Introduction to Copilot for Microsoft 365

What Is Copilot for Microsoft 365?

Copilot for Microsoft 365 has been touted as "the most powerful productivity tool on the planet", but what exactly is it? Taking out all the excitement and buzz, it's a tool that leverages the power of large language models (like Chat GPT) to work with your existing Microsoft 365 data. Instead of spending time trying to dig through your SharePoint site to find and collate information on a particular topic, just ask Copilot to collate and summarise it for you (in a format of your choosing!). Miss a meeting? Ask Copilot to summarise it and highlight the action items assigned to you (and maybe set some tasks with reminders as well).

                                Figure 1:Copilot for Microsoft 365 landing page

Think of Copilot for Microsoft 365 as your super assistant. It isn't here to do everything, and it doesn’t know where you want it to go unless you direct it. The key word is Copilot, you are still the pilot.

                Figure 2: How Copilot for Microsoft 365 works

Why Do I Need Copilot for Microsoft 365?

Think of some of the most menial tasks you must do. Things that you probably consider are a waste of your skillset, but they ultimately need to be done for other tasks to be completed. Maybe it's going through and creating a summary from a meeting, creating a PowerPoint presentation using other documents, or maybe you went on leave and came back to 1,000 e-mails and don't know where to start. This is where Copilot for Microsoft 365 can help. We will go into some of these scenarios further below, but in short, Copilot for Microsoft 365 can improve your productivity by taking on some of these tasks to allow you to focus on the more difficult and more creative tasks.

Data from the Github Copilot preview reported some interesting data from the developers that got to use it. 88% said they were more productive, 74% said that they can focus on more satisfying work, and 77% said it helped them spend less time searching for information or examples.

Think of how much time your staff could save with an effective, personalised assistant. It might not be for everyone, but those that use it will see an improvement of their productivity, and likely an improvement in their job satisfaction as well.

Others may ask, "why would you need Copilot for Microsoft 365 though, when other similar AI tools are available online already (some for much cheaper!)?". Which is a fair question, however there are two key points missing when you are using other tools.

Firstly (and most importantly), security. There have already been incidents where large organisations have been accidentally leaking data, due to employees inadvertently sharing confidential information on ChatGPT. Think of how many times this has likely happened to smaller organisations and we just don't know about it yet. There is also no way for organisations to check if ChatGPT has stored any confidential information surrounding people or organisations (which has other legal ramifications), and their Privacy Policy is also questionable at best. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is compliant with Microsoft's existing privacy, security and compliance commitments. It also does not use your proprietary data outside of your organisation to teach others, unlike public services.

Secondly, current, and relevant information. Many other platforms, such as ChatGPT, only have recently started to use up to date information (in some fashion), while still leveraging Bing Chat search functionality. For most users though, the data it searches is still out of date. More importantly though, other tools do not use data from within your organisation, so they can only work with what you give it. Copilot for Microsoft 365 can use both live external data, but more importantly it can use live internal data, based on administrative controls. This is how users can truly improve their productivity – the advanced functionality within their own environment.

Keen to learn more about Copilot for Microsoft 365?

Stay tuned for the second installment of the blog series, where I’ll explain how to get prepared to deploy Copilot for Microsoft 365.

If you would like more information on Copilot for Microsoft 365, or anything else within the Microsoft environment, please contact us via microsoft.presales@dickerdata.com.au or complete this form and we will be in touch.