Blockchain startup Aptos Labs will use the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to “explore innovative solutions” in blockchain and Web3 for technologies involving artificial intelligence, tokenization and payments. As part of the deal Aptos describes as a “partnership,” the company is launching Aptos Assistant, which will enable natural language prompts, making Web3 applications like smart contracts and decentralized apps more “user-friendly and secure” for “everyday Internet users and organizations” as well as developers. Aptos offers what is known as Layer 1 blockchain, technology designed to facilitate transactions at scale.

Designed to rival blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum and Binance, it uses an open-source scripting language called Move developed by the Aptos team.

“Aptos Assistant will enable users to seamlessly onboard into Web3 by asking any kind of question regarding the Aptos blockchain ecosystem using natural language,” the company explained in a press release. “It will also be available to guide developers as they build smart contracts and decentralized apps — and direct them toward relevant, accessible resources.”

In helping “users understand the complex ecosystem of blockchain and Web3 technology,” the goal of Aptos Assistant AI is to “drive industry adoption,” SiliconANGLE writes, explaining that “Web3, otherwise known as the decentralized web, is the ecosystem of token economies built using blockchain technology where peer-to-peer transactions are completed without the need for middlemen.”

In effect, notes SiliconANGLE, such interactions allow “people to arbitrate their own contracts in code and having them self-execute when certain conditions are met.”

While financial details of the partnership with Microsoft were not disclosed, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors on his Q2 earnings call that Meta’s Microsoft cloud partnership involved revenue sharing from Microsoft sales of Meta’s Llama AI.

According to an Aptos Labs rep cited by CoinDesk: “Aptos Labs’ team of AI experts, PhDs and Web3 developers are working directly with Microsoft’s AI team to train models, integrate AI technology into the Aptos Assistant and GitHub elements integrating with Aptos’ blockchain, and determine the best resources for developers and casual visitors who want to learn more about building on Aptos.”