At the recent 2025 Esri User Conference in San Diego, attended by more than 20,000 in the geospatial industry, Esri announced a deepened partnership with Microsoft MSFT 0.73%↑ to embed Azure OpenAI Service within ArcGIS.
The integration introduces new AI assistants and natural-language capabilities, enabling users to automate spatial analysis, detect patterns, and track changes more seamlessly, the company said. Among the new tools are declarative agents integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot for ArcGIS for Teams, which allows users to search for maps and geodata directly within Teams, Outlook, and other Microsoft apps.
Esri CTO Jay Theodore described the collaboration as a “game-changer” that lowers barriers to location intelligence and boosts accessibility for users across industries.
In addition, Esri revealed a new collaboration with Dataminr to embed its First Alert emergency alerting system into ArcGIS basemaps, aimed at improving real‑time crisis response and public‑sector situational awareness. The conference also highlighted Esri’s strategic alliance with Fugro to enhance climate resilience through satellite and environmental data integrations tailored for developing countries.
In other conference news, HERE Technologies introduced the GIS Data Suite, which offers a dataset optimized for ArcGIS Pro users. The suite includes vector tile base maps, transportation networks, location and address data, locator files, and a pre-configured ArcGIS Pro project with high-detail attributions like truck restrictions, tolls, and preferred routes, the company said.
