Microsoft Developing New Tools to Help Small Businesses Leverage Artificial Intelligence

Small businesses are using artificial intelligence tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard to check grammar in emails, improve marketing copy, and research business plans.

More importantly, large companies are developing tools specifically designed to help small businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their operations in more advanced ways.

Microsoft's Copilot allows users to request software to perform tasks such as summarizing emails or team meetings, suggesting key topics in documents, or drafting emails in a conversational tone in Outlook.

The service charges $30 per employee per month, and recently Microsoft has expanded the scope of this service from companies with at least 300 employees to all companies, so small businesses, and even "sole proprietors" without employees, can use Microsoft 365's Copilot.

Meanwhile, MasterCard is piloting a product called MasterCard Small Business AI, which aims to help small businesses analyze data and provide other resources to help them grow their businesses.

It uses information from MasterCard's content library as well as licensed information from media companies focused on inclusivity, including digital media company Blavity Media Group and Spanish-language media company TelevisaUnivision, to answer small businesses' inquiries.

Mastercard plans to pilot the tool in the United States later this year and then roll it out to international markets.