At Microsoft Build 2025, a watershed event for enterprise technology, Orderfox Schweiz AG’s Gieni AI took center stage as Microsoft’s showcase example of next-generation vertical AI integration. Gieni AI’s inclusion wasn’t merely ceremonial: it highlighted seismic shifts in how artificial intelligence dovetails with enterprise software, illustrated through the unveiling of Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP). By putting Gieni AI front and center, Microsoft signaled a new era where industry-specific agents work natively with Microsoft 365—promising businesses not just smarter intelligence, but radically streamlined decision-making embedded in daily workflows.
Historically, most AI solutions in the enterprise have been “horizontal”—general purpose assistants aiming to help across business functions. Gieni AI, by contrast, exemplifies a vertical AI approach, tailored for specific domains such as market intelligence, risk analysis, and competitive benchmarking. This verticality means sharper contextual awareness, deeper insight generation, and more value for specialized teams.
Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) now provides the connective tissue for such agents to access, enhance, and operate alongside other AI models and software tools within an organization. MCP’s introduction at Build 2025 crystallizes Microsoft’s strategy: rather than isolated AI silos, build a mesh of interoperable, context-aware agents and plug-in tools. The Gieni AI reference case demonstrated MCP’s ability to bridge proprietary data, reasoning engines, industry knowledge, and the familiar interface of Microsoft’s productivity suite.
With Gieni AI’s public endorsement by Microsoft, Orderfox stands out among a wave of vertical AI startups targeting sector-specific use cases. Yet competition is likely to intensify as:
The broader message of Microsoft Build 2025 is clear: the future of AI in business is vertical, embedded, and interoperable. Companies now expect more than automation—they want intelligence and advice right where they work. With Gieni AI and similar initiatives leading the charge, the once-distant vision of the “self-optimizing organization” seems not just possible but increasingly inevitable.
Microsoft’s spotlight on Gieni AI at Build is not only recognition of Orderfox’s technical achievement but also a bellwether for how intelligent, context-sensitive agents will shape business strategy, productivity, and competitive agility for years to come. As vertical AI deepens and the MCP ecosystem matures, organizations must prepare—not just to adopt these tools, but to continually evolve their strategies and guardrails to harness the full power and responsibility of embedded, real-time intelligence.
Source: 24matins.uk Microsoft Highlights Gieni AI as Vertical AI Reference at Build 2025 - 24matins.uk
Background: Vertical AI and the MCP Revolution
Historically, most AI solutions in the enterprise have been “horizontal”—general purpose assistants aiming to help across business functions. Gieni AI, by contrast, exemplifies a vertical AI approach, tailored for specific domains such as market intelligence, risk analysis, and competitive benchmarking. This verticality means sharper contextual awareness, deeper insight generation, and more value for specialized teams.Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) now provides the connective tissue for such agents to access, enhance, and operate alongside other AI models and software tools within an organization. MCP’s introduction at Build 2025 crystallizes Microsoft’s strategy: rather than isolated AI silos, build a mesh of interoperable, context-aware agents and plug-in tools. The Gieni AI reference case demonstrated MCP’s ability to bridge proprietary data, reasoning engines, industry knowledge, and the familiar interface of Microsoft’s productivity suite.
What Makes Gieni AI Stand Out?
Deep Data Integration
Gieni AI’s core strength is its unique ability to turn the flood of modern market data into actionable intelligence. Leveraging a hybrid architecture, it processes signals from over 380 million indexed web pages and millions of company profiles. The system’s proprietary semantic search and classification capabilities mean it goes far beyond keyword matching: Gieni AI instead understands concepts, relationships, and evolving industry language.Hybrid Reasoning for Actionable Answers
Unlike traditional business intelligence platforms, Gieni AI combines multiple intelligence layers:- Structured and unstructured data ingestion: Ingests everything from financial statements to press releases and social activity.
- Zero-shot reasoning: Uses advanced models that answer never-before-seen queries using cross-domain contextualization.
- Vector-based retrieval: Employs modern vector databases for rapid, meaningful data retrieval, even as sources and questions grow more complex.
Bringing Intelligence to Microsoft 365: Seamless Embedding
One of the most significant steps forward showcased at Build 2025 is the tight integration of Gieni AI with Microsoft 365. Through its MCP Connector for Copilot Studio, Gieni AI’s intelligence is natively embedded in applications including Teams, Outlook, Excel, and Word:- Single-pane-of-glass experience: Users interact with real-time market intelligence without toggling between different apps or data sources.
- Contextual insights where work happens: Whether collaborating in Teams, drafting proposals in Word, or analyzing data in Excel, insights are surfaced instantly and in line with the user’s workflow.
- Enhanced CRM and dashboards: Enriches CRM records and dashboarding with verified, AI-synthesized data on prospects, competitors, and markets.
