Microsoft’s Nadella: AI Agents Serve as ‘Chiefs of Staff’

Microsoft has reportedly learned that the ability of artificial intelligence to complete tasks that people find boring is the strongest selling point of the technology.

Rather than talking about AI’s benefits in the abstract, the company’s sales reps promote its ability to do things like create PowerPoint slides, reconcile bank invoices and review warehouse inventory, Bloomberg reported Thursday (May 15).

The report said 70% of Fortune 500 companies are using Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot, and highlighted ways some are using the technology.

Estée Lauder Companies uses the product to handle the details involved with hiring and is exploring ways for it to help manage ingredients, product lines and supplies; Nestlé SA uses the AI assistant to compare contracts and perform translations; and Raiffeisen Bank International uses it in Teams to generate meeting summaries, according to the report.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told Bloomberg he uses Copilot to chat about the content of podcasts, summarize messages he receives in Outlook and Teams, and perform tasks like meeting prep and research. He said custom agents from Copilot Studio serve as his “AI chiefs of staff.”

Nestlé SA CIO Christopher Wright said in the report that if AI saves an employee 10 minutes a day, it covers the cost of that subscription.

Estée Lauder Executive Vice President, Chief Value Chain Officer Roberto Canevari said Copilot’s summary of a 30-page operations report was almost as good as one he wrote himself.

“For Microsoft, these moments — when a customer realizes Copilot can do something genuinely useful for them — are essential,” the report said.

It was reported May 1 that Microsoft’s strategy to install AI as a default feature on its software may be paying off, as the company saw a 10% rise in its revenue from consumer subscriptions to Office 365 in the three months ending in March compared to a year ago.

Microsoft said during an April 30 earnings call that it will continue investing in capital expenditures throughout its fiscal year 2026 after seeing its cloud and AI offerings lead its revenue gains in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said the company’s efforts are also centered on “focused execution that delivers near-term value to our customers.”

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