On Wednesday, Microsoft disputed a report claiming the company had lowered growth targets for its artificial intelligence software sales after many salespeople failed to meet those goals in the previous fiscal year. Following the report by The Information, Microsoft’s stock dropped over 2%. A Microsoft spokesperson clarified that the company has not decreased sales quotas or targets for its sales team. The reported sales shortfall related to Microsoft’s Foundry product, an Azure enterprise platform that enables companies to develop and manage AI agents, according to The Information, which cited two salespeople from Azure’s cloud division. AI agents are designed to autonomously perform a series of tasks for users or organizations. According to The Information, fewer than 20% of salespeople in one U. S.

Azure division achieved the Foundry sales growth target of 50%. In another division, the quota was initially set to double Foundry sales, but after most salespeople missed this mark, it was reduced to 50%, The Information reported. Microsoft responded by stating that the news outlet incorrectly conflated growth goals with quotas. “Aggregate sales quotas for AI products have not been lowered, as we informed them prior to publication, ” the Microsoft spokesperson said. The AI surge has created opportunities for companies to enhance efficiency and simplify tasks, with developers emphasizing these agents’ ability to handle workloads and empower employees. Leading tech companies such as OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Salesforce, and Amazon all offer tools to create and manage AI assistants. However, traditional businesses have not adopted these tools as rapidly as other sectors within the AI landscape. The Information also highlighted AI adoption challenges at private equity firm Carlyle last year, where the tools failed to reliably integrate data from various sources, leading the company to reduce its spending on these technologies. Read the full story from The Information here.