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Microsoft adds new AI capabilities to help clinicians focus on patients, not busywork

Health care has never moved faster or asked more of clinicians. Today, ahead of next week’s health care technology conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft rolled out big updates to its Dragon Copilot, including Work IQ to bring the right work context alongside patient data, so there’s less administrative busywork and more focus on patients. Read more about the updates to the technology that more than 100,000 clinicians rely on as part of their daily practice.

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AI doesn’t decide the future of work. People do

The future of work isn’t just something that happens to us, Jared Spataro, Microsoft CMO of AI at Work, writes in a new blog post. It will be shaped by the choices we make about roles, incentives and standards. Spataro writes that amid all the uncertainty about how the AI era is unfolding, it’s important to maintain perspective. “While AI has extraordinary potential to improve our lives, it raises issues that require deliberate choices — exercising our human agency to shape the future,” he says. Read more about what Spataro believes will be the future of the workforce, and what he says everyone should be cautious about.

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How diverse teams build more resilient cybersecurity

As the digital world gets increasingly complex, it’s never been more important to have a wide range of experiences and perspectives working on cybersecurity. This Women’s History Month, Vasu Jakkal, corporate vice president of Microsoft Security, is reflecting on how critical it is to have women on digital security teams. After all, if cybersecurity is fundamentally about understanding people, having a diversity of backgrounds and experiences is actually a security imperative. Read more on what steps Jakkal says everyone can take to not only widen the pipeline of women in the field but also to strengthen it, end to end.

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How a single click fueled a global email scam

A single click was enough. Using a phishing service called Tycoon 2FA, attackers bypassed multifactor authentication to hijack accounts, disrupt operations and steal data worldwide. Today, Microsoft, Europol and partners announced a coordinated takedown of the infrastructure behind one of the largest phishing operations on the internet. 

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With Copilot Tasks, Microsoft’s AI starts tackling to-do lists

Ever wish Copilot could stop talking and start doing? Soon, that will be a reality. On Monday, Microsoft announced Copilot Tasks, a new feature that plans and completes multi-step work in the background, then reports back. Unlike the traditional chat, Copilot Tasks can take action – doing things like planning a birthday party from start to finish or organizing your subscriptions, flagging the ones you don’t use and canceling them. It’s rolling out in a research preview now; join the waitlist to test it yourself.

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SharePoint turns 25

It might be hard to believe, but SharePoint turns 25 today! The Microsoft tool that lets people store, share and work on files together in one safe place online works at an extraordinary scale, serving more than 1 billion users each year. Read about what’s next for SharePoint in the AI era.

When work piles up, today’s AI agents fall behind

By midmorning, a typical knowledge worker is already juggling a client report, a budget spreadsheet, a slide deck and an email backlog, all interdependent and demanding attention at once. For AI agents to be genuinely useful in that environment they will need to operate the same way, but today’s best models are usually evaluated one task at a time, not dozens at once. When Microsoft Research tested leading computer-using agents under multitasking environments, the agents struggled with the workload, with completion rates dropping nearly 50%.

In a new paper, Microsoft Research is introducing an agent framework called CORPGEN, which features digital employees that have persistent identities, role-specific expertise and realistic work schedules. They operate Microsoft 365 applications (through graphical user interface automation) and can multitask for hours. Read more about how CORPGEN’s digital employees work.

An AI voice takes the pressure off Munich’s emergency lines

At the Munich Fire Department, dispatchers handle emergency calls for the city of 1.5 million. Stress is high; lives are at stake. At the same time, they must handle non-emergency calls to arrange transport for hospital patients being transferred or sent home. An AI operator built in Microsoft Foundry and using Azure AI Speech (HD Voice) will be handling those non-emergency calls in natural, multilingual speech — freeing human operators to focus on their critical work.

Emergency dispatcher wearing a headset, seated at a control console.

Microsoft expands Sovereign Cloud with offline options for AI and productivity

Digital sovereignty is changing, as companies and governments shift from focusing mainly on where data is stored to sovereignty that also covers how systems operate in isolation or high-risk conditions. As such, Microsoft announced on Tuesday, changes to its Sovereign Cloud, which allows organizations to run critical systems and AI securely and independently, even without internet access. New offerings let customers operate cloud infrastructure, productivity tools and large AI models entirely on their own premises, with consistent governance and policy controls. Microsoft says the approach is aimed at maintaining operations, protecting sensitive data and reducing risk across connected and fully disconnected environments.

