In an effort to accelerate the use of generative AI in business settings, Microsoft and IT services company Cognizant have strengthened their partnership. Their goal is to make Microsoft's Copilot and generative AI technologies more accessible to millions of users, transforming workplace operations, enhancing employee engagement, and spurring innovation across a range of sectors.

To achieve this goal, Cognizant has purchased 25,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot tickets for its workers, along with 500 seats for Sales Copilot and 500 seats for Services Copilot. The objectives of this strategic investment are to redefine customer interactions, increase efficiency, and streamline procedures.

Microsoft 365 Copilot will be made available to a million customers by Cognizant in their worldwide clientele of 2000, spanning 11 sectors. 35,000 Cognizant developers have received training on GitHub Copilot through the company's Synapse skilling program, and 40,000 more developers are scheduled to receive training.

With the potential to contribute significantly to the $1 trillion that artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to add to the US GDP over the next ten years, this cooperation between Cognizant and Microsoft might bring significant innovation to business clients. Additionally, this collaboration may greatly quicken India's embrace of AI and innovation. By2025, AI is predicted to increase India's GDP by $400–500 billion, or 10% of the country's GDP target of USD 5 trillion.

"Generative AI has the potential to be a game-changer for almost every business in every industry, opening up new possibilities for innovation, efficiency, and growth," says Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant. For this reason, we are spearheading the creation of fresh research and spending $1 billion in generative AI over the next three years to investigate its possibilities for our clients, their staff, and final consumers. We're dedicated to assisting them in realizing the potential of generative AI at scale, and Microsoft Copilot is a tried-and-true solution that can yield revolutionary benefits by unleashing talent and potential in ways that are beyond our wildest dreams.

According to Microsoft senior vice president and chief commercial officer Judson Althoff, "our expanded partnership with Cognizant will help organizations harness generative AI to transform business operations, enhance employee experiences, and deliver new value for customers." "We will help drive AI adoption and innovation for millions of users across its network by combining Cognizant's industry expertise with Microsoft's Copilot capabilities, including Copilot for Microsoft 365 and GitHub Copilot."

Using Copilot Studio, a platform that lets users create and customize their own industry-and business-function-specific Copilots by leveraging generative AI large language models, business applications, and enterprise data, Cognizant and Microsoft will work together to deliver industry-specific solutions. Applications from a variety of sectors, including healthcare, financial services, retail and consumer products, life sciences, manufacturing, and communications and media, will be given priority by the two.