Microsoft Build 2023: AI and developer tools take center stage

Microsoft Build 2023 is here, and this year the company is emphasizing AI in all its forms. So far, 2023 is a year punctuated with notable AI announcements even as parts of the tech sector registered flagging growth and layoffs. For Microsoft, continued cloud growth is a promise of continued stability in the market, and generative AI with large language model capabilities provide a path to future growth.

Microsoft’s main AI milestones this year include the joint announcement of ChatGPT with OpenAI in January, AI-powered Bing and Edge searches in February, as well as the introduction of Dynamics 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot for Power Platform.

Throughout the event, Microsoft plans to focus on copilots and plugins. OpenAI is supporting interoperability between ChatGPT and Microsoft copilot offerings. Plugins also offer developers a way to integrate offerings with Microsoft 365, tie-ins for service like OpenTable, Zillow, and WolframAlpha, as well as 50 partner-created plugins.

“We believe the copilot represents both a new paradigm in AI-powered software and a profound shift in the way that software is built – from imagining new product scenarios, to the user experience, the architecture, the services that it uses and how to think about safety and security. Plugins are tools first introduced for ChatGPT, and more recently Bing, which augment the capabilities of AI systems, enabling them to interact with application programming interfaces,” stated Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft chief communications officer, in a blog post.

Azure OpenAI Service launched earlier this year and now has 4,500 customers. To bolster AI development, Microsoft announced Azure AI Studio to integrate external data to Azure OpenAI Service. Machine Learning prompt flow provides parallel capabilities to construct prompts with open-source technology like Semantic Kernel.