AI is the new buzz-word in tech – with 2023 being the year it became a bigger part of most people’s daily lives, in both the work and home environments. Microsoft have taken this one step further with their new product, Microsoft 365 Copilot.
They claim: “Copilot will uniquely incorporate the context and intelligence of the web, your work data and what you are doing in the moment on your PC to provide better assistance – with your privacy and security at the forefront.”
So, what is Microsoft 365 Copilot?
In essence, it is an AI led productivity tool, which will act as a co-pilot, helping your users to navigate through their daily tasks.
This means that when using Word for example, Copilot can create copies of documents as well as creating a summary, it can edit your writing, improve your style and correct any grammatical mistakes. In Excel, instead of muddling through complex formulas you can ask queries about the data and let the AI do the work.
Within PowerPoint the AI tool can change layouts and formats as a means of preventing death by PowerPoint by simplifying long presentations. It can also convert written documents into decks including speaker notes as well as preparing a presentation from scratch using a prompt, document or template as a starting point. Even within Teams you are able to use the Business Chat, and with a prompt you can generate an update to send to the team based on your calendar, emails and other chat threads.
Copilot is like having your own personal assistant helping you out on a daily basis at the click of a button.
Tech Requirements
There will likely be an additional subscription charge on top of your Microsoft 365 subscription, but this will mean you can then use Copilot within all your favourite apps like Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
For Copilot to work you will need to be running Windows 11, Microsoft 365 or the Bing or Edge web browsers. It may also be necessary for users to have a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license and Azure Active Directory account. If you’re not certain you have what it takes give the team at SupportWise a call and we can get you connected.
Benefits of using Copilot
In the pre-launch trials, businesses found there was an increase in productivity and efficiency amongst their users. There are a number of benefits to using Copilot including:
- Saving time – Copilot can save you time by drafting a report for you to edit and expand on, therefore providing you with a starting point saving you time and effort.
- Being more productive – Imagine the time you have wasted going through long email threads to get to the useful information you need. With Copilot this is a thing of the past as the AI can swiftly summarise a long email thread in a matter of seconds, meaning you are able to get on with those all-important actions.
- Creating a knowledge hub – With access to your documents, emails, and Teams messages Business Chat can analyse this huge amount of data summarising it so you get the information you need without having to search for it.
- Being in Control – Copilot makes suggestions but it’s ultimately up to you whether you take, modify or discard the advice. Whatever you choose means you can be more creative, more productive and more analytical with everything you do.
Microsoft 365 Copilot and Business Chat will be available to the public on November 1, 2023, although an earlier form was rolled out at the end of September with the free Windows 11 update – you can learn more about that HERE.
If you want to find out more about how you can gain access to this new AI tool from Microsoft contact the SupportWise team today and we will get you connected.
