Microsoft has revealed that the company has implemented “thousands” of external and internal AI agents.
The news was confirmed in a post on LinkedIn by Microsoft’s Corporate VP of Business and Industry Copilot, Charles Lamanna.
Lamanna claimed that the vendor is “making big strides with Copilot and agents,” which is allowing Microsoft to help companies reshape business operations, enhance employee workflows, and gain better access to AI development.
In expounding on how the agents are delivering, the Microsoft man explained that the Copilot landing page includes an AI agent to assist with product inquiries.
Moreover, on Azure.com, the tech firm has developed an AI agent that enhances customer support and product discovery, leading to a 70 percent boost in page visits per session and a 21.5 percent rise in conversions.
Similar agents are live on Microsoft Fabric and Power Platform landing pages.
Lamanna also highlighted how the tech was being utilized within his own department:
On my team, we use agents to assist with product development, business planning and HR needs.
“I also have an agent that I use before every customer meeting to get ready and catch up on past conversations.”
In total, over 160,000 organizations have used Copilot Studio, creating more than 400,000 custom agents last quarter alone.
Amongst these organizations, Lamanna namechecked the likes of Dow, Holland America Line, and Pets at Home.
The Microsoft-Salesforce War of Words Continues
Interestingly, Lamanna chose to post these remarks less than two days after Salesforce’s latest earnings call, where CEO Marc Benioff once again took shots at Microsoft.
During the call, Benioff was asked a question relating to recent remarks made by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, where he had suggested that AI agents could make traditional business applications obsolete.
Speaking on a podcast at the end of last year, Nadella argued that SaaS applications – which are a crucial part of Salesforce’s offering – are essentially CRUD databases with business logic, which AI agents may eventually handle independently.
Benioff clearly took umbrage with Nadella’s comments. He confirmed that he had “watched the podcast you [the questioner] watched,” and described the idea of SaaS becoming obsolete as a “Microsoft narrative.”
He followed this with a familiar attack on Microsoft’s Copilot, once again branding it as “repackaged ChatGPT” and questioning where Microsoft was delivering agents.
Given this context, Lamanna’s post appears to be a direct response to Benioff, with the Salesforce man even being tagged in the post:
“In my role, I get to see this transformation firsthand across Microsoft and every industry – despite any doubts you may have heard from Marc Benioff.”
This back-and-forth is the latest in a months-long feud between the two companies, which has seen Benioff repeatedly target Microsoft’s copilot solution.
In fact, in Salesforce’s previous earnings call, the CEO stated that many customers were “disappointed” with their Copilot purchases.
While he has also taken to X to criticize the tool for “spilling data everywhere” – comparing it to “Clippy 2.0,” referencing Mircrosoft’s notorious virtual assistant from the 1990s.
More News from Microsoft
Earlier this month, Microsoft reported that it was experiencing “rapid growth” in the CCaaS market just seven months after launching Dynamics 365 Contact Center.
While the company hasn’t disclosed the size of its install base, notable customers include 1-800 Flowers, Lenovo, and the Mediterranean Shipping Company.
Microsoft has also integrated the platform into its own customer service operations, replacing Genesys in 2024.
Elsewhere, Microsoft recently announced that it will be discontinuing Smart Assist in Dynamics 365 Customer Service by late 2025.
The feature, which provides real-time recommendations to contact center agents, is being phased out in favor of Copilot.
