Microsoft Touts $500 Million in AI Savings While Slashing Jobs
During a presentation this week, Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff said artificial intelligence tools are boosting productivity in everything from sales and customer service to software engineering, according to a person familiar with his remarks.
Althoff said AI saved Microsoft more than $500 million last year in its call centers alone and increased both employee and customer satisfaction, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter.
The company is also starting to use AI to handle interactions with smaller customers, Althoff said. This effort is nascent, but already generating tens of millions of dollars, he said.
Microsoft declined to comment.
Tech executives have been increasingly vocal about the potential for AI to automate labor currently performed by humans. Salesforce Inc. has said 30% of internal work at the company is being handled by AI, allowing it to reduce hiring for some roles. Executives at Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. have said significant chunks of code are now being written with AI.
At Microsoft, AI generated 35% of the code for new products, accelerating launch times, Althoff said. The company's GitHub Copilot is a leader in the market for AI coding tools and has 15 million users, Microsoft said in April.
AI implementation has fueled replacement anxiety for many workers, particularly in the tech industry. Microsoft has announced cuts of about 15,000 employees this year, with a wave of layoffs last week targeting customer-facing roles like sales.
Althoff stressed to employees that AI could make them more effective as sellers. Through the use of Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant, each salesperson is finding more leads, closing deals quicker and generating 9% more revenue, he said.
--With assistance from Matt Day.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Cindy Rose named new CEO of WPP, succeeding Mark Read
WPP plc has announced the appointment of Cindy Rose as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 September 2025. She will take over from Mark Read , who will step down after leading the company for seven years. Read will continue to support Rose through the transition period until the end of the year. Rose, currently Chief Operating Officer of Global Enterprise at Microsoft, brings decades of leadership experience across technology, telecommunications, media, and entertainment. Her previous roles include President of Microsoft Western Europe, CEO of Microsoft UK, and senior positions at Vodafone, Virgin Media, and The Walt Disney Company . She has served as a Non-Executive Director on WPP's board since 2019. Commenting on her new role, Rose said, 'WPP is a company I know and love – not only from my six years on the Board but as a client and partner for many years before that – and I couldn't be happier or more excited to be appointed as CEO. I began my career in the creative industries and this feels like coming home.' 'There are so many opportunities ahead for WPP,' she added. 'We have and continue to build market-leading AI capabilities, alongside an unrivalled reputation for creative excellence and a preeminent client list. WPP has the most brilliant, talented, creative people and I can't wait to write the company's next chapter together.' WPP Chair Philip Jansen praised the appointment, calling Rose 'an outstanding and inspirational business leader.' He said, 'Her expertise in this landscape will be hugely valuable to WPP as the industry navigates fundamental changes and macroeconomic uncertainty.' He also thanked outgoing CEO Mark Read for his 'tireless commitment during more than 30 years with WPP and in particular the progress he has made to modernise, simplify and transform the company.' Read expressed full support for Rose's succession: 'Having worked closely with Cindy for the last six years, I am delighted to see her appointed as CEO of WPP. She brings deep experience of technology and AI and its transformational impact on business, and has successfully run large global organisations with talent at their core.' Rose holds dual British and American citizenship and will be based in both London and New York. She was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to UK technology. Her annual salary will be £1.25 million, with additional incentive-based compensation and benefits aligned with WPP's shareholder-approved remuneration policy.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
India seeks to avoid Trump's Brics wrath as it pursues US trade deal
With New Delhi set to assume the Brics chairmanship in 2026, India needs to differentiate itself from members like China and Russia, who are seeking to build the bloc as an opposition voice to the US Bloomberg By Ruchi Bhatia, Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Shruti Srivastava India is trying to shield itself from President Donald Trump 's backlash against Brics by stressing it has no plans to challenge the US dollar's global dominance, according to people familiar with the matter. The US leader has labeled the Brics group of developing nations 'anti-American' and accused it of trying to undermine the dollar's role as the world's key currency. He has repeatedly warned of a 10 per cent tariff on all 10 Brics members, including India — even as he says a trade deal with New Delhi is near. On Wednesday, Trump followed through with a new round of levies, including a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil, one of the highest so far announced for the tariffs which are set to hit in August. The letter to Brazil comes just after a two-day Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, in which leaders agreed on a joint statement that criticized trade-distorting tariffs. Officials in New Delhi say they are watching Trump's latest tariff threats closely, but see no immediate cause for alarm. The US leader's view is that Brics is seeking to undermine the dominance of the US dollar, which is not India's goal, the officials said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. India doesn't support moves for a single Brics currency, and any participation in local currency trade arrangements is aimed solely at reducing risks, they said. 