Microsoft Copilot Automates Prompt Creation, Makes AI Easier Than Ever

Microsoft is adding prompt-writing tools to Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve its generative AI system.

Copilot for Microsoft 365, a subscription service that integrates an AI assistant into Office apps, will include an auto-complete tool to recommend prompt AI improvements.

The AI-powered service will offer choices to improve prompt information as users write it, perhaps enhancing produced content or inquiries, according to The Verge. Typing "summarize" may suggest summarizing the previous 10 unread emails in the user's inbox or suggesting office-based activities.

Microsoft also adds an "elaborate your prompt" option to Copilot for Microsoft 365 to help customers clarify instructions and refine prompts for Copilot file operations.

In a blog post, Jared Spataro, Microsoft's corporate vice president of AI at work, wrote that Copilot's rewrite function turns users into prompt developers by making simple prompts richer with a single click. Additionally, Copilot for Microsoft 365 will soon provide a "Catch Up" chat interface to highlight upcoming meetings and provide meeting preparation papers and information.

More Employees Use AI at Work

For Microsoft 365 subscribers, Copilot can also use the Copilot Lab to create, publish, and manage prompts for specific business teams, allowing colleagues to share helpful prompts.

Microsoft and LinkedIn announced these new capabilities in conjunction with their annual Work Trend Index, an examination of AI in the workplace. Based on surveys of 31,000 people in 31 countries, the research examines LinkedIn recruiting patterns and Microsoft 365 data to reveal business AI adoption.

Microsoft reports that 75% of workers utilize AI, with 78% bringing their own tools rather than waiting for organizational implementation. LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky noted that AI is "redefining work" and acknowledged the necessity for "new playbooks."

"It's the leaders who build for agility instead of stability and invest in skill building internally that will give their organizations a competitive advantage and create more efficient, engaged, and equitable teams," Roslansky stated, as quoted in Microsoft's blog.

Microsoft Announces $3.3 Billion AI Investment in Wisconsin

In a separate update, Microsoft announced a comprehensive investment package to boost Southeast Wisconsin's AI-driven economic development, innovation, and job creation. The investment initiative includes a $3.3 billion commitment to cloud computing and AI infrastructure, the nation's first manufacturing-focused AI co-innovation lab, and an AI skilling program to train over 100,000 state residents.

US President Joe Biden, Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith, and President Brad Smith announced the investment at Gateway Technical College.

Brad Smith noted Wisconsin's industrial ingenuity and pledged to use AI to develop the next generation of manufacturing firms, skills, and jobs in Wisconsin and beyond.

Microsoft's investment will create a cutting-edge data center facility in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. The project is planned to develop 2,300 union construction jobs by 2025 and more in the future. With the new infrastructure, Wisconsin and national enterprises may use modern cloud services and AI applications to improve their products and businesses.

Microsoft and Gateway Technical College will create a Data Center Academy beside the real data center. In five years, this program aims to teach and certify over 1,000 students for future data center and IT employment in the region.

Governor Tony Evers called Microsoft's investment a turning point for Wisconsin, highlighting the state's attraction to Microsoft owing to its talented workforce, strong infrastructure, and quality of life.