Microsoft is rolling out a new Partner Center AI Assistant for partners and MSPs that will help make AI easier to deploy, configure, incorporate, and use for their end-user customers. Available now in preview from Microsoft, the new AI assistant can be accessed only through the English version of Microsoft’s Partner Center, according to an October 10 blog post by Jill Armour, a Microsoft Partner community lead.
The new partner- and MSP-focused AI assistant is designed to provide “tailored insights, intelligent suggestions, and quick answers to your day-to-day questions,” wrote Armour. “Access a diverse array of information ranging from insights into your Solutions Partner designation score, to end-to-end guidance, to membership management, to billing information such as Azure credit usage trends.”
The new Partner Center AI assistant pulls its AI-produced answers from Microsoft product documentation, partner program guides, and the Partner Center data generated by each partner or MSP, wrote Armour. As more data and information are added, the responses from the Partner AI Assistant will be further refined and expanded, she said.
Microsoft is working to roll out this new Partner Center feature in additional languages beyond English by the end of 2024.
“It certainly makes sense for Microsoft to utilize AI tools to help its partners," Jack Gold, the president and principal analyst of J. Gold Associates, LLC, told ChannelE2E. “This has two implications. First, it should make it simpler for partners to get the information they need without having to speak with a person at Microsoft or chat with the company using AI.”
In addition, “using AI will probably lighten the load for their tech specialist so they do not have to take as many live calls,” Gold said of partners and MSPs. “And it will make it easier to scale tech information for its partners to more interactions.”
The Partner Center AI Assistant Using AI also allows partners and MSP users “to continuously train the model based on what kinds of questions the partners are asking, so the answers will likely be better over time,” said Gold.
Microsoft: Partner Center AI Assistant Enhances Partner Experience
Partners and MSPs can use the Partner Center AI Assistant by selecting the sparkle icon in the upper-right corner of the Partner Center page and then begin communication with the assistant by selecting a topic from the dropdown menu, using Microsoft’s built-in prompt guide or asking a question, according to Armour’s post. Users can then ask additional questions to narrow in on the required response or follow prompts as needed to hone in on their answers. Users can start over or ask new questions by selecting the "refresh" icon in the upper-right corner of the AI assistant panel to reset the thread.
If further help is needed that the AI assistant cannot provide, then users can use the Contact Support option at the bottom of the AI assistant screen to start a support ticket.
Gold: Partner Center AI Assistant Helps Microsoft Interact With Partners
“Ultimately, this capability will add convenience for partners, but it also benefits Microsoft,” said Gold. “I am sure there will be many other AI (partner) initiatives that Microsoft will undertake over time. But there is every reason for them to utilize the same tools for their own needs that they are promoting to customers in AI support solutions, which is a major area of AI usage.”
