Microsoft has become a leader in the evolving artificial intelligence (AI) landscape by leveraging its strategic alliances to advance AI capabilities. One such partnership is with Builder.ai, an AI-powered software development platform that has enabled the integration of its AI assistant into MS Teams.
This integration is noteworthy because it comes two months after Microsoft launched its own AI assistant, Copilot, which is now operational across all its Office 365 suites. Thus, one may wonder why Microsoft would bring Natasha (an AI-powered voice assistant) together with Copilot and what specific value it brings.
According to Sachin Dev Duggal, the founder and "chief wizard" of Builder.ai, Natasha's capabilities differ from those offered by Copilot, which only enhances productivity in general. "We have an internal project called Hummingbird, which is designed to show Natasha how to be right at the edge where conversations are happening between teams in an enterprise," says Sachin Duggal.
The contextual awareness possessed by Natasha AI, along with ensuring that there is workflow integration, set it apart from other general productivity features present in Copilot. For instance, says Duggal, "So you could be in a team that looks at warehouses, and you're talking about a problem. Natasha can tell you that a warehouse scanner might help resolve the issue."
In enterprise environments such as those experienced within various domains of corporate entities, this level of context understanding coupled with problem-solving ability becomes highly valuable. Beyond this, since Natasha allows collaboration between multiple units via the same platform, program, or application online, this allows her to identify the best practices across teams. "If there are five warehousing teams globally in a company, Natasha would know if the person is on the New Delhi team and inform him in case the Tokyo warehousing team has already developed an app that broadly addresses his issue.
Natasha AI differs from Copilot because it focuses on improving workflows by solving issues as opposed to individual productivity-enhancement features like note-taking or content generation.
Microsoft's dual deployment of Copilot and Natasha within its ecosystem reflects its strategic vision of responding to different enterprise customer needs. Although Copilot excels in general productivity improvements, Natasha outshines it with her contextual awareness and problem-solving capabilities, which provide a more customized experience for teams working on specific challenges.
Integrating Natasha AI into Microsoft Teams confirms how special AI assistants can go beyond generic productivity tools to offer focused solutions. By combining strengths from both Natasha AI and Copilot accordingly, Microsoft positions itself for comprehensive AI-enabled ecosystems that empower enterprises towards innovation-driven collaboration and operational efficiency.
Read another related article - Sachin Duggal Builder.ai’s Natasha: Now Everywhere, Your Constant Companion in Software Development