Apparently, Microsoft is experimenting with building OpenAI’s language AI technology into Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. According to The Information, Microsoft has already incorporated an unknown version of OpenAI’s text-generating GPT model into Word as part of its autocomplete feature, and is working to integrate it further into Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Using OpenAI’s GPT technology, Microsoft has improved Outlook search results so users do not have to search for keywords in emails to find what they are looking for. In addition, Microsoft has reportedly considered using artificial intelligence models to suggest replies to emails or recommend document changes to improve Word users’ writing skills. The company doesn’t know if these features will be available soon, or if they are just experimenting.
Microsoft is reportedly set to introduce functionality commonly found in ChatGPT, last year’s headline-grabbing conversational AI, into Outlook which could enable it to compose mails based on just brief inquiries. For instance, you could ask it to write a note to your team say that you are ill and it would do it for you. Furthermore, an upcoming adaptation of Bing powered by ChatGPT might launch as early as March this year in order to make the search engine more competitive against Google.
Building GPT into Office apps is a challenge for Microsoft
With the addition of advanced AI text-generation features to Microsoft’s productivity apps, the company faces many challenges, including accuracy. Despite its best efforts, ChatGPT still tends to present inaccurate information as fact, making advanced integration and document creation difficult.
The other major hurdle is privacy. Using GPT-3 and the unreleased GPT-4, Microsoft has been developing privacy-preserving models that will be tailored to individual users without compromising their data, according to The Information. In the past, Microsoft researchers have trained large language models on private data with success.
OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 image generation model could be used to scrape and summarize information from Teams Meeting transcripts, and Microsoft could add images to PowerPoint presentations derived from these models. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was reportedly presented with researchers’ Office integration work, but it’s unclear whether or when these GPT- or Dall-E 2-powered models will be available for Office.
In its productivity apps, Microsoft already uses artificial intelligence. A number of AI algorithms are used by Word and PowerPoint to suggest captions for images and slide decks, Microsoft Teams improves echo, interruptions, and acoustics with AI, and Microsoft developed an AI-powered code autocomplete two years ago with GPT-3. In addition to spellchecking, grammar checking, and text prediction, Microsoft Editor also uses artificial intelligence.
After investing $1 billion into OpenAI in 2019, Microsoft acquired the exclusive license to GPT-3 in 2020. Since then, it has forged a deep partnership with OpenAI, including plans to integrate OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 text-to-image model into Bing.
During last week’s CES, Microsoft’s Windows and Surface chief Panos Panay said, “AI is going to revolutionize Windows.” In a recent Verge interview, several members of Microsoft’s Surface team discussed the impact AI will have on Windows and hardware. The Surface team has been willing to build new hardware to take advantage of AI.
It would represent a rapid commercialization of OpenAI’s GPT models if Microsoft were to implement GPT-powered versions of Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. PowerApps (Microsoft’s first commercial application that uses GPT) will soon be joined by Bing with AI-based search results. Incorporating OpenAI’s language models into Office and Bing would put huge pressure on Google, which dominates search and has been making inroads with Workspace offerings.
