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AI has crossed an important threshold, says Microsoft CMO of AI at Work Jared Spataro: it can think and reason at a remarkable level. What does that mean for organizations? “You can now buy intelligence like you would purchase a commodity like electricity,” he explains. “Intelligence goes from being something scarce and expensive to something abundant and cheap and widely available, and that’s a really big deal for businesses.”

The idea of “intelligence on tap” has been a key theme of his AI at Work newsletter on LinkedIn and the recently released 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report. Spataro joined the podcast to discuss what it means for business, how he already sees agents transforming workflows and team structures, and why leaders need to “hire their first digital employee” now.

Four big takeaways from the conversation:

WorkLab is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of work, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of the experts we interview are their own and do not reflect Microsoft’s own research or opinions. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Intelligence on tap is a “big deal for business,” says Microsoft’s Jared Spataro

Our CMO of AI at Work goes deep on digital labor, Frontier Firms, and why every employee will become an agent manager.

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