Microsoft Signs Office AI Deal with Vodafone, Adds Features to Excel, Outlook
Excel will get AI tools for Python language, Outlook gets email prioritization features.
Connecting popular Office software to AI models from OpenAI is one of the key differentiators from rival products.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergMicrosoft Corp. said Vodafone Group Plc signed a large deal to use artificial intelligence assistants for Office and unveiled a range of new AI tools designed to help workers create Excel charts, prioritize emails and collaborate with one another.
Vodafone will purchase 68,000 licenses for corporate versions of the assistants, known as Copilots, after early trials found workers using them saved about three hours a week per person, Microsoft said in a blog post shared ahead of a webcast Monday. Other clients include Honeywell International Inc. and financial services firm Finastra Group Holdings Ltd. Microsoft said Copilot customers increased by more than 60% in the most recent quarter, compared with the previous period, while the number of clients with more than 10,000 users doubled. The company didn’t disclose overall customer totals.