U.K. based telecom giant Vodafone has expanded its strategic partnership with Microsoft by implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot AI software across 68,000 employees globally. This move aims to enhance productivity, innovation, and digital efficiency, as confirmed by Microsoft in a recent release.
The generative AI (GenAI) tool is designed to optimize workflows, freeing employees from monotonous tasks to focus on more creative and engaging work. Vodafone has already embraced Microsoft’s GenAI technology for personalized customer services, such as transforming its online chatbot, TOBi, used in 13 countries.
The latest collaboration will see Microsoft 365 Copilot integrated into various business areas, including customer service, product development, network management, and sales and marketing. Microsoft 365 Copilot integrates GenAI into productivity apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and OneDrive, enabling tasks such as drafting emails, analyzing data, summarizing meetings, generating marketing content, and creating imagery.
Scott Petty, CTO at Vodafone, elaborated: “Our AI journey is focusing on three areas: operational efficiency inside the organization, rewiring the business to provide an enhanced customer experience, and unlocking growth opportunities through new products and services created around generative AI.”
An initial trial, conducted in collaboration with Microsoft and KPMG, revealed increased productivity among users. This was evidenced by time saved on drafting communications, summarizing meetings, identifying action points, and quickly accessing information. “It’s not about doing more work but about doing better quality work and being more customer-focused,” said Petty.
Clare Barclay, CEO at Microsoft UK, commented, “Generative AI is transforming every industry, and we look forward to unlocking the benefits this powerful technology will bring to all aspects of Vodafone’s business.”
This recent deployment follows a 10-year strategic partnership agreement between Vodafone and Microsoft, signed in January 2024. Under this agreement, the companies committed to enhancing the customer experience through Microsoft’s generative AI, scaling Vodafone’s standalone IoT business, developing new services for SMEs, and continuing Vodafone’s data migration to Microsoft Azure. Vodafone pledged an investment of $1.5 billion over the next decade in cloud and AI services created in collaboration with Microsoft.