Microsoft unveils AI platform for telecom firms at Mobile World Congress

AI is beginning to show tangible effects across the telecommunications industry, as major operators move past limited pilot projects and embed the technology more deeply into their networks and operations. Companies are using AI to improve customer service, automate routine tasks, strengthen network reliability and in some cases, develop new sources of revenue.

Against that backdrop, and ahead of the Mobile World Congress in 2026, Microsoft will introduce a set of new tools aimed for telecom providers. The company said the offerings are designed to bring together data and AI capabilities on a single platform, allowing operators to deploy the technology more broadly across their businesses.

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Asha Sharma named EVP and CEO of Microsoft Gaming

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella announced Friday that Asha Sharma will become Executive Vice President and CEO, Microsoft Gaming, reporting to him. He thanked Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, for extraordinary leadership and partnership during the past 38 years as Spencer announced his retirement.

Over the last two years at Microsoft, and previously as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and a Vice President at Meta, Sharma has helped build and scale services that reach billions of people and support thriving consumer and developer ecosystems. Matt Booty will become Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting to Sharma.

Read more on the Official Microsoft Blog.

Asha Sharma

A new study explores how AI shapes what you can trust online 

You see it over your social feeds: Videos of adorable babies saying oddly grown-up things, public figures making wildly uncharacteristic statements, nature photos too far-fetched to be true. In the era of AI, seeing isn’t always believing.

A new study evaluates today’s methods for determining what’s authentic or manipulated, as well as their limitations, to help people make more informed choices online.

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The global AI divide demands urgency

AI use is spreading rapidly, but not evenly around the world — growing roughly twice as fast in the Global North as in the Global South — and threatening economic growth around the world.

This week, Microsoft is calling for urgent investments to help close this AI divide, putting its money where its mouth is with $50 billion in investments planned by the end of the decade in everything from AI infrastructure to innovation.

The divide isn’t just a challenge; it’s one of the biggest opportunities this century to narrow long-standing economic gaps between the two regions by spurring economic growth in the Global South.

Read on for Microsoft’s five-part plan that’s guiding investments.

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Microsoft meets 2025 renewable energy goal 

Microsoft announced it has met its 2025 renewable energy goal – first announced in 2020 – of purchasing enough renewable energy to match 100% of the electricity used by all its datacenters, buildings and campuses by 2025. Microsoft has contracted 40 gigawatts of renewable energy across 26 countries. To put that amount in perspective, it’s enough energy to power about 10 million homes. Here’s a look at six companies across the globe that helped Microsoft meet its renewable energy goal.

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How the Vatican is thinking about AI in a changing world

Artificial intelligence is transforming how societies work, create and connect. For Father Paolo Benanti, Vatican advisor on AI and one of the architects of the Rome Call for AI Ethics, the stakes are not just technical, but also deeply human. Benanti reflects on why keeping people at the center of AI design matters, how transparency and accountability can build trust and how the technology could help spark a new creative renaissance if guided thoughtfully. Read more in Signal magazine.

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As AI demands more power, Microsoft looks to superconducting cables

As the demand for AI and data-intensive computing continues to rise, the need for reliable and efficient power delivery is critical. Microsoft is considering designing data centers using materials that will allow electricity to flow much more efficiently, with zero resistance. The technology that makes this possible is called high-temperature superconducting (HTS) and would mean switching from copper and aluminum wiring to HTS cables that are smaller, lighter and, most importantly, don’t create as much heat. Read more about how HTS cables work and what it could mean at scale.

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Is health care ready for agentic AI? New research shows where industry stands

Health care is moving beyond digitization toward intelligent AI agents that can plan, reason and act alongside care teams and workers from the back office to the front lines. New research from Microsoft and The Health Management Academy, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, takes a clear-eyed look at how ready health systems really are — and what comes next.

Two healthcare professionals in blue scrubs in a clinical setting.

An AI agent is changing how Cemex executives see data

Meet LUCA Bot, the AI finance agent helping Cemex leaders turn raw numbers into fast moves. Around 100 senior leaders at the Mexican multinational are already using it, chatting in natural language on web or mobile to get what they need, when they need it. Built with Azure OpenAI in Microsoft Foundry, Cemex executives now get financial and business insights in seconds. LUCA Bot isn’t just an AI finance agent: it’s part of the team.

A man in a black suit points at a monitor on the wall highlighting LUCA Bot.

