to tailor your Copilot for your very specific needs, your data, your workflows, as well as your security requirements. No two business processes, no two companies are going to be the same. 

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

Lastly, Nadella touches on future innovations in AI with mixed reality, where user interactions extend beyond language to gestures and gazes, and in AI with quantum computing, where simulations of natural phenomena can be emulated and quantum advancements can accelerate these processes. He envisions a future where such technology empowers every individual globally (actually Nadella expressed more on Microsoft’s vision of caring for the world and I appreciated it), offering personalized assistance in various aspects of life.

Nadella did a good job of expressing Microsoft’s vision on caring for our world. Microsoft will be “generating 100 percent of the energy they use in their datacenters, from zero-carbon sources by 2025.” He said that and next year is 2024. I hope they stay on track towards this goal.

Charles L. Bryant, Citizen of the World

The message concludes with a reference to a video featuring a Ukrainian developer’s experience with Copilot. This is also a lesson in the power of expressing the value of a product with story and emotion. Storyboard Copilot is coming too.