The Copilot logo is featured in this illustration. — Reuters file

Microsoft announced on Monday that it will enable customers to develop autonomous artificial intelligence agents starting in November, marking its latest effort to capitalize on the rapidly growing technology. The company is positioning these autonomous agents—software that requires minimal human intervention, unlike traditional chatbots—as "apps for an AI-driven world," capable of handling customer inquiries, identifying sales opportunities, and managing inventory. Other major tech firms, such as Salesforce, have also highlighted the potential of such agents, which some analysts believe could offer companies a more straightforward route to monetizing the billions of dollars they are investing in AI.

Microsoft stated that its customers can utilize Copilot Studio—an application that requires little coding knowledge—to create autonomous agents in a public preview starting November. The company is integrating several AI models developed internally and by OpenAI for these agents. Additionally, Microsoft is introducing ten ready-to-use agents designed to assist with routine tasks, including supply chain management, expense tracking, and client communication.

In a demonstration, McKinsey & Co, which had early access to the tools, developed an agent capable of managing client inquiries by reviewing interaction history, identifying the appropriate consultant for the task, and scheduling follow-up meetings. "The concept is that Copilot (the company's chatbot) serves as the user interface for AI," explained Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president of business and industry Copilot at Microsoft, in an interview with Reuters. "Every employee will have a Copilot, their personalized AI agent, and they will use that Copilot to interact with the multitude of AI agents that will be available."

Tech giants are under increasing pressure from investors to demonstrate returns on their substantial AI investments. Microsoft's stock declined by 2.8 percent during the September quarter, underperforming the S&P 500, but remains more than 10 percent higher for the year. Concerns have emerged in recent months about the pace of Copilot adoption, with research firm Gartner reporting in August that a survey of 152 IT organizations revealed that the majority had not advanced their Copilot initiatives beyond the pilot stage.

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