Microsoft touts over $600 million in AI savings while slashing jobs
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Artificial intelligence generated 35 per cent of Microsoft's code for new products, accelerating launch times, said chief commercial officer Judson Althoff.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Microsoft saved over US$500 million in call centres in 2024 using AI, according to a Bloomberg News report.
- The company is using AI to improve productivity in sales, customer service, and software engineering, generating millions.
- AI is generating 35 per cent of the code for new products, speeding up launches, says Microsoft's Chief Commercial Officer.
AI generated
NEW YORK – Microsoft is keen to show employees how much artificial intelligence is transforming its own workplace, even as the company terminates thousands of personnel.
During a presentation this week, chief commercial officer Judson Althoff said AI tools are boosting productivity in everything from sales and customer service to software engineering, according to a person familiar with his remarks.
Mr Althoff said AI saved Microsoft more than US$500 million (S$640 million) in 2024 in its call centres alone and increased both employee and customer satisfaction, according to the person.
The company is also starting to use AI to handle interactions with smaller customers, Mr 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 work currently performed by humans. Salesforce has said 30 per cent of internal work at the company is being handled by AI, allowing it to reduce hiring for some roles. Executives at Alphabet and Meta Platforms have said significant chunks of code are now being written with AI.
At Microsoft, AI generated 35 per cent of the code for new products, accelerating launch times, Mr 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 fuelled replacement anxiety for many workers, particularly in the tech industry. Microsoft has announced cuts of about 15,000 employees in 2025, with a wave of layoffs last week targeting customer-facing roles like sales.
Mr 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 per cent more revenue, he said.
Productivity gains from AI were “not a predominant factor” in the job reductions of recent months, Microsoft’s top lawyer Brad Smith said on July 9 during an event announcing a donation of more than US$4 billion in cash and technology to schools with a focus on spreading AI skills. BLOOMBERG
