Moving Beyond Chatbots and Automation

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FULL SHOW NOTES
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/688

What happens when AI stops being a tool and starts becoming a teammate? In this episode, Ashish Bhatia, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, unpacks the shift from traditional automation to intelligent agents—and what it means for the future of work. From the myth of “autonomous agents” to the real-world challenges of memory, trust, and productivity, this conversation dives deep into the evolving landscape of AI. Whether you're building with Copilot or planning your next AI strategy, this episode will sharpen your perspective on where the tech is headed—and what’s still missing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Agentification is the next evolution of apps: We're moving from reactive chatbots to proactive assistants that can take meaningful action—but we’re still early in that journey.
Memory is the missing link: Long-term context retention is essential for agents to become truly useful. Expect major strides in this area by 2025.
Autonomous agents are still a myth: Most current “agents” are glorified automations. True autonomy requires reasoning, adaptability, and trust.
Model selection will soon be invisible: Expect model routing to become standard, optimizing for cost and performance without user intervention.
AI isn’t saving time—yet: While AI boosts output quality, it still requires human oversight. The next leap is reducing the need for constant review. 

RESOURCES MENTIONED
👉 AI Podcasts  
The Wes Roth Podcast – https://www.youtube.com/@WesRoth
AI Explained – https://aiexplainedopodcast.buzzsprout.com/2418777 
Training Data – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOhHNjZItNnMm5tdW61JpnyxeYH5NDDx8 

👉 Tools & Concepts:
Copilot Studio – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/fundamentals-what-is-copilot-studio 
Operator Model – https://openai.com/index/introducing-operator/

👉 Ashish Bhatia's GitHub: https://github.com/ashbhati

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

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Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith