At its annual Build developers conference, Microsoft on Tuesday, May 23, announced the expansion of its Copilot ecosystem, adding it in Power BI, Power Pages, Microsoft Fabric, and Windows. Additionally, Microsoft unveiled new features that it said would enable developers to build their own copilots and next-generation AI applications. These features include plugins that enhance the copilots’ functionality by enabling them to interact with other software and services.
The rise of intelligent copilots in software development
Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer, Kevin Scott, predicts that in the near future, software without an intelligent copilot assistant will become a rarity. Copilots are applications that leverage AI and large language models to assist users in complex cognitive tasks. They can help with anything from writing a sales pitch to planning a themed dinner party. Microsoft introduced the concept of copilots with GitHub Copilot and has since expanded its presence across various products and services, most notably for its 365 suite of applications.
Microsoft adopted the open plugin standard introduced by OpenAI for ChatGPT, ensuring interoperability across ChatGPT and Microsoft’s copilot offerings. Microsoft is an investor in OpenAI. The company says developers can now build plugins that work across business and consumer surfaces, such as ChatGPT, Bing, Dynamics 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Windows Copilot. These plugins facilitate the integration of copilots with external systems, enabling them to retrieve real-time information, incorporate business data, and perform new types of computations, Microsoft said.
The functionality of plugins
Plugins serve as bridges between copilots and external systems or data sources. They allow copilots to access private company data, connect with websites or backend systems, and expand their capabilities. For example, a plugin could enable a copilot to retrieve legal files from a company’s database to answer legal-related questions. The plugin ecosystem is expected to grow rapidly, offering a wide range of functionalities for copilots.
Simplifying copilot development and responsible AI updates
Microsoft introduced new tools to simplify copilot development, including Azure AI Studio and Azure OpenAI Service on your data. These tools, Microsoft said, enable developers to ground conversational AI models on private data and derive organisation-specific insights. Furthermore, Microsoft announced Azure AI Content Safety, a service designed to detect and moderate inappropriate content across images and text. It integrates with Azure OpenAI Service, providing seamless access to content safety features.
Developers also need to ensure the copilot returns the intended results and avoids outputs that are biased, sexist, racist, hateful, violent or prompts self-harm, noted Sarah Bird, a partner group product manager at Microsoft who leads responsible AI for foundational technologies.
“It’s the safety system powering GitHub Copilot, it’s part of the safety system that’s powering the new Bing. We’re now launching it as a product that third-party customers can use,” said Bird.
Building on the copilot platform
Developers play a crucial role in building copilots, leveraging generative AI technology like GPT-4 through Azure OpenAI Service. The copilot development process involves selecting a model, defining a meta prompt, incorporating memory, accessing data and services through plugins, and orchestrating complex tasks. Microsoft provides tools like the Semantic Kernel SDK and Azure Machine Learning prompt flow to integrate large language models with conventional programming languages, accelerate copilot development, and ensure responsible AI practices.
Microsoft’s vision for the copilot platform
Microsoft views copilots as a new paradigm in AI-powered software and a transformative approach to software development. It encompasses product scenarios, user experience, architecture, services, safety, and security. The Microsoft ecosystem offers developers an end-to-end solution for building copilots, with Azure providing the necessary infrastructure and tools. Microsoft’s aim is to enable developers to iterate quickly and bring their copilot ideas to life effectively.
Also read: Microsoft Build 2023: Bing search engine to be built into ChatGPT and much more
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