Microsoft releases AI predictions for 2025: AI Agents will completely change the way we work

Microsoft released six major AI predictions for 2025 on its official website, which are: AI models will become more powerful and useful, AI Agents will completely change the way we work, AI companions will support daily life, the utilization of AI resources will be more efficient, testing and customization will be key to developing AI, and AI will accelerate breakthroughs in scientific research.

In the preface, Microsoft specifically mentioned AI Agents, stating that by 2025, they will autonomously and automatically complete more complex workflows to enhance efficiency in work and home settings. Looking at broader application areas, AI will play an important role in issues ranging from climate change to healthcare.

1. AI models will become more powerful and useful

In the past year, AI models have made significant progress in reasoning efficiency and functionality, with many cutting-edge models capable of performing various complex tasks. By 2025, AI models are expected to excel in even more tasks.

For example, models like OpenAI o1, which possess advanced reasoning capabilities, can solve complex problems using human-like logical steps, playing roles in fields such as science, coding, mathematics, law, and medicine, enabling tasks like contract comparison, code generation, and multi-step workflow execution.

Model innovation relies not only on enhanced reasoning capabilities but also on data management and post-training optimization. Microsoft's Phi model series demonstrates that high-quality data can also improve AI model performance and reasoning capabilities;

Orca and Orca 2 showcase the role of synthetic data in optimizing the training of small language models, allowing them to achieve performance levels previously seen in large language models and perform better on specific tasks. These advancements will create more practical AI experiences by 2025, including applications in AI Agents.

2. AI Agents will completely change the way we work

AI Agents are AI products capable of autonomously executing tasks or automatically performing tasks on behalf of users. They can be software programs or AI assistants integrated into various devices. These Agents can understand natural language instructions, complete complex tasks through learning and reasoning, and interact naturally with users.

Microsoft stated that nearly 70% of employees in Fortune 500 companies are already using Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot to handle a large amount of repetitive daily work, such as automatically filtering emails and taking notes or summarizing during Teams meetings.

In 2025, the next generation of AI Agents will be more powerful, handling various complex tasks with better interaction methods thanks to advancements in memory, reasoning, and multimodal capabilities. With enhanced memory and reasoning abilities, AI Agents will possess stronger memory functions, capable of remembering users' historical behaviors, preferences, and work habits, thereby providing more personalized and precise services.

At the same time, their reasoning capabilities will also be improved, allowing them to better understand complex situations and business logic, making more reasonable and efficient decisions. For example, in supply chain management, Agents can predict changes in inventory demand based on historical data and real-time information, adjusting procurement and production plans in advance to avoid inventory backlog or shortages.

Multimodal interaction and collaboration will enable Agents to support various interaction methods, including text, images, and voice, allowing users to communicate with Agents in a more natural and convenient way. Additionally, the collaborative capabilities among Agents will be strengthened, enabling them to work together like human team members, sharing information and resources to complete complex tasks collectively.

For instance, in a large project, different Agents can be responsible for project planning, progress tracking, resource allocation, and risk assessment, exchanging data and feedback in real-time to ensure the smooth progress of the project.

Moreover, at the "Microsoft Ignite 2024" global developer conference held last November, Microsoft integrated a large number of commercial AI Agents into its flagship products like Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, laying an important foundation for the explosion of Agents in 2025.

Charles Lamanna, Vice President of Microsoft Business and Industry Copilot, believes that AI Agents will be a new type of application in the AI era, fundamentally changing the way we work and business processes, just as we use different applications to perform different tasks.

3. AI Companions Will Support Daily Life

In 2025, Microsoft Copilot will serve as an AI companion in daily life, helping to simplify and prioritize everyday tasks, such as automatically managing large amounts of data, freeing up personal time while ensuring privacy, data, and security.

Copilot will continuously evolve, featuring more new functionalities. For example, Copilot Daily can provide news and weather summaries in a familiar voice; Copilot Vision can understand the web pages users are browsing, interact with users, answer questions, and provide suggestions;

It can also assist users in decision-making, such as searching for matching furniture and planning layouts when setting up a new apartment. In the future, AI experiences will be more precise, emotional intelligence will be enhanced, and interactions will become smoother

4. The Utilization of AI Resources Will Be More Efficient

AI consumes a large amount of resources during its operation, and innovative solutions are addressing this challenge. For example, although the global data center workload in 2020 was nine times that of 2010, the power demand of data centers increased by only 10%.

This is because Microsoft is collaborating with companies like AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA to improve the efficiency of its hardware, including its custom silicon series, Azure Maia, and Cobalt, as well as efficient cooling heat exchangers designed for large-scale AI systems.

In the coming years, new data centers supporting AI will be put into operation without consuming any water resources for cooling, and the company will also expand its use of ultra-efficient liquid cooling systems.

These innovative solutions aim to make AI infrastructure more efficient and sustainable by 2025. As Microsoft helps build more efficient AI infrastructure, it will continue to invest in and use low-carbon building materials, including near-zero carbon steel, concrete alternatives, and cross-laminated timber.

Microsoft will also continue to invest in and use carbon-free energy sources such as wind, geothermal, nuclear, and solar power. The company is making long-term investments to bring more carbon-free electricity into the grid it operates and continues to advocate for the expansion of global clean energy solutions.

5. Testing and Customization Are Key to AI Development

Testing is essential for defining and assessing risks in AI and is crucial for responsibly building AI. The development of AI by 2025 can be summarized in two words—testing and customization.

If risks and threats can be tested, it can help address or mitigate them. This means, for example, detecting and resolving inaccurate AI "hallucination" responses. Part of Microsoft's ongoing efforts to build safe AI applications includes developing rigorous and comprehensive testing. In addition to assessing internal threats, testing will become better at identifying external and increasingly complex attacks.

6. AI Will Accelerate Breakthroughs in Scientific Research

AI has already had a significant impact around the world, driving advancements in various fields from supercomputing to weather forecasting. It is propelling historic breakthroughs in scientific research and is expected to unleash new capabilities in areas such as natural sciences, sustainable materials, drug discovery, and human health.

For example, in 2024, Microsoft Research achieved breakthroughs that enable researchers to explore some of the most challenging biomolecular science problems in the world with unprecedented speed and accuracy, including the discovery of life-saving drugs. By utilizing AI-driven protein simulation systems, researchers found a new method (AI2BMD) to simulate biomolecular dynamics

AI2BMD can help scientists solve previously difficult problems and advance biomedical research such as protein design, enzyme engineering, and drug discovery.

Ashley Llorens, Vice President and Managing Director of Microsoft Research, stated that one of the most exciting things in 2025 will be the use of AI in scientific research and how it drives progress in solving some of the world's most pressing issues. AI will continue to drive innovation in scientific research, unlocking tremendous application potential for humanity and organizations worldwide.

Source: AIGC Open Community, original title: "Microsoft Releases AI Predictions for 2025: AI Agents Will Revolutionize the Way We Work"