Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman shared his vision for AI companions during his first visit to India, emphasising how AI will transform digital experiences by offering personalised, supportive interactions. Speaking at the "Microsoft Building AI Companions for India" event in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Suleyman outlined AI's potential to make individuals "smarter and more capable," moving beyond utilitarian software.
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AI Companions to Personalise Digital Experiences
He highlighted how AI companions are set to create a new class of digital experience, aligned to each person's interests and unlike anything that technology has created before.
"For too long, software has principally been utilitarian. My personal vision for AI has always been about how it can be a companion that can make each and every one of us feel more supported and smarter and more capable," he said, addressing the gathering.
Enhancing Productivity and Efficiency
Suleyman introduced Microsoft's refreshed Copilot, launched last month, which enables real-time AI-human interaction. The new Copilot Daily feature, launched in October in select countries, offers personalised news, further showcasing this shift.
Copilot is transforming productivity, efficiency, and outcomes for individuals and organisations with 87 percent of Copilot users saying it helped them be more productive," the company said.
"We now have evidence at scale," said Microsoft India and South Asia president, Puneet Chandok. "AI is out of the labs and driving productivity, impacting lives and livelihoods."
Puneet Chandok highlighted AI's impact on businesses and communities, citing successful projects like the Sikshana Foundation's AI copilot for teachers and ITC's Krishi Mitra chatbot, which assists farmers.
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Chandok reportedly spoke about how entire sectors are being reinvented with generative AI, illustrating it with how leading IT firms are leveraging Copilot to streamline software development, transform customer experiences and employee reskilling. "But it's not just about commerce, it’s about communities," he added.
AI’s Impact on Education and Agriculture in India
The Sikshana Foundation and Microsoft Research India's AI copilot has helped teachers make more engaging lesson plans and crunch the time taken for it from 90 minutes to 90 seconds. The Krishi Mitra chatbot from ITC is helping farmers improve agricultural output. "This is just the beginning of AI's journey in India and we are proud to be building an AI-powered nation, one transformative step at a time," Chandok said.
Suleyman also emphasised India's role in global AI innovation, noting the country's strong talent pool and diverse team, which includes engineers, social scientists, and creatives.
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AI Companions: Personal Relationships
Speaking to Copilot's productivity, Suleyman added that AI will put knowledge at everyone's fingertips, synthesised, distilled, and personally tuned to how an individual wants to learn and use information – and that applies in the workplace as much as it applies at home. "M365 Copilot, for example, already does an incredible job of reasoning over your work data," he added.
In the future, Suleyman said, "people will form meaningful relationships with their AI companions." He predicted that AI will not only reshape the workplace but also foster deeper relationships between people and their AI companions. He stressed the importance of prioritising safety and security as AI evolves.
