Day 2 of AI Agent & Copilot Summit underscored the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence, copilots, and agents, beginning with the opening keynote between Microsoft CVP, Bryan Goode, and Cloud Wars Founder, Bob Evans.
Goode outlined the impact and differentiation between Copilots (for personal productivity) and agents (for business processes) and noted that the “pace of things right now is faster than ever.” 6-12 months ago, companies we’re facing the question of “Should I be using AI?” Fast forward to today, companies are now looking for guidance in combining agents and copilots to maximize business productivity.
“It took a long, long time to get to 100 million users of electricity… it took a long time to get to 100 million users of the telephone… It took a long time to get to 100 million users of the internet… then it was faster for mobile, faster for social, and it’s an order of magnitude faster that’s in benchmark for AI. It’s not just that it feels like things are happening quickly, it literally is moving quickly.”
He advised attendees to take an intentional approach with applications and use cases of AI, as that’s what Microsoft is “seeing is the best,” and aligns with the company’s vision of a “firm of the future,” which will be agent-first, calling on human intervention when needed.
sa.global was an early adopter of AI technologies, explained CEO Stephen James, who believes AI helps deliver on the vision of what ERP is supposed to be. A bleeding-edge company as it relates to AI adoption, James explained that sa.global’s investments in AI initially struggled to get traction, but through the introduction of ChatGPT, the solutions it developed could be “lifted and shifted into a new context.”
James noted the boundless opportunities for AI, but also acknowledged the challenges of AI adoption – while the technology is growing, adoption is flatlining.
“As an organization, how can we help clients move the adoption line closer to the technological advancements?”
Beyond the data and tools, AI adoption is also impacted by organizational challenges. To simply focus on the “tools and technology approach, you’ll never be able to unlock the transformational value.”
Diane Gardner of Two Pillars Consulting shared with attendees how to present their AI use cases to the C-Suite and Board of Directors, who face the paradigm of “Being anxious about moving forward, and anxious about not moving forward” with AI.
Gardner outlined the various roles, responsibilities, and reporting structures of executive management, before outlining the golden rule – know who you’re talking to and your company’s culture.
“Being realistic about the stage your company is in will help craft your purpose,” she suggested, and “don’t underestimate the impact of your company culture on how these projects will be viewed.”
Aside from the ethical considerations and impact on human capital management, Gardner shared 10 key things to address when presenting an AI use case:
Microsoft’s Dewain Robinson and AIS’ Prashant Bhoyar discussed when and how to build agents, leveraging the best of Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry.
The two discussed the fundamental differences between Azure AI Services, Azure AI Foundry, and Copilot Studio, and explained which platform is best for creating copilots, which are built by Microsoft, and agents, which are built by users.
Robinson was clear in expressing the company’s vision for copilots and agents; every employee will have a Copilot, and every business will have an agent, that’s connected to Copilot or autonomous.
Attendees heard from other partners throughout the day, including execs from Vixxo and Ludia Consulting, who gave an update on its VITA app, and shared lessons learned from the app’s rollout.
Further Michael Simms of Columbus and Miyoshi Tokuno of Mad Engine defined the collaborative efforts in deploying AI to create new opportunities for employees, allowing them to focus on higher-level tasks.
During their data innovation profile, Simms and Tokuno outlined how combining various generative AI, data, and Azure tools enabled Mad Engine to reduce workload times from 6+ months to just days.
To round out the conference, attendees heard from Lambert Hogenhout, Chief of Data and AI at the United Nations, for a discussion on what it means to be human in the world of AI. Emphasizing the need for human authenticity, he left attendees with tangible advice – to always be intentional.
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