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https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/719

What happens when AI tools like Microsoft Copilot don’t live up to the hype? Fabio Bonolo has made it his mission to turn that disappointment into transformation. In this episode, he shares how companies can move from confusion to clarity—by structuring their Microsoft 365 environments, embracing strategic adoption, and unlocking real productivity with AI. Whether you're leading change or navigating it, this conversation offers practical insights into making Copilot work for your business.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Copilot is not autopilot: Success with AI requires human input, clear prompting, and realistic expectations.
- Strategic adoption beats technical deployment: Copilot projects thrive when treated as business transformation, not just IT rollouts.
- Compliance is critical: Tools like Microsoft Purview help organizations audit AI usage and protect sensitive data.
- Copilot drives better M365 architecture: The push to adopt AI is forcing companies to rethink permissions, governance, and collaboration models.
- PowerPoint’s hidden AI features: Connecting Copilot with the Organization Asset Library unlocks dynamic, brand-consistent presentations.

🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
👉 Microsoft Copilot – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot
👉 Microsoft Purview – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/compliance/microsoft-purview
👉 EU AI Act – https://artificialintelligenceact.eu
👉 Copilot Studio & Agents – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot-studio
👉 Microsoft MVP YouTube Series – How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7

This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world.

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Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/718

What happens when global policymakers, technologists, and lawyers converge to shape the future of AI? In this episode, Andrew Welch shares insights from the UN’s AI for Good Summit in Geneva, where 15,000 thought leaders tackled the ethical, legal, and cultural challenges of artificial intelligence. From the EU AI Act to the dominance of English in training data, this conversation explores how regulation can drive—not hinder—innovation, and why trust in AI starts with understanding its global impact.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS
- AI regulation isn’t a blocker—it’s a catalyst for innovation. Like electricity, AI needs guardrails to scale safely and effectively.
- Law and tech must collaborate from the start. The EU AI Act is reshaping how companies approach compliance, ethics, and product development.
- Global AI capacity is dangerously concentrated. 90% of AI infrastructure is controlled by just two countries, raising sovereignty concerns.
- Language bias in AI is real and consequential. With 50% of the internet in English, cultural perspectives risk being lost in model training.
- Open-source AI tools empower—but also endanger. Democratized access means individuals can build powerful systems, for better or worse.

🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
👉 AI for Good Global Summit – https://aiforgood.itu.int
👉 EU AI Act Overview – https://artificialintelligenceact.eu
👉 Centre for Trustworthy AI (Microsoft) – No direct URL mentioned, but referenced throughout
Book: Calling Bullsht: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World* – by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West
👉 Song: “Boy in the Bubble” by Paul Simon – Inspiration for Andrew’s upcoming article

This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world.

Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge

We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.

Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/717

What if your AI agent could not only retrieve facts but reason with them—just like a human? In this episode, Farzad Sunavala, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, takes us inside the world of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), the architecture powering the next wave of intelligent agents. From solving hallucinations to building memory into AI systems, Farzad shares practical insights for professionals looking to build scalable, high-quality AI solutions that actually work in the real world.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS
- RAG is foundational for AI agents: Retrieval-Augmented Generation solves key limitations of LLMs by grounding them in real-time, private data.
- Metadata is your best friend: Rich metadata and filtering techniques dramatically improve retrieval quality and reduce noise in enterprise AI systems.
- Memory is the next frontier: Embedding memory into agents—via tools like Semantic Kernel—enables learning, unlearning, and contextual recall.
- AI engineering is evolving fast: Developers must move beyond conventional software practices and embrace ML Ops, vector databases, and open-source frameworks.
- Start small, iterate smart: Building ground-truth datasets and synthetic Q&A pairs is a high-ROI strategy for evaluating and improving AI agent performance.

🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
👉 Azure AI - https://ai.azure.com/
👉 Azure AI Search – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/search/search-what-is-azure-search or https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/ai-services/ai-search/
👉 Microsoft Fabric – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-fabric
👉 Semantic Kernel (Open Source) – https://github.com/microsoft/semantic-kernel
👉 LangChain – https://www.langchain.com/
👉 LlamaIndex – https://www.llamaindex.ai/
👉 CrewAI – https://www.crewai.com/

This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world.

Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge

We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.

Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith