Microsoft Copilot – what is it and what is it like?
Technology is constantly evolving, the integration of artificial intelligence tools has become increasingly prevalent.
Microsoft Copilot, the new AI tool which integrates into Microsoft applications, promises to enhance productivity and streamline workflows for users. But what’s it actually like?
Our Account Manager, Mark, and Support Team Manager, Neal, have been using Microsoft Copilot for the last few weeks, so we’ve asked them to share their experience with it so far, providing insights into its features, benefits, and potential areas of improvement.
In your opinion, how does Microsoft Copilot compare to AI assistance tools you’ve used in the past, and what sets it apart, if anything?
Mark:
“Security-wise, it’s more secure than other AI technologies since it operates within the Microsoft Tenant, with encrypted conversations on your computer so your personal and company data is secure, and your conversations are never shared.
Copilot’s integration within Microsoft applications is convenient, it eliminates the need to navigate to a separate application or webpage, which means I can get quick answers, it’s great for mundane tasks.
Another benefit of Microsoft Copilot in comparison to other AI tools is its ease of use, thanks to its integration with Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint that are already so widely-used and understood, it’s a lot more accessible and easy to use for all ages, the learning curve to use it is a lot less steep.”
Neal:
“It’s great that it’s integrated with Microsoft, I think that’s a huge benefit of Copilot vs other AI tools, but I wish it could teach more about formulas without as many prompts needed. I’d love for it to help unlock the full power of PowerPoint and Excel, but I’m sure that’s yet to come!”
Are there specific features or functionalities in Microsoft Copilot that you find particularly helpful or, conversely, aspects that you think could be improved?
Mark:
“The summarise feature is very helpful. During meetings, I can type up my notes for Copilot to quickly create a customer-facing post-meeting document, saving time and boosting my productivity.
I also like that you can easily ask Copilot to provide a quick summary of a conversation in Microsoft Teams or to summarise an email chain in Outlook – it can search through your emails and conversations and set you tasks or key takeaways which is really helpful.
However, you still need to check through it to ensure everything that has been said is correct, both in content and writing style. For instance, American English is used by default, but perhaps that is a setting I need to change on my side!”
Neal:
“I’ve always been a terrible note-taker during meetings, so Copilot’s ability to summarise discussions and provide key points and tasks following a meeting on Teams has been really useful – that’s probably my favourite thing about Copilot so far.
On one occasion, during a Teams meeting, we tried to confuse Copilot by mentioning dog food, Copilot initially didn’t mention it in the summary and key points, but when prompted, it responded recalling that dog food was mentioned, but only to try to trick Copilot, which was clever!
Another part of Copilot I’ve enjoyed is it’s use in Outlook, it’s been really handy in summarising lengthy emails which has saved me time.
I also found it good for recalling past conversations in emails – when I’ve struggled to remember what was said in the past to someone about a particular topic, I’ve asked Copilot to summarise any past conversations with this person and it has been able to.
However, I think Copilot lacks depth when drafting emails, it feels a bit basic and struggles to capture the relationship between myself and the customer unless explicitly explained.”
To summarise – what has been your overall experience using Microsoft Copilot?
Mark:
“My overall experience has been positive. I appreciate its integration with all office applications and Teams, eliminating the need for a separate program. I particularly enjoyed using Copilot in PowerPoint. Each program requires slightly different ways of asking questions to get the right results.”
Neal:
“I like it and have found some very useful applications, but it feels like early access. It’s got a way to go and learn before I feels like I can use it fully.”
As Mark and Neal navigate Microsoft Copilot, their initial experiences highlight both the positive aspects and the areas in which they think Microsoft will soon expand on.
The seamless integrating with Microsoft applications, robust security measures, and time-saving features make Microsoft Copilot a promising use of AI technology in day-to-day applications.
However, with room for growth, Copilot is still evolving, and offering a glimpse into the future of AI-driven productivity tools within the workplace.
Are you interested in using Microsoft Copilot? Get in touch, our friendly team are happy to talk about this further with you and help you explore your options:
