46 COVER STORY usage. In a pilot group, we saw a 9.4 per cent increase in revenue per seller and a 20 per cent increase in closed deals. Scaling that success involved maintaining at least 60 per cent daily active usage through change management, habit-building campaigns and a culture of experimentation. The ROI became our ‘why?’, and organisations succeed when they invest in both technology and people.” Microsoft is also focusing on how AI initiatives can be designed to be approachable for people who aren’t necessarily inclined to be early adopters of the technology. “We’re working to ensure that AI is not just for the digitally mature, but for every organisation, regardless of size or starting point,” says Maynard. “With Microsoft’s support, even industries once considered ‘late adopters’ of technology are now realising concrete gains from AI – whether it’s a city government saving millions in staff time or a small farming community getting expert advice via an AI chatbot.” The city of San Francisco has deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat to nearly 30,000 employees – from nurses to social workers. This decision was taken following a six-month pilot that saw users saving up to five hours of time per week. Tech manufacturer Lenovo has implemented AI-driven assistance in Dynamics 365 Customer Service with Copilot, reducing case handling time by 20 per cent and increasing agent productivity by 15 per cent. “By embedding Azure AI into their support workflow, Lenovo ensures customers get quick, accurate help, boosting their confidence and loyalty,” says Maynard. It’s not just large organisations that are looking to unlock the benefits of AI. Smaller businesses are realising its potential too, often with the support of Microsoft partners. “Partners bring deep industry expertise, local context and the ability to scale impact in ways we simply couldn’t do alone,” says Maynard. “Whether it’s co-innovating solutions, driving adoption or supporting change management, our partners are critical to helping customers realise the full value of AI. This is especially true in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) channel with over 500,000 partners globally, the reach of our partner ecosystem is unmatched in tapping into the opportunity of that market.” These partnerships unlock economic potential. In the UK alone, SMBs adopting AI could deliver £78.1 billion in productivity gains by 2035, according to Microsoft and WPI Strategy’s report on Unlocking Regional Growth. Partners like Connection, Melissa and SAP are already enabling SMBs to overcome cost, skills and awareness barriers, delivering tailored AI-powered solutions. Maynard emphasises that deploying AI technology at scale requires careful attention to safety, ethics and governance. “Billions of people depend on Microsoft every day from their doctor’s office to their flights and food supply,” she says. “There’s a lot of responsibility for us to do the right thing. Our AI tools are built with guardrails, transparency and governance at their core, helping customers embed security, privacy and responsible AI principles into their own solutions.” McKinsey’s The state of AI report suggests companies are preparing accordingly, with 13 per cent hiring AI compliance specialists and six per cent hiring AI ethics specialists. Looking ahead, Microsoft is expecting advances in agentic AI. “We’ve done a lot to scale AI as a personal assistant,” says Maynard. “What’s next is reasoning where the agent will retrieve data, analyse it and make recommendations just like a human colleague.” Specialised agents like Researcher and Analyst in Microsoft 365 Copilot are already supporting complex decision-making, while AI agents will increasingly manage sales territories, supplier negotiations and marketing campaigns. New human roles, such as ‘agent managers’, will oversee strategy while AI runs day-to-day operations. “Transformation plans that used to span five years are now happening in six months,” says Maynard. “Although we aren’t there yet, it’s a journey and we’re excited to see how AI has shortened innovation cycles. To continue our progress, it’ll be down to maintaining an experimentation mindset.” “ To continue our progress, it’ll be down to maintaining an experimentation mindset”
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