Agent Mode in Excel is a new “preview” feature Excel (online) for Microsoft Copilot Subscribers (Microsoft 365 Commercial, Personal, Family and Premium) that enables users to build and edit workbooks along side Copilot.
When you’re updating budgets, creating financial models, or analysing data, Agent Mode uses Excel’s most powerful tools like tables, charts, PivotTables, and formulas to help you get the job done. As part of Microsoft’s Frontier program, Agent Mode gives you early access to cutting-edge AI capabilities.
What I love most is you don’t needExcel skills at all (other than knowing how to enable this feature) which you need to do before you can use it!
The new “Agent Mode” transforms Copilot from a one-shot assistant into a collaborative AI partner capable of orchestrating multi-step tasks across your office apps.
Microsoft.
Agent Mode updates your workbook using Excel’s built-in features, so your content stays editable and synced with the latest changes. It works with you and you can see it’s reasoning thinking and what it’s doing in real time!
Enabling the Agent Mode in Excel
Currently, to use Agent Mode in Excel, you need to be using Excel on the Web (and must have a paid Copilot License). To use the agent