Microsoft has officially made On Your Data generally available in Azure OpenAI Service. This feature enables users to harness the full power of OpenAI models, including GPT-4, and seamlessly integrate the advanced features of the RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) model with their data. According to the company, all this is backed by enterprise-grade security on Azure (via private endpoints and VPNs), ensuring a safe and secure user data environment.
Azure OpenAI Service On Your Data was brought to public preview in June last year. By utilizing Azure OpenAI Service on data, users can get high-quality AI responses that are readily available. The company has implemented precision prompt engineering and fine-tuned components, such as intent extraction, search retrieval, filtering, re-ranking, and data ingestion, to deliver accurate, concise, and coherent responses optimized for each model.
Azure OpenAI Service on your data ingests and connects users’ data from any source, regardless of location.
Copilot with the On Your Data feature Overview (Source: Tech Community blog post)
In addition, users can leverage the On Your Data feature for real-time document searches, analyze legal papers, generate sample code, and offer health advice.
Ben Kasema Mungai, head of technology at FITTS, writes in a LinkedIn blog post:
From retail to finance, Azure OpenAI Service On Your Data is versatile. You can personalize customer experiences at scale, as well as automate the analysis of market trends and regulatory documents.
To allow users to use their own data with Azure OpenAI models, they need access granted to Azure OpenAI in the desired Azure subscription, an Azure OpenAI resource deployed in a supported region with a supported model, and at least the Cognitive Services Contributor role for the Azure OpenAI resource. Next, they can use Azure OpenAI Studio to connect to the data and build an App.
Saverio Proto, a customer experience engineer at Microsoft, concluded in an earlier Medium blog post:
In summary, Azure OpenAI’s "use your data" feature simplifies prompt grounding without the need for complex RAG pipelines. For customers aiming to create applications, having some basic knowledge of Azure Cognitive Search is essential. Combining Azure OpenAI and Azure Cognitive Search allows for the development of AI applications that seamlessly work with your enterprise data, offering a solution guaranteed to be secure and scalable.
More details are available on the documentation pages. In addition, a QuickStart is available.
