• By quade
• 28 March 2024

Adobe and Microsoft Partner to Add AI Capabilities to Microsoft 365

During the most current Adobe Summit, the premier digital experience conference for globally recognized businesses, Adobe and Microsoft revealed big news. The two companies have revealed their plan to integrate Adobe Experience Cloud functionalities and analytics into Microsoft Copilot. These will then be added to Microsoft 365.

The partnership intends to aid marketers in navigating the different application and data barriers. This will enhance managing routine tasks and improve the efficiency of handling routine tasks. For businesses, adding AI into an important service like Microsoft 365 will open new opportunities as it can be used on essential tools like Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Word. The AI can handle tasks such as drafting creative briefs, content creation, and more.

The Need for Personalized Content

A big motivation for this partnership was the growing trend of personalization on the internet. For years now, there has been a shift in consumer behavior, going from standard services to personalized recommendations. 

This is most commonly seen in streaming services and social media channels where the content recommended to individuals is based on their behavior instead of company recommendations.

Adobe hopes to extend that service to its office platform too. They understand that each office and worker approaches work differently, with their styles, goals, and strategies. That is why by integrating AI into their service, they can better understand these trends and provide services for employees. 

“The demand for personalized content across social media, mobile, and other fast-moving channels has been exploding, pushing marketers to drive greater efficiency and productivity in their everyday work. Marketers spend a great deal of their day working across Adobe and Microsoft applications, and the partnership provides a unique offering for marketing teams, streamlining daily tasks across planning, collaboration, create, and campaign execution.”

– Amit Ahuja, senior vice president in Adobe.

The Importance Of Integrating Microsoft Tools

The marketing field is intricate, with many distinct roles coming together to create a successful marketing plan. To accomplish this, businesses require different tools to build brand content and oversee the success of campaigns by analyzing audience insights. Perhaps most importantly, businesses need to do this while allowing different departments and groups to coordinate. 

So far, many users of Microsoft 365 have said the company hasn’t done enough to meet this goal. A recent study by Microsoft revealed that 43% of professionals in marketing and communications expressed dissatisfaction with transitioning between digital applications, citing its adverse effects on their creative processes. It certainly would be frustrating for businesses to operate on multiple applications at once and have to move between them.

“Microsoft and Adobe share a common goal of empowering marketers to focus on the work that’s most important – creating impactful campaigns and enhancing customer experiences. By integrating contextual marketing insights from Adobe Experience Cloud applications and Dynamics 365 within the flow of work through Copilot for Microsoft 365, we deliver on our shared goal while helping marketers streamline their efforts, break down barriers, and deliver exceptional results.”

– Jared Spataro, corporate vice president of AI at Work, Microsoft.

Initial Steps to Improve Microsoft 365

Together, Adobe and Microsoft will collaborate to tackle these obstacles. They have already laid out plans for the initial improvements. These will concentrate on meeting the requirements of marketers who frequently operate across various teams when overseeing campaign objectives, status, and tasks. These functionalities will cover scenarios such as:

• Strategic Insights Integrated into Workflow: Tols like Adobe Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe Workfront will be integrated with Dynamics 365, the Copilot for Microsoft 365 interface. These will aid marketers in swiftly accessing insights and updates within their Outlook, Teams, and Word. Marketers can inquire about project status, assess campaign effectiveness, pending approvals, recommended actions, or the target audience and key performance indicators.
• Crafting Campaign briefs, Presentations, and Other Updates: The combined services can allow marketers to use a data-centric approach without needing multiple tools or consult various individuals for insights. Marketing intelligence from Adobe and Dynamics 365 will be accessible within Copilot for Microsoft 365 to develop briefs, presentations for executive reviews, or any report. Additionally, marketers can generate visuals using Adobe Firefly generative AI or draft content through Adobe Experience Manager Sites. Content created in Word can be directly disseminated across platforms such as the web and mobile.
• Facilitating Project Progression: A big problem is that marketers have to deal with numerous applications, emails, and chats to compile project updates. This includes feedback and approvals to alterations in work items or deadlines. This makes understanding what is going on rather difficult. That is why when integrated with Adobe Workfront, Microsoft 365 users can operate across applications to generate notifications based on relevant marketing data, allowing you to make decisions faster.