Welcome to the AI Copilot Podcast, analyzing the latest AI Copilot and agent developments from Microsoft and its partners, delving into customer use cases, and exploring how AI plus the Cloud helps customers reimagine their business.

In this episode, Grant Dess, Director of Technical Sales for Business Applications at Microsoft, discusses the upcoming AI Agent & Copilot Summit with Tom Smith. Dess is a member of the event’s programming committee.

Highlights

Role in AI and the Microsoft Business Apps Community (01:13)

Dess’ experience includes being an end-user and system administrator. In his role at Microsoft, he focuses on traditional business applications like CRM and ERP systems, as well as AI and Copilot features.

Most Compelling AI Projects (02:43)

Microsoft’s commitment to being “customer zero” for Copilot informs the company’s internal adoption and learning process — including its transformational impact on work processes. Microsoft uses Copilot features in context of Teams to prompt and transcribe calls, enhancing efficiency and decision-making.

He calls out a project with Microsoft partner C5 Insight, which developed a virtual assistant AI bot that integrates with Teams and leads conversations, providing real-time insights. The virtual assistant can answer questions in real-time, pulling data from various sources, and how this has reduced the number of follow-up tasks in meetings.

AI Agent & Copilot Summit is an AI-first event to define opportunities, impact, and outcomes with Microsoft Copilot and agents. Building on its 2025 success, the 2026 event takes place March 17-19 in San Diego. Get more details.

Excitement, Advice Around AI Agent & Copilot Summit (08:14)

Dess is excited to learn from others in the business applications market and he highlights the importance of being open to unexpected insights and connections at the conference. He speaks to the value of networking and peer-to-peer connectiong, which can become long-lasting relationships.

2025 Copilot/Agent Outlook and Predictions (10:25)

He compares the future of AI and copilots to the role of Excel wizards in organizations, suggesting that the next wave will involve managing teams of agents to connect data sources and make quick decisions.

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