Microsoft Outlook Will Soon Write Emails for You
Microsoft is set to expand its implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in Outlook to assist corporate users in composing more effective emails. The Microsoft 365 Copilot tool, positioned as an “everyday AI companion,” aims to help users craft concise and error-free emails while also providing summaries of lengthy email threads to facilitate quick drafting of suggested replies.
Advanced AI assistance, tailored for users with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions, will be offered through Microsoft Editor, an intelligent writing assistant. This tool is designed to provide suggested edits for enhancing clarity, conciseness, inclusive language, and more, enabling employees to produce polished and professional email communications.
Microsoft has announced that it will make these AI tools available to a broader range of corporate clients, starting from November 1. Extensive testing of the technology has been carried out over several months, with input from clients such as Visa, General Motors, KPMG, and Lumen Technologies.
Microsoft’s endeavour to infuse artificial intelligence into its key productivity tools, including Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, was first unveiled in March. The addition of its AI-powered “copilot” feature, which assists in editing, summarizing, document creation, and comparisons, is based on the technology underpinning ChatGPT.
Beyond enhancing email composition, Microsoft 365 users will also benefit from the capability to summarize meetings, generate suggested follow-up action items, request specific Excel chart creation, and transform Word documents into PowerPoint presentations with remarkable efficiency.
Corporate clients will also gain access to Microsoft 365 Chat (formerly known as Business Chat), which serves as a personalized secretary by scanning internet resources, employee communications, and files to offer tailored assistance.
Microsoft’s decision to expand its AI tools in Outlook comes as AI chat tools like ChatGPT gained significant attention after their release by OpenAI. These tools have created a new trend among tech companies to develop and deploy similar AI-driven features in their products. Rival companies such as Google have also introduced AI in their productivity tools, like Gmail, Sheets, and Docs.
