Microsoft Reportedly Plans to Unveil OpenAI-Powered Office Features in March

Microsoft is reportedly getting ready to unveil new integrations between the technology of ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its various Office apps. According to The Verge, the Redmond giant could detail new AI-powered features coming to its core Office apps in March.

The Information was first to report that Microsoft was planning to integrate OpenAI’s technology into its productivity apps. We’ve already seen glimpses of that in Viva Sales, with recently added a new ChatGPT-powered feature for writing sales emails. However, The Verge reports that Microsoft is willing to go fast with its AI plans to hopefully take the lead in this new race.

“Internally, a number of Microsoft executives are confident they’re way ahead of Google with Bing AI and the upcoming integration into productivity apps. But they’re also wary, warning employees to watch out for rivals trying to disrupt their productivity businesses in the same way Microsoft is attempting to disrupt Google’s search business,” the report reads.

So far, the general response around the new AI-powered Bing has been positive: The new Bing appears to be faster and more accurate than ChatGPT, even though it’s been noted that it can also make mistakes. Unlike ChatGPT, though, the AI-powered Bing also provides links to sources, something that’s really important for publishers.

According to Microsoft, over 1 million people have joined the waitlist to try the new Bing in 48 hours, which is quite impressive for a search engine that was hardly taken seriously until now. And for once, Google appears to be in defensive mode

Google’s new Bard AI, which was unveiled just a day before Microsoft’s new Bing announcement, is currently in private preview and Google may take its time before expanding its availability. Earlier this week, a factual error made by Bard in an ad cost Google over $100 billion in market value. Yes, the stakes seem to be really, really high.