Microsoft AI Tour London 2025: How AI is reshaping UK business productivity

The Microsoft AI Tour London, held on March 5th at the ExCeL London, brought together over 4,500 attendees to dive into the future of agentic AI. Highlighting tools like Microsoft Copilot and AI-powered automation, the event showed how these innovations can boost productivity, streamline workflows, and prepare businesses for the challenges ahead.  

AI is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, comparable to the Industrial Revolution. For businesses, it means faster innovation, optimized processes, and more focus on meaningful work. For the public sector, it’s about improving services and delivering better outcomes for citizens. For individuals, it’s creating inclusive, human-centered technologies that truly make a difference.  

The Microsoft AI Tour proved why Microsoft is leading the way in this transformative era. Let's unpack the key takeaways from the event, examine the real-world impact of agentic AI on workplaces, and explore why embracing AI now is critical for staying competitive. 

 

A competitive necessity for the UK economy 

AI and cloud technologies could add £500 billion to the UK economy over the next decade, with PwC projecting a £232 billion boost by 2030. Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK, highlighted how this growth will stem from new industries and cost efficiencies across sectors. With leading universities and Europe’s largest digital economy, the UK is well-positioned to drive AI innovation, evident in advancements like Wayve’s autonomous mobility.  

However, Hardman noted that while early adopters are already seeing measurable results, many UK businesses remain cautious. Despite high demand, only 20% of UK companies have successfully scaled AI adoption due to skills shortages, regulatory concerns, and unclear ROI. 

To address this, Microsoft has announced a £2.5 billion investment in AI infrastructure, training, and innovation, the largest in its 40-year UK history. This involves investing in current UK datacenters in London and Cardiff, with potential expansion into Northern England. At the same time, Microsoft aims to provide AI training for 1 million people, supporting businesses and individuals in adopting AI responsibly. 

AI in action 

With AI transforming industries, 72% of UK business leaders plan to adopt AI agents to streamline operations and foster innovation. Across sectors, AI is reshaping how businesses work and delivering significant benefits.  

• Engineering: Amey uses AI agents to quickly access health & safety documents from SharePoint, removing delays for workers. 

• Customer service: Nationwide uses generative AI to reduce customer service response times from 45 minutes to 10-15 minutes to craft faster, more accurate responses 

• Government: Solutions like Red Box streamline briefings, using generative AI to help civil servants summarize policies and prepare briefings efficiently, saving time and reducing taxpayer costs. 

• Business: AI optimizes processes in retail, finance, and manufacturing. Pets at Home uses AI agents to scan millions of customer transactions daily to detect fraud. The company has achieved notable gains in both efficiency and precision, with the potential to save millions.  

Introducing agentic AI 

Agentic AI represents a shift in artificial intelligence, evolving from simple command-response systems to proactive, independent action. It automates workflows, extracts insights, and makes decisions, transforming the way businesses operate and society functions. By retrieving information, automating processes, and acting autonomously, agentic AI enhances efficiency, improves decision-making, and accelerates growth. 

Here’s how it works across three key areas: 

1. Retrieval actions  

Agentic AI retrieves and processes data, delivering precise, actionable insights. For example, a bank’s chatbot can securely access customer data to instantly answer questions like, “What’s my current loan balance?” This improves the user experience and reduces the need for human involvement. 

2. Task actions  

This automates workflows, saving time and resources. In an HR onboarding process, an AI agent can handle steps like sending emails, setting up accounts, scheduling orientations, and coordinating across teams. This allows HR professionals to dedicate more time to strategic tasks. 

3. Autonomous actions  

Agentic AI works autonomously, continuously learning and managing complex systems. In supply chain management, for instance, it can identify potential disruptions, adjust inventory levels, coordinate with suppliers, and revise schedules. And this is all without requiring human oversight. It steps in only when critical decisions need escalation. 

 

Use cases for Microsoft Copilot in business 

Microsoft Copilot is transforming work by using AI to boost productivity and drive innovation. By improving efficiency and saving companies billions, all without the need for more staff, Copilot creates smarter, more agile work environments. 

