Microsoft on the Frontline: Retail Intelligence in Action Part 1

0:10Hi, everyone.

0:11Ron Thurston:This is Ron Thurston, and this is Voices from the Frontline, AI in Action, a limited three-part series in partnership with Microsoft. Today, we're coming to you live from the Microsoft Experience Center right here in New York City, a space that's more than just a store. It's where technology and humanity meet. In this episode, the Smart Workplace Live, we'll explore how tools like Microsoft Teams, Copilot, and Viva are transforming the way frontline teams communicate, operate, and deliver extraordinary experiences. Frontline workers are the heartbeat of every business, and better tech ranks among the top ways to reduce stress and burnout.

0:56Ron Thurston:Microsoft is changing the playbook with simple, secure, human-centered tools built for the frontline, not just for the corporate office. What I hope you take away from today's conversation is that technology alone doesn't transform work. People do. And when the right tools are placed in the hands of the front line, everything changes. Communication becomes clearer, decisions become faster, and pride in their work rises. This series isn't about the future. It's about what's already happening right here in the Microsoft Experience Center. It's proof that AI and digital innovation can simplify the complex, reduce burnout, and amplify what humans do best, which is creating a new era of confidence, clarity, and connection for frontline teams everywhere.

1:49Ron Thurston:So let's get started. First up, we've got Kofi Opoku-Aqua, who's the Senior Operations Manager here in the store, and Jasmine Rodriguez, a Customer Advisor. And we're going to learn everything about the Experience Center today. So Kofi, I'm going to start with you. So this is an incredible building. with so much to learn and experience. And if I were walking in the store today, never been in this building, what do I want to experience? First things first, I will say the Experience Center is actually the heartbeat of our brand. It's a space for customers to come in and actually we see innovation and interaction in action.

2:33Ron Thurston:The chance for you to experience our Surface devices, Xbox, and M365 in an immersive experience. So Jasmine, when someone walks into this experience center, what do they get most excited about? So in the experience center, there are so many things that customers can come in and experience, but one of the main attractions is our second floor interactive experiences space, highlighting our gaming initiatives. So let's talk a little bit about AI, because I think that's often on people's minds as they're coming in here. what are the tools that are available? How do I use that? How do I integrate these into my life?

3:11Absolutely. One of the first introductions I'll say to a customer who's experiencing AI for the first time, think about grandma or someone who's maybe not technologically versed or not, they say, not technologically inclined. They can use AI to learn how to use their own devices. That's the first thing I can tell them.

3:27Ron Thurston:Give me an example of what that would be. So for using my grandmother as an example, she will text me nonstop, day in and day out. Her computer is not turning on. She doesn't know how to access her emails. So I tell her, hey, before you start texting me, because I can't get back to you all the time when I'm especially in the middle of work or filming a podcast. I tell her, why don't you ask Copilot? Don't get fancy with it. Don't try to understand what the problem is. Just the same way you're going to ask me, typos and all, pop it into Copilot. And with AI, since it really learns you and how you operate, how you speak with natural language models, it learns to adapt to her.

4:06So, again, typos and all, she's saying, hey, all I see is this big red cross. I have no idea what's happening. She was somehow able to reset it, get back to a normal viewing setting, and now she can go on about her day.

4:18Ron Thurston:All through co-pilot. All through co-pilot. And I think that's just an example that really shows how AI and co-pilot specifically can give someone who may not consider themselves technologically savvy some more technology independence, too, in their day-to-day lives. I bet you told all of her friends. Absolutely. Let's talk about this building. You just hit 10 years this week. What does 10 years mean to you in this building? Because you've been here. Yeah, I've been here. I think for me, first things first, reflecting when we hit that milestone was looking back and knowing that, hey, Microsoft is dedicated to and committed to this community, to New York.