Inside the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol, rolled out at Build 2025, forms the backbone of this new AI ecosystem. MCP provides:- Standardized agent interoperability: AI agents and software modules can discover and securely interact with each other, regardless of vendor.
- Real-time context exchange: Agents leverage conversational, business, and application context to contribute relevant insights.
- Enhanced security and compliance: MCP ensures data flows adhere to enterprise-level security, regulatory, and privacy requirements.
Real-World Implications: Smarter, Faster, More Confident Decisions
Expanded Use Cases
During the conference demo, Gieni AI tackled real business queries that resonate with enterprise challenges, including:- ESG compliance checks: Instantly flagging suppliers and partners by environmental and social responsibility criteria.
- Competitive landscape tracking: Mapping new entrants, product launches, and funding rounds in target regions.
- Trend forecasting: Parsing market chatter and data streams for signals on emerging opportunities or risks.
Supporting Critical Business Teams
For strategy, procurement, sales, and risk teams, immediate access to verified, relevant intelligence provides a tangible edge:- Shorter go-to-market cycles: By knowing where opportunities and threats lie, companies plan and launch faster.
- Better deal qualification: Sales teams can validate prospects and customize approaches with AI-generated company and market dossiers.
- Ongoing competitive benchmarking: Decision-makers benchmark not with last quarter’s data, but with up-to-the-minute intelligence.
The Orderfox Vision and Competitive Landscape
Orderfox Schweiz AG, the power behind Gieni AI, has established itself as a leader in industrial and B2B-facing AI platforms. Alongside Gieni, their notable offering includes Partfox, an automated CNC buyer-supplier marketplace, underpinning Orderfox’s expertise in bringing automation to complex supply chains.With Gieni AI’s public endorsement by Microsoft, Orderfox stands out among a wave of vertical AI startups targeting sector-specific use cases. Yet competition is likely to intensify as:
- Other vertical AI agents race to provide MCP-compliant connectors for their sectors—legal, healthcare, logistics, and beyond.
- Traditional analytics vendors scramble to pivot from dashboards to actionable agents.
- Multinational SaaS providers seek to entrench their solutions deeper within Microsoft 365 and Copilot environments.
Strengths, Challenges, and Strategic Risk Factors
Key Strengths
Gieni AI’s feature set, as revealed during Microsoft Build, offers several distinct advantages:- Battle-tested scalability: Can ingest data from hundreds of millions of URLs and millions of company records without sacrificing performance.
- Hybrid intelligence: Combines deep semantic search, zero-shot reasoning, and state-of-the-art vector retrieval.
- Native integration: Baked into Microsoft 365, reducing friction and maximizing user adoption.
- CRM and reporting augmentation: Turns raw data into tailored, context-driven dashboards and actionable steps for different enterprise functions.
Potential Risks and Caveats
Yet with innovation come risks, both technical and strategic:- Reliance on Microsoft ecosystems: Deep dependence on MCP and Copilot ties Gieni’s future closely to Microsoft’s roadmap and APIs, with potential lock-in.
- Data privacy and compliance scrutiny: Ingesting massive external datasets raises ongoing questions about GDPR, CCPA, and international data transfer/export protocols.
- AI overreach and “hallucinations”: Even with robust architecture, any AI agent capable of zero-shot reasoning and synthesizing intelligence must be carefully monitored to prevent the spread of plausible-sounding but spurious insights.
- Market saturation risk: As the vertical AI market heats up, smaller competitors may undercut on price or offer specialized features appealing to niche sectors outside Gieni’s current domain focus.
Future Outlook: Toward the Intelligent, Autonomous Enterprise
With the official Gieni AI MCP Connector landing on the Microsoft Marketplace for Copilot Studio, a new phase in AI-driven enterprise work has begun. Orderfox’s roadmap includes even tighter integration across Microsoft 365, expanded dataset coverage, and continual enhancements to its hybrid intelligence core. Gieni AI’s soon-to-be general availability for Copilot users—coupled with seamless Microsoft enterprise billing—should spur rapid adoption, particularly among global firms already standardized on Microsoft platforms.The broader message of Microsoft Build 2025 is clear: the future of AI in business is vertical, embedded, and interoperable. Companies now expect more than automation—they want intelligence and advice right where they work. With Gieni AI and similar initiatives leading the charge, the once-distant vision of the “self-optimizing organization” seems not just possible but increasingly inevitable.
Microsoft’s spotlight on Gieni AI at Build is not only recognition of Orderfox’s technical achievement but also a bellwether for how intelligent, context-sensitive agents will shape business strategy, productivity, and competitive agility for years to come. As vertical AI deepens and the MCP ecosystem matures, organizations must prepare—not just to adopt these tools, but to continually evolve their strategies and guardrails to harness the full power and responsibility of embedded, real-time intelligence.
Source: 24matins.uk Microsoft Highlights Gieni AI as Vertical AI Reference at Build 2025 - 24matins.uk