Microsoft showcased many different use cases for Copilot, such as: 

• Copilot Chat: Delivers AI assistance tailored for businesses, enabling users to work in a secure, business-focused environment. It enhances productivity, decision-making, and collaboration across organizations. 

• Copilot Studio: Microsoft’s low-code platform for building and deploying AI-powered copilots and chatbots tailored to business needs. With Copilot Studio, businesses can create tailored agents and assistants while paying only for usage. It allows organizations to manage AI automation without extensive coding expertise.  

• Sales Agent: Automates lead qualification, follow-ups, and personalized responses using CRM data, while allowing human involvement for complex scenarios. This solution offers integration with leading CRM systems like Salesforce and Dynamics 365.  

• Sales Chat Assistant: Enhances customer interactions with AI-driven insights, increasing efficiency and reducing manual workloads. It also features integration with CRM systems like Salesforce and Dynamics 365. 

 

The framework for AI success 

Judson Althoff, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, shared a framework for successful AI transformation during his keynote at Microsoft’s AI Tour in London. He also encouraged organizations to prioritize commercially available AI tools, like Copilot, before investing in custom solutions.  

His approach focuses on four key pillars:  

1. Enhancing employee experiences  

Althoff emphasized how AI enhances employee productivity and engagement. He shared that Microsoft deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot to 65,000 employees, leading to a 10% increase in sales pipeline generation, 23% faster close rates, and 9% higher revenue per employee.  

2. Reinventing customer engagement  

Microsoft is transforming customer support by integrating AI into its call centers, handling over 75 million incidents each year.

Powered by Copilot, these AI agents help employees resolve issues faster, saving $500 million this fiscal year. This has also dramatically improved customer satisfaction and enhanced morale for customer-facing employees. 

3. Reshaping business processes  

Microsoft appointed Pamela Maynard as its first Chief AI Transformation Officer for Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS) in October 2024. Maynard is tasked with leveraging AI to address internal challenges, drive innovation, and support customers in their AI adoption.

As part of a broader initiative to streamline 50 years of processes, Microsoft aims to save $1 billion annually while sustaining revenue growth. By acting as "Customer Zero," the company plans to share insights and best practices with customers and partners, enabling faster AI transformation. 

4. Driving innovation  

Microsoft is using AI to speed up product development. For instance, GitHub Copilot has written over a third of the code for the company’s AI-driven products, helping Microsoft achieve more in 12 months than in the previous three years. Althoff highlighted AI's transformative impact in areas like drug discovery and digital manufacturing, where innovation is rapidly accelerating. 

How businesses can take the first step toward AI integration 

To remain competitive, UK businesses must automate manual processes and free up IT professionals to focus on strategic AI initiatives. This involves business leaders taking the following three actions: 

1. Start with automation – Identify repetitive tasks that can be automated. One of these could be managing email signatures. This frees up valuable time for IT professionals to focus on more meaningful work, like deploying AI solutions. 

2. Upskill IT teams – Training on AI implementation is essential to bridge the UK’s skills gap and ensure IT professionals can integrate AI across business functions. Resources like Microsoft’s AI Business School offer free training on topics such as responsible AI and data science, helping teams build and manage AI solutions while optimizing processes. 

3. Embrace agentic AI – Businesses must adopt agentic AI solutions that can learn, adapt, and act independently to remain competitive. Microsoft Copilot offers an easy entry point with minimal investment required, providing a solid foundation for future AI initiatives. 

 

AI is here—are you ready? 

The Microsoft AI Tour London showcased how AI is transforming industries and driving economic growth in the UK. Microsoft is supporting this shift with investments in infrastructure, training programs, and AI tools like Copilot to promote responsible, scalable AI adoption. 

To stay competitive, UK businesses must integrate AI into their operations. Start by identifying processes that can be automated or improved with AI, such as streamlining workflows or enhancing customer support.  

Training employees is also essential. Equip your teams with knowledge to use tools like Copilot so they can AI into their job roles. And by deploying agentic AI throughout your company, you can enhance operational efficiency and unlock new ways to innovate workloads. 

Discover more about Microsoft AI solutions and see how Exclaimer automates email signature management, allowing you to focus on maximizing AI's impact in your organization.