5:01Ron Thurston:I always reflect on what we've been able to do with our customers and what the next thing is, which is basically AI and being able to take some time to really make sure that we ourselves are prepped to be in a position to continue to help our customers for the next 10 years. And Jasmine, when Kofi mentions being part of the community, what I also know part of your work is all the events that happen in that space. So what's your role in making that happen? Well, I've been with the company for seven years, and from day one, I was involved in the community space. When it comes to the event space, you know, we touch all areas because the Experience Center really is at the cornerstone of everything that Microsoft encompasses.

5:46Every single Microsoft product, any service, a subscription you may see, even when it comes to our external partners, they all intertwine or meet in this central location.

5:56Ron Thurston:I think to just add that, and you kind of touched on it a little bit, is even if you don't know what Microsoft does, when you come into our space, we want you to kind of walk away understanding what Microsoft does, not just only selling products, but how we integrate ourselves in the community and also give back. What's the mission of Microsoft and the Experience Center? Yeah, I think it goes hand in hand and kind of really empowering our customers, businesses. It doesn't matter who you are. How can we empower you to be productive, right, at the end of the day? And I think that's where we try to live.

6:33Ron Thurston:We always take a look at that mission and say, okay, how can we bring it to life in And what's the mission? What's the language of the mission? It's empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more, which really does encompass everything that we as employees and employees beyond the Microsoft Experience Center do on a day-to-day basis. How do you work with enterprise-level customers? So for enterprise-level customers who are looking to break into the AI space, I think education is key. when it comes to bringing it onto your frontline workers. You start with a small team, pilot a program, get the feedback, see how it works, and expand from there.

7:13Even in my early days on training, when I first started working with the company, it was at a time before Teams was actually a thing, even though that wasn't too long ago. And part of my job was actually training enterprise customers on what Teams is. And this is the early days before the COVID-19 pandemic, before people were working remote, everyone was in person and preferred face-to-face interactions. Sure. So part of my job was how do I get people excited about using Teams? So starting small doesn't necessarily mean just doing a smaller team. So it's just different ways of engaging your teams and first getting them familiar with the technology and then you would expand on the more operational technical uses of it.

7:53Ron Thurston:Yeah, and I think each company always has those innovators in that. So starting with that team and then getting those people excited about it And then we've seen that so many times here where, you know, small companies like that we've worked with, it starts with that. And then they go back and then actually evangelize for you. And then by the time you know it, the whole team is actually adopting it and getting actually the message that you want to want to get out there, especially with Copilot. Giving that time back. Why should you spend all that time doing this while Copilot can actually help you do it a little bit faster?

8:25Ron Thurston:Right. So definitely important in what we do. and that's how we're able to help a lot of our business customers get their team bought in and start changing up. Because I was going to ask you about that because you, it is, and we're spending a lot of time about retail, but you also serve hospitality and medical industries. Yes, exactly. Every vertical industry uses Microsoft. So you have enterprise level customers that their front line is a hospital. Yes. It's different. When you're thinking about how to integrate their frontline, are there tools and resources and skills that you use to help overcome maybe some obstacles they have about Microsoft?

9:07So there's a process that a friend of mine loves to say, a fellow customer advisor of mine, it's called peeling the onion. So for any interaction we have in the space, it's first they usually have an overarching issue or a problem they're trying to solve. What's the problem? But then as we peel the onion and get deeper into the roots of the issue, we're able to gear our technology to relate to what they're actually trying to solve. Whether it's using Teams, whether it's using Dynamics or any of our Microsoft tools, we're able to tailor it to that interaction. Then with us being in the retail space, we're able to further connect them or enterprise customers to maybe account managers if they're not a managed account and branch from there.

9:48Ron Thurston:Sometimes the problem that came in and not even actually be the problem, it might be something completely different that we usually see. Then we're able to work with them. Again, it's just about tailoring your interaction to that customer. Not every customer is the same, is how do you tailor that? How do you take that time to listen and really take a look at the tools that you have and how that can actually solve that problem for them. I want to wrap with the idea of why you do what you do. I talk a lot about having pride in your work and and how retail is so transformative for so many people every day.

