unlock markets we simply couldn’t reach before. It’s a new business model for scale.” This transformation reflects a broader market trend. McKinsey & Company’s 2025 The State of AI report notes that large enterprises are accelerating AI adoption by hiring new AI-related roles, retraining staff and embedding AI into customer-facing processes. Deloitte experts highlight that while AI’s role in customer service is still emerging, its potential is vast, with the market projected to reach $2.1 million by 2032, growing at 24 per cent annually since 2023. There are possibilities at every stage of the customer journey. “Generative AI revolutionises the post-service stage by providing businesses with intelligent, proactive support,” writes Bob van den Berg, lead creative technologist at Deloitte Digital and Yuxin Fan, strategy consultant at Monitor Deloitte, in a Deloitte article titled ‘How Generative AI Will Change the Way We Do Customer Service’. Combined with the internet of things, AI can enable real-time monitoring, risk detection and personalised remediation, enhancing satisfaction while reducing support demand. There are now examples of AI enhancing customer engagement in practice across the world. Over 21,000 employees at Grupo Bimbo, a Mexican multinational food company, have used Microsoft AI to create 7,000 power apps, 18,000 processes and 650 agents to automate low-value tasks and save the firm tens of millions annually in traditional development efforts and operational efficiencies. In Brazil, Bradesco Bank has integrated Azure’s generative AI into its virtual assistant, achieving an 82 per cent first-level resolution rate and an 89 per cent retention rate in its first week. Meanwhile in Canada, software firm Visma has adopted GitHub Copilot and Azure DevOps to develop code up to 50 per cent faster, improving customer retention and time to market. For Microsoft, the results speak for themselves. Its own Azure call centre has reduced case resolution times by nearly 12 per cent with Microsoft Copilot, while a selfservice agent has improved self-help success rates by up to 37 per cent. “Early experiments are demonstrating productivity gains across front office and corporate functions,” says Maynard. “Now it’s about structuring portfolio roadmaps that tie use cases strongly to return of investment (ROI), embedding AI into process flows and work.” In marketing, the shift is toward hyperpersonalisation. “Generative AI can help brands deliver highly individual experiences at scale, leading to significantly higher engagement and conversions,” says Paul Longo, general manager of AI ads at Microsoft Advertising. Research from Microsoft Advertising also shows that incorporating overlooked data sources in campaign strategies can strengthen trust, brand loyalty and customer retention. In finance, teams are using generative AI to reconcile data from multiple sources, streamline forecasting, and gain real-time insights into spend and performance. “We’re seeing early pilots accelerate close cycles and reduce manual effort, freeing teams to focus on strategic analysis,” says Maynard. By relying on its own tools, Microsoft can test and refine them within its own operations and pass those experiences onto customers. “It’s not just about testing features; it’s about living the transformation we’re asking our customers to make,” says Maynard. A case in point is Microsoft’s rollout of Sales Chat in Microsoft 365 Copilot in spring 2025. Starting with a pilot of 60 sellers, the tool’s popularity spread purely through word of mouth, expanding to 900 users in just over a month before any official campaign. By consolidating scattered data, answering questions and helping generate pipeline, Sales Chat has become an indispensable tool for Microsoft’s own sales teams. The success of the Sales Chat pilot reflects Microsoft’s wider approach to deploying AI internally by starting small, proving value quickly and scaling based on impact. “Tangible ROI often helps unlock people’s resistance to change,” says Maynard. “For example, when we first rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot across our sales teams, we looked at the effect of high “ It’s not just about testing features; it’s about living the transformation we’re asking our customers to make” 45
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