'Trump is unhappy with some Brics members who have been talking about an alternate reserve currency,' said Mohan Kumar, a former Indian envoy and lead negotiator at the World Trade Organization, who now teaches at OP Jindal Global University. 'India has time and again differentiated between local currency trade and de-dollarization and therefore doesn't fall in that category.' With New Delhi set to assume the Brics chairmanship in 2026, it will need to differentiate itself from members like China and Russia, who are seeking to build the bloc as a stronger opposition voice to the US. India is betting that its strategic value to the US and its neutral currency stance will give the US reason to treat it differently than other Brics members. India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Senior Indian diplomat P Kumaran said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 'no discussion' on Trump's tariff threats during the Indian leader's state visit there. 'We didn't have an opportunity to discuss that.' India has been cultivated by several US administrations over the years as a strategic partner and key regional counterweight to an increasingly assertive China. As recently as April, US Vice President JD Vance remarked that the fate of the 21st century 'is going to be determined by the strength of the United States and India partnership.' Those ties have recently come under strain, though, after Trump took credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May. Modi has pushed back at Trump's claims he used trade as a bargaining tool to secure a truce. The Trump administration has also made overtures to Islamabad, including its powerful army chief, in the aftermath of the conflict, a source of concern in New Delhi. Much is riding on the success of the India-US trade deal, which both countries have pledged to finalize by the fall of this year. Shashi Tharoor, an opposition lawmaker who has led India's diplomatic outreach since the Pakistan conflict, said a trade deal would signify the strong ties between the two countries. 'The relationship with the US is in a good shape,' he said in an interview in London on Tuesday. If the terms of the trade deal are agreed, 'that will be a very, very healthy sign.' After months of talks, Indian trade negotiators have put forward their best offer to the Trump administration and are now awaiting a response. The latest tariff threats from Trump may also be a bargaining tool to secure more concessions from New Delhi. Trump has previously threatened to slap 100 per cent levies on Brics if they ditch the dollar in bilateral trade.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Bill Gates says AI won't replace this job even in 100 years
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes that even the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) won't be able to replace programmers – not now, not even in the next 100 years. Gates says coding needs the human brain. Bill Gates spoke about this at a recent interview, including one with The Economic Times, and another on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Gates has made it clear that programming is a field that AI can assist with but not fully take over. 'AI can help with boring stuff like debugging,' he said, but added that the real challenge in programming is solving complex problem creativity – something machines simply can not do. advertisement'Writing code isn't just typing – it's thinking deeply,' Gates said. He explained that programming involves understanding difficult problems, making mental connections, and finding creative solutions. 'No algorithm can match the 'creative leap' of a human coder,' he many jobs across industries are expected to change or disappear due to AI, Gates predicts that programming will remain human because it requires judgement, imagination and adaptability – qualities AI lacks. This comes at a time when the World Economic Forum predicts that AI would replace around 85 million jobs by 2030, while also creating 97 million new ones. Gates acknowledges this dual impact, admitting that he is 'scared too' about AI's potential risks. However, he believes that if used wisely, AI can improve productivity and give people more free time. 'We can retire early, have shorter work weeks,' he said in a podcast with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath earlier this year. But he added that this shift would also need 'a philosophical rethink about how time should be spent.'Earlier this year, in a separate interview, Gates listed three jobs he believes are the safest from AI disruption: coders, biologists, and energy professionals. According to Gates, these roles involve scientific thinking, innovation, and strategic decision-making – areas where human input is still essential. On biology, Gates said that while AI is helping with analysing data and diagnosing diseases, it still can't form new scientific theories or make discoveries. 'AI is unable to formulate hypotheses,' he explained, pointing out that biologists will remain crucial for medical progress. In the energy sector, Gates said that AI may improve efficiency, but human expertise is needed for planning, crisis management and long-term strategy.'Humans remain at the forefront,' he noted. Despite being one of AI's strongest backers, Gates has been consistent in highlighting its limitations. He believes that while AI can transform industries and change how we work, it cannot fully replace human intelligence – especially in fields that require critical thinking and creativity. 'There will be some things we reserve for ourselves,' Gates said. He gave the example of sports, saying people likely wouldn't enjoy watching machines play baseball. Similarly, in areas like programming, the human touch is something AI won't be able to match for a very long time – if ever.- Ends
