First Impressions of Copilot for Microsoft 365

I’ve been following the AI whirlwind since trying Chat GPT on my summer holiday in January 23’. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a technology burst on to the scene as fast as AI. The uses seem to be endless, from taking a photo of the contents of your fridge to give you a recipe, to planning the itinerary for an overseas trip.

The one common thread with all these AI tools is that they help you be more productive. You could look at the contents of your fridge and work out what you should cook without help, you could research & plan your next overseas trip, but using these AI tools just makes it that much faster.

Enter Microsoft Copilot. Firstly, I must say, I love the name. It’s not “Autopilot”, it’s not “The Pilot”, it’s “Copilot”. It’s there to sit alongside you and help you to do your tasks.

First Impressions

When Copilot was released in November 23’, you needed to be an enterprise and order a minimum of 300 licenses, so you can imagine how excited I was when it became available for SMB clients. You can now order as little as one licence for your organisation.

We ordered a number of licenses for testing and putting Copilot through its paces.

A license was assigned to me … time to try this out! But where is it?

I checked Outlook, Word, excel but couldn’t see a shiny new Copilot button. I jumped in to Teams, ah! there it is. A new Copilot button on the side bar of icons.

Over the next few days I started to notice Copilot buttons popping up in other applications, Outlook, Word, Excel.

So what can it do?

Teams Meetings

At the beginning of the meeting I’ll ‘turn on’ Copilot, so that it’s paying attention during the meeting. At any point I can ask it questions related to the meeting e.g.

• Recap the meeting so far
• List action items
• List main ideas we discussed
• Generate meeting notes.

These ones are some of my favourites:

• Suggest follow-up questions
• What questions are un resolved?
• List different perspectives by topic

The results from the prompts above are fantastic, it will put each person name next to items relating to them.

It doesn’t give you a detail line by line meeting notes, but Teams does that in the transcript.

Outlook

Copilot can either help you write an email or review an email you’ve already written and provide you with Coaching tips.

I’ve used this a number of times and found the results fascinating. When Copilot reviews your email, it allows you to consider how your email will be perceived by the recipient and change it before you send it.

If I have Copilot write an email, I will often tweak the wording to sound more like myself.

Word

My first attempt at using Copilot was a failure, I think I was expecting far too much. 

I was wanting to put together a 13 page proposal, complete with Cover art, sections with illustrations, table on content etc. 

So I proceeded to write a 1200 character prompt. Detailing what I would like on each page, clicked “Generate” and expected my 13 page masterpiece, however I only ended up with the “Thank you” page.

It’s an important lesson I learnt. As much as these tools are amazing at a lot of things, we also need to remember the rules of delegation and effective communication.

I wouldn’t ask a co worker to prepare a 13 page proposal using one paragraph to describe my expectations. I would make sure I communicate my requirements and expectations clearly.

2nd Attempt - This time, I used one prompt at a time to build my document, the more information I entered the better the results. Success!

The Other Apps

I haven’t fully tested the other apps yet, I’ll write a follow up article that covers, Loop, Excel & PowerPoint. 

Copilot for Power BI is currently in testing, this could be incredibly powerful for all businesses to gain insights.

A Learning Curve Worth Climbing

Admittedly, there's a learning curve. Understanding the full scope of Copilots capabilities takes time. But every discovery along the way is a step towards unlocking a more efficient, creative workflow.

Come See it in Action

We are hosting a number of seminars on Microsoft 365 Copilot, be sure to head to https://yorb.ai/ to register for these. We’re also giving away a 65” LG TV ;)

• Horowhenua – Wednesday 20th March
• Hawke’s Bay - Thursday 21st March
• Whanganui – Wednesday 27th March
• Palmerston North – Thursday 28th March

We’re giving away a 65” LG TV, so be sure to come along!

The Verdict

In conclusion, my first impressions of Microsoft 365 Copilot are positive. However, there are some limitations and like any tool you need to learn how to get the most from it. It's an innovative solution that promises to revolutionise the way we work, and I'm here for it. The future of productivity looks bright, and ever evolving with Copilot.

If you have any questions, would like to know more or see Copilot in action, please feel free to reach out to me: rich.marshall@yorb.tech