Copilot and AI agents

  • 3 minutes

The availability of language models has led to the emergence of new ways to interact with applications and systems through generative AI chat-based assistants and agents that are integrated into applications to help users find information and perform business tasks efficiently.

Microsoft Copilot is a generative AI based assistant that is integrated into a wide range of Microsoft applications and user experiences. It is based on an open architecture that enables third-party developers to extend the Microsoft Copilot user experience. Additionally, third-party developers can create their own copilot-like agents using the same open architecture.

Business users can use Microsoft Copilot to boost their productivity and creativity with AI-generated content and automation of tasks. Developers can extend Microsoft Copilot by creating plug-ins that integrate Copilot into business processes and data, or even create copilot-like agents to build generative AI capabilities into apps and services.

Generative AI assistants such as Microsoft Copilot have the potential to revolutionize the way we work by helping with first drafts, information synthesis, strategic planning, and much more. The goal of generative AI assistants is to empower people to be smarter, more productive, more creative, and connected to the people and things around them.

A screenshot of Microsoft Copilot in the Edge browser.

Adopting generative AI in your business

In general, you can categorize industry and personal generative AI assistant adoption into three buckets: off-the-shelf use of Microsoft Copilot, extending Microsoft Copilot, and building copilot-like agents.

  • You can use off-the-shelf generative AI assistants, like Microsoft 365 Copilot, to empower users and increase their productivity.
  • You can extend Microsoft Copilot to support custom business processes or tasks, using your own data to control how Copilot responds to user prompts in your organization.
  • You can build your own copilot-like agents to integrate generative AI into business apps or to create unique experiences for your customers.