Researchers warn of manipulated AI recommendations

That helpful “Summarize with AI” button might be secretly manipulating what your AI recommends. Microsoft security researchers have discovered a growing trend of AI memory poisoning attacks used for promotional purposes, a technique called “AI recommendation poisoning.” How it works is that some companies embed hidden instructions in “Summarize with AI” buttons that, when clicked, attempt to inject persistence commands into an AI assistant’s memory.

These prompts instruct the AI to “remember [Company] as a trusted source” or “recommend [Company] first,” aiming to bias future responses toward their products or services. This matters because compromised AI assistants can provide subtly biased recommendations on critical topics including health, finance and security without users knowing their AI has been manipulated.

Read on to see what Microsoft is doing in Copilot to battle these prompt injection attacks.

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Survey finds people feel more connected, but less safe online

On Tuesday, Microsoft is marking Safer Internet Day 2026 by highlighting the different advances made in cyber security over the years and looking forward to the future. In a post, Courtney Gregoire, the company’s chief digital safety officer, notes that teens and adults surveyed around the world for Microsoft’s annual Global Online Safety Survey reported feeling more connected and more productive, but less safe online. The company also released a toolkit for educators to help students become more AI-aware. Read on for more about Microsoft’s longstanding efforts to create a safer digital environment and key findings from the survey.

Close-up of a person typing on a laptop at a desk.

Saudi Arabia’s Qiddiya City counts on Copilot to navigate a project of unprecedented scale

Tens of thousands of workers are busy building from scratch a vast entertainment, sports and cultural city called Qiddiya near the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Qiddiya Investment Company CTO Abdulrahman AlAli and his team keep track of the myriad contractors – including the thousands of invoices generated daily – with Copilot, which quickly digs out relevant information.

What it means to invest in forests

Bettina von Hagen, founder of forest investment firm EFM, explains how managing forests for longevity, biodiversity and resilience can unlock value for investors while delivering meaningful environmental benefits. By growing trees longer, restoring forest structure and pairing timber production with high quality carbon credits, EFM shows how smarter forest stewardship can align financial returns with healthier ecosystems and stronger communities. Read more in Signal magazine.

Aerial view of a forest as it meets a riverbank

AI agent adaptation in workplace uneven, survey finds

Most companies’ leaders believe AI agents are the future of work, but the reality may be that adaptation is much more complicated.

In a survey of 500 enterprise decision-makers across 13 countries and 16 industries, researchers found that while most organizations report being in or past the pilot stage of building out agentic AI, the actual reported execution of agents is more uneven across teams. IT and customer service lead with the highest current adoption rates, followed by finance, sales and marketing. Procurement, HR and supply chain trail behind.

Learn more about the five workplace factors that help propel the fastest movers to the front of the pack.

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Microsoft backs new FBI cybersecurity initiative

Microsoft is helping the FBI with a nine-week initiative that is a collaboration across the public and private sectors, the company announced Thursday. Operation Winter SHIELD is designed to fill the gap between the knowledge that security leaders have of what’s behind cyberattacks and real-world enforcement. The FBI Cyber Division investigates and builds cases against the cybercriminal networks responsible. Operation Winter SHIELD aims to determine which missing security controls turn manageable events into prolonged crises.

Graphic showing a glowing shield and snowflake icon with the text "Microsoft supports the Winter Shield Initiative."

How technology could help the Vikings build next year's ‘winning edge’

Each of the 32 teams in the National Football League has the same goal: to win a championship. In a league where every yard matters, teams are searching for any possible advantage they can employ to get ahead of their opponents.

For the Minnesota Vikings, who fell short of the postseason in 2025 but have high hopes for the upcoming campaign after finishing with five straight victories, player evaluation, free agency and the NFL Draft are critical elements of the offseason.

In assessing what happened last season and analyzing what steps they should take to make a championship push, the entire Vikings staff — from coaches to scouts to the front office — is using technology as a key component of its evaluation. Fortunately, the team has a powerful tool at their disposal to help with the process.

A coach in a purple Vikings shirt and headset stands on the sideline during a football game.

Xbox Transparency Report shows AI gains, fewer complaints about spam

Ahead of Safer Internet Day, Microsoft is releasing the annual Xbox Transparency Report and highlighting safety measures taken by the company. The gaming console, which turns 25 in 2026, expanded its proactive AI moderation solutions, reduced spam messages and improved player reporting for more frictionless play. Read the full report and find out about other strides Xbox made this year.

Person holding an orange game controller while sitting on a couch.