- Microsoft CEO outlines the potential of AI for businesses
- Satya Nadella states AI should augment, not replace human workers
- Microsoft releases new research noting how many firms are keen to embrace AI
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has once again looked to emphasize the potential of what AI technologies can bring to businesses of all sizes
In a wide-ranging keynote opening the Microsoft AI Tour London event, Nadella outlined how the company is looking to empower all organizations with its enhanced systems and services, but also outlined how the company is thinking about AI as a whole.
“We’ve had a couple of very powerful ways of thinking about what computing means to us,” he noted, “(so) you can think of as when you work with agents, it’s as if we’re working with an infinite set of minds.”
AI “empowering” business
“There’s a lot of talk about what AI can do and what it means – to us it’s fundamentally the technology that needs to deliver on the mission of empowering us, and the institutions and organizations that we build to be able to achieve more,” Nadella said.
“When you think about any technology that’s being applied, you want to be sure that your ability to deliver the product or service is getting better, your experience for your own employees is now far more superior than it was before, and your internal operations are getting more efficient.”
Nadella introduced the three parts of what Microsoft sees as the AI stack – namely the experience, the platform to build agents, and the token factory.
But he also noted how intelligence and trust are key functions first and foremost, noting how this should be a combination of the systems and the human capital – and how this compounds without an organization.
“The goal is to really make sure concretely you’re able to point to how your organization has been able to build more intelligence inside the enterprise,” said Nadella.
Importantly, he also highlighted the importance of human workers being augmented, not replaced by AI – another key layer of trust, noting, “to us, ensuring there is absolute trust – so when you deploy AI, you are building that next layer of intelligence and trust, is what’s the most important thing for us to drive towards.”
“For us, it’s about being able to translate this next-generation platform, this powerful new technology, ultimately, to have a real-world impact right here,” Nadella concluded, “to be able to make a small business more productive, to make the public sector more efficient, make the startups in the ecosystem more globally competitive, the large companies to more globally competitive – these transformational stories are what’s it’s all about.”
The news came as Microsoft’s UK arm revealed new research showing business leaders are worried about falling behind when it comes to getting the most from AI.
The study of a thousand senior decision-makers at UK firms found 84% of organizations are now gaining competitive advantage from AI – a major increase from the 40% who believed this 12 months ago.
The report also noted how business confidence has surged, with 84% of leaders now reporting they have a clear AI strategy in place, up from 46% in 2025.
“There’s been a fundamental shift in the UK, where AI is no longer experimental or tactical,” Microsoft UK CEO Darren Hardman noted, “and leaders are increasingly confident they can turn AI into real business impact.”
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