Microsoft’s new AI features my hands-on experience and the top 5 most useful ones

Microsoft's new AI features my hands-on experience and the top 5 most useful ones

Microsoft Unveils New AI Features to Enhance Productivity

At Microsoft’s recent fall event, the company wowed attendees with its unveiling of major AI products designed to enhance productivity and simplify workflows. From Copilot and an updated Windows 11 to Microsoft 365 Chat, these new offerings are capable of performing a myriad of tasks. While the AI landscape is teeming with solutions promising to improve workflow, not all of them deliver as expected. However, after experiencing these new Microsoft AI features firsthand, I am pleased to report that five of them stand out as genuinely helpful for solving real-world problems. Let’s take a closer look at these innovations and how they can benefit users.

Bing Chat Personalized Answers – The Smarter Chatbot

Bing Chat Personalized Answers is reminiscent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Custom Instructions feature, but with a clever twist. By leveraging the content from your previous conversations, Bing Chat can provide new answers without requiring you to repeat the same guidelines repeatedly. For instance, if you mentioned in a previous conversation that you have a shellfish allergy, Bing Chat will automatically filter out recipes containing shellfish when you ask for recipe ideas. This context-awareness saves you from having to be overly specific every time you interact with the chatbot, simplifying the prompt writing process. Unlike ChatGPT’s alternative, where you have to manually enter the instruction for all prompts, Bing Chat’s Personalized Answers remembers the information you have previously given and uses it as context in producing answers. Should you not want Bing Chat to refer back to certain conversations, you can easily delete them from your chat history.

DALLE-3 Supported Bing Image Creator – Enhanced Image Generation

Bing Image Creator has received an upgrade with the support of DALLE-3, OpenAI’s most advanced image-generating model. This enhancement enables Bing’s Image Creator to better understand user prompts and generate more accurate and detailed images, resulting in reduced blurriness and warped details. What sets this offering apart is its seamless integration with Microsoft Designer, akin to Canva. This integration allows users to open the higher-quality image renditions directly from Bing Chat using the new “Start a Design” option. This streamlined workflow is particularly advantageous for projects such as flyers, social media posts, banners, and more. Furthermore, to combat the spread of misinformation often associated with AI-generated images, Bing’s images will now display content credentials in the form of a tag that says “Generated with AI.”

Microsoft Shopping Assistant – Guided Shopping Experience

Before you dismiss this feature, let me assure you that the Microsoft Shopping Assistant impressed me with its capabilities. Designed to guide users to find exactly what they’re looking for, this assistant poses specific questions to narrow down search results. For instance, if you indicate that you’re in the market for new fall boots, the assistant will follow up by asking about the desired type and color, refining the search with each interaction until you find the perfect product. Additionally, the assistant can create charts comparing product specifications and prices, aiding in making informed purchasing decisions. While the Microsoft Shopping Experience is accessible through any browser, for additional functionality like price trends and coupons, users will need to utilize Microsoft Edge. As someone who often gets frustrated scrolling aimlessly through search engines without finding a product that meets all my criteria, this feature will undoubtedly become a go-to for me.

The New Paint Tool – AI Gives It a Facelift

The Paint tool, often overlooked in Windows applications, is finally receiving a much-needed AI facelift. It now includes a background removal tool that can isolate the subject of a picture within seconds, allowing users to layer it onto other images or projects. The standout feature, however, is the new Cocreator functionality, which incorporates generative AI into the Paint experience. With this tool, users can simply describe the image they want, and within seconds, the AI will generate it for them to incorporate into their projects. This enhancement elevates Paint from being an ignored application to one users will actively reach for when working on their creative endeavors.

Copilot in Word – Your Writing Assistant

Copilot, residing in Microsoft Word, is an incredibly capable tool that could potentially raise concerns around plagiarism and distinguishing between human and AI-generated work. It assists users at every stage of the writing process, offering detailed, bulleted lists for summarizing and documenting information. It also acts as a writing assistant, providing multiple options for rewriting text and allowing users to adjust the tone to their liking. Furthermore, Copilot can generate full documents based on existing content in your Microsoft workspace. While these features undoubtedly offer convenience for professionals dealing with mundane document writing, they might pose ethical considerations regarding writing policies for certain use cases. Lastly, Copilot in Word can generate and modify tables effortlessly, simplifying data presentation.

These innovative AI features from Microsoft have the potential to significantly enhance productivity and improve workflows across various industries. From context-aware chatbots to streamlined image creation, guided shopping experiences, empowered creativity tools, and comprehensive writing assistance, these developments represent Microsoft’s commitment to harnessing AI’s potential to simplify and optimize everyday tasks. As AI continues to evolve, it’s exciting to see how technologies like these will shape our future, making our lives more efficient and enjoyable.

• artificial intelligence
• Innovation