Everything you need to know about Microsoft 365 Copilot AI
What is Microsoft 365 Copilot, what are its benefits, and who is it for?
Microsoft 365 Copilot will be available for enterprises from November 1st find out all the important stuff in this ultimate guide.
AI tools are enabling people to save time, do more, and even produce better work. Microsoft 365 Copilot AI is just one example of an AI-powered tool that is enabling both individuals and teams to be more productive than ever. Copilot recently began its rollout as part of the latest free update to Windows 11 and is delivering new AI-powered experiences to a range of Microsoft applications.
Microsoft 365 Copilot will be available for enterprises on November 1st, 2023, delivered along with a new AI assistant, Microsoft 365 Chat.
So how does this productivity tool work and how can your business get the most from it?
What Is Microsoft 365 Copilot AI?
Firstly, it’s crucial to understand what Microsoft 365 Copilot is (and what it isn’t) and what exactly it does. The AI-powered tool is designed to be a “copilot” for your work. It combines LLMs with a business’s data from the Microsoft Graft and Microsoft 365 apps with the aim of increasing productivity. It suggests natural language to use as you’re working, enabling you to work faster.
There are two key ways in which Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365. It is embedded into Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, and more. This allows users to be more creative and productive across the different tools they use. The new Microsoft 365 Chat adds another way to make use of AI, working across the LLM, Microsoft 365 apps, and your personal and business data, including calendars, emails, meetings, and more. Using the chat tool, you can provide natural language prompts to generate messages and updates based on your data.
So Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 apps, but what does that look like in practice? It can deliver different functionality across your apps to help you make the most of them. In Word, for example, you can use Copilot to generate a first draft for a quick way to get started on any document. In PowerPoint, it can create instant presentations for you when you give it a prompt, while in Excel it gives you the ability to analyse trends in data and visualise your data quickly too. The user is in control of how they use the AI tool, giving it prompts to make changes so they can keep adjusting and perfecting their work.
Copilot can be used to summarise email content or discussion points from meetings. Using Power Platform, it can automate tasks, create chatbots, and even get apps up and running in no time.
What Are the Benefits of Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot delivers a range of benefits for any business that wants to get more from their Microsoft 365 suite. Copilot is designed not just to help individuals be more productive but also to benefit whole organisations. It brings data together so that it can be used more effectively, from delivering valuable insights to creating amazing content.
Here are some of the benefits you can get from Microsoft 365 Copilot.
High Productivity
Increased productivity is the core focus of Copilot. Its various tools make it possible to work faster and more efficiently so that you’re not wasting time on repetitive tasks or struggling for ideas. You can streamline workflows, get intelligent suggestions, and free up time to work on more important things.
High-quality content creation
Copilot uses NLP to make suggestions and create content, speeding up content creation with high-quality results. It’s important to note that even Microsoft admits that Copilot might sometimes get it “usefully wrong”, but with the user in charge, there’s the option to refine your content by delivering further instructions
Insights backed by data
Microsoft 365 Copilot makes use of your business’s data to deliver insights, create impressive visualisations, and give you the evidence you need to make better decisions.
Improved collaboration
Collaborating seamlessly across teams is essential, especially when some members of your team may be working remotely. Copilot helps to make this easier by extending AI assistance across various collaboration tools.
Personalised help
As you use Copilot, it will start to learn your preferences and how you want to use it. You get personalised help that’s adapted to your individual needs and can provide suggestions that are tailored to you.
Improve skills
Most people may know a few basic commands with the Microsoft 365 apps they use most, but how many of them understand the full range of functionality available to them? Copilot helps to make that functionality more accessible, using natural language to make suggestions on what to do next and which tools you should use.
How Do You Get Started with Microsoft 365 Copilot AI?
If you’re already using Microsoft 365 apps, like many businesses of all sizes, Microsoft 365 Copilot is going to enhance all of the ways you use them. Your organisation needs to meet certain requirements to use Copilot and must have certain features enabled. Copilot users need to have a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licence and an Azure Active Directory account. Users also need to be on the Current Channel for Microsoft 365 apps to have access to Copilot in desktop clients. It’s important for organisations to ensure they have good content management practices too, as Copilot will use your existing permissions and policies.
Microsoft has announced that when Microsoft 365 Copilot becomes available on November 1st, it will cost approx £30 per user, per month in addition to the cost of Microsoft 365. Additionally, Microsoft 365 Copilot will initially be available to enterprises with a 300-seat minimum, meaning it is targeted at larger organisations, to begin with.
Copilot is now available on Windows and will be made available for Microsoft 365 from November. If you are interested in using this powerful new AI tool, you might wish to look at the official information on how to prepare for Microsoft 365 Copilot to get ready to adopt it. This blog post provides further details on general technical requirements, security and privacy, licence management, and staying up to date with the latest features from Copilot.
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner Managed247 are ready to assist with enterprise deployments. Get in touch today.
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