Microsoft Unveils AI Context Platform Microsoft IQ

Microsoft IQ is a knowledge base for AI agents that provides company-specific context to improve their productivity. The platform, which became generally available in June, consists of four distinct 'IQs': Work IQ, Fabric IQ, Foundry IQ, and Web IQ.

The idea behind Microsoft IQ is to enable AI agents to make decisions as effectively as human employees by providing them with the necessary context. According to Arun Ulag, an executive at Microsoft, this is essential for achieving high productivity in AI agents.

Ulag explained that without teaching agents the 'company-specific context' that forms the premise of their work, even highly advanced models cannot make appropriate judgments or perform tasks effectively. He compared it to onboarding a new employee, where they are taught about the company's business strategy, revenue stage, and supply chain status.

Microsoft IQ is composed of four distinct IQs: Work IQ provides context via API, analyzing Microsoft 365 usage and documents with Microsoft 365 Copilot; Fabric IQ centralizes distributed business data assets within the company into OneLake (unified data lake); Foundry IQ builds a company-specific knowledge base from project reports, work procedures, technical manuals, case studies, regulatory documents, and more; and Web IQ incorporates information obtained from specific websites into the knowledge base.

By combining these four IQs, Microsoft IQ becomes 'a new layer added to the AI platform,' enabling agents to leverage intelligence that supports large-scale decision-making and actions. Ulag emphasized that a different Microsoft IQ is formed for each adopting company, making it their own intellectual property.