10:22Ron Thurston:So give me just a sense of, I'll start with you, Jasmine. I think at the end of the day, it really comes down to the people. Like I love the technology. I love showcasing it on a day-to-day basis. I love learning when new things are coming out. But when it comes to that people portion, it's my job to connect that technology part of it to anyone who's really walking through our doors, which can be anybody. We're open to the public seven days a week. Yeah. So grandma could come in, a multi-million business owner could come in at any moment, and I have to gear my technology and all the tools that we have to each specific customer.

10:56Ron Thurston:How do you describe your career? You gave me a little bit of a story of your background. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Maybe a bit of an accidental career also. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, from where I came from, and I came from clothing, and one day I got the opportunity to see where, you know, Microsoft, and I was like, hey, Let me actually take the plunge and see and take the risk." I ended up here and 13 years later, I'm still here and I think for me, not to sound like an echo chamber, it is the people and it's both for customers and also the people that I actually really work with. In a sense of before Microsoft, I wasn't into technology or whatever.

11:32Ron Thurston:Since I've gotten here, I understand technology and maybe to speak about it. It's because of the teammates in each of us really helping and supporting each other. right each one teach one as we say it every single time right i don't only learn from maybe customers or my managers but it's a person like jasmine i've been able to kind of learn from her and see she's fantastic copounding engine talk to her later i was about like being able to learn something from that and then also that act of service to our customers right and seeing a customer come in and say hey my whole you know career my everything is on this computer and right now there's something and being able to sit down with that customer, creating that relationship with that customer really empowered, knowing that whole, thank you, you saved me.

12:17Ron Thurston:Last question, what are you most excited about with AI? Co-pilots and AI in general is just such a time saver for me because dealing with events and then having to deal with the sales floor, I'm in customer interactions. I don't know how long it's going to last. I can have some that last two plus hours. I have some that last 10 minutes. So when it comes to Copilot, what has just been so great is it's giving me my time back when it comes to looking through my emails. What do I have coming in? What events are coming up? Who do I need to talk to about setup? Who's hosting the events? Is there anything I'm missing from my calendar?

12:55Like it's really just giving me back my time to spend with my customers and also make greater impacts in my event space.

13:02Ron Thurston:Every retailer has limited resources and tools. So saving time is a massive one. So for me, I'll talk about my personal life. It gives me some time back in my personal life and the things that I need to do. And then also work-wise when I'm here, also giving that time back in that thing. For me, if we all can get a little bit more time, trust me, there's a lot that we can actually really do, right? We can spend time with our families. We can do all that. And then for me, I think that's the number one thing that I just every single time, I know that I'm excited for. But right now also working with some agents.

13:36Ron Thurston:So seeing how that is and how to kind of really personalize that. So I'm looking for them. Exactly, exactly. So again, that gives you the opportunity to teach. Yes, yes. To share with all those customers that are coming in. Yeah, yeah. All of Microsoft about how to use new developments that are happening all the time. Jasmine, Kofi, thank you so much for your time today, for sharing your stories, your pride about Microsoft and your own careers and your team. It's really been a pleasure. Thank you. It was our pleasure to host you today. Thank you. Thank you very much. I hope you've enjoyed those conversations.

14:11Ron Thurston:And what you've seen today isn't just technology in action. It's humanity in action. Equip the frontline and you unlock clarity, confidence, and pride. The kind of impact that reduces burnout and elevates experience. The future of frontline work isn't coming, it's already here, and it's human powered. I'm Ron Thurston, and this is Voices from the Frontline, AI in Action, in partnership with Microsoft. And I'll see you next time.

14:52Ron Thurston:Thanks for watching today. This was AI in action, and we saw it live about how we use it on the front lines. And I'll see you on the next episode.