Washington, United States (Enmaeya News) — Microsoft’s Chief Commercial Officer, Judson Althoff, announced this week that AI tools are delivering major productivity gains across sales, customer service, and software engineering, according to internal data reported by Bloomberg.

In a presentation to staff, Althoff revealed that AI initiatives enabled Microsoft to save more than $500 million last year in its call center alone. The savings were driven by automation and efficiency improvements, particularly around handling smaller customer interactions, which also boosted employee and customer satisfaction.

Beyond service desks, the AI-driven Copilot assistant is transforming internal workflows. Microsoft claims AI helps generate roughly 35% of new product code, speeding up the development pipeline. In sales, Copilot is credited with enabling teams to find more leads, close deals faster, and increase revenue by approximately 9%, generating “tens of millions” in additional income.

However, this message coincided with a wave of workforce reductions. The company has shed around 15,000 positions this year—nearly 4% of its global headcount—with the latest round trimming about 9,000 jobs. While Microsoft’s general counsel Brad Smith stated that AI wasn’t the primary driver of layoffs, critics argue the cost savings directly enabled by AI may have influenced the cuts.

Historically, productivity gains enable growth; but in modern tech, growth is tightly coupled to automation. The question becomes: How do you balance innovation with human capital? If AI can generate revenue and home in on repetitive tasks, what’s the shift for mid-level roles, and how will workforce transitions be managed?