Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor, is looking at ways to integrate ChatGPT, the OpenAI artificial intelligence, into Office apps. Microsoft has already incorporated an unknown version of OpenAI’s text-generating GPT model into Word in its autocomplete feature, and has been working on integrating it further into Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
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According to other reports, Microsoft has also been using ChatGPT to improve Outlook search results so that users can more easily find what they are looking for. This negates the need for users to use specific keywords in emails. Microsoft could also potentially use the technology to suggest replies to emails or recommend document changes to improve Word users’ writing. It’s not clear if Microsoft plans to launch these features, or if it’s just experimentation for now.
While it is potentially a powerful addition to the Office suite of apps, there will be several major challenges to do it well. The biggest among which is accuracy. ChatGPT still has a tendency to present incorrect information as fact, which would make any type of document creation or advanced integration difficult.
The use cases are certainly there, however. Imagine Outlook writing an email to your colleagues explaining you’re not coming into work, based purely on a “write an email to my team explaining I’m out sick” query. Microsoft is also reportedly planning to launch a version of Bing that uses ChatGPT to answer search queries. This new feature could be available as soon as March, in a bid to make Bing more competitive with Google.
“AI is going to reinvent how you do everything on Windows,” said Panos Panay, Microsoft’s Windows and Surface chief, on stage at CES last week. Microsoft’s Surface team has been willing to build new hardware to take advantage of AI, including the new Surface smart camera.
