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Microsoft introduces autonomous AI agents

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Agence France-Presse

<p>SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft on Monday said it was enhancing its AI offerings with new autonomous agent capabilities as the tech titan aims to accelerate business adoption of artificial intelligence.</p><p>AI agents are specialized programs designed to perform routine tasks autonomously, such as sifting through sales leads or handling customer service inquiries.</p><p>The AI agent has become the newest buzzword for major software companies that are investing billions in powerful AI models, which they believe will shape the future of computing.</p><p>Microsoft has moved fast in pushing generative AI technology to everyday users, largely using the models from its $13 billion partnership with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.</p><p>Agents are intended to advance generative AI from ChatGPT-style chatbots, which require human prompts, to systems that can operate independently.</p><p>In a blog post, Microsoft introduced ten autonomous agents for its Copilot AI platform, tailored to support sales, service, finance, and supply chain teams.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1848371159558979839&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fnews-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Anews-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2024-10-22T00%3A28%3A35.871742%3Accf109ae-3e91-4f01-b132-709944293907%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=dcff41e07ad0c82ef2afc97aca346183faae80ac&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:713px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1848371159558979839"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>These agents will be available for public preview starting in December, with a full rollout planned through 2025.</p><p>&quot;Think of agents as the new apps for an AI-powered world. Every organization will have a constellation of agents — ranging from simple prompt-and-response to fully autonomous,&quot; Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Jared Spataro explained.</p><p>The company envisions these agents facilitating a transition from today&#x27;s traditional business routines to new work habits that are driven and increasingly carried out by AI.</p><p>Additionally, Microsoft announced the upcoming public preview of Copilot Studio, a tool enabling companies to create and manage their own AI agents.</p><p>Other tech giants are also exploring a deployment of AI agents, with venture capitalists poring money into startups offering their own take on the concept.</p><p>Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, whose company last month announced its own slate of AI agents, criticized Microsoft&#x27;s efforts.</p><p>&quot;When you look at how Copilot has been delivered to customers, it&#x27;s disappointing. It just doesn&#x27;t work, and it doesn&#x27;t deliver any level of accuracy,&quot; Benioff said last week.</p><p>AI chip juggernaut Nvidia, Google and Oracle have also announced AI agent projects.</p><p>Although their powers remain limited for now, the development of autonomous agents capable of independent action has raised concerns about potential risks.</p><p>Microsoft assured that these new agents, currently limited to non-complex tasks, adhere to strict security, privacy, and responsible AI guidelines.</p><p>&quot;Once these agents are created, IT administrators can apply a comprehensive set of features to govern their use,&quot; it said.</p><p>arp/dw</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>© Agence France-Presse</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gdUIlaoovmg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Microsoft on Monday said it was enhancing its AI offerings with new autonomous agent capabilities as the tech titan aims to accelerate business adoption of artificial intelligence.</p>

Microsoft on Monday said it was enhancing its AI offerings with new autonomous agent capabilities as the tech titan aims to accelerate business adoption of artificial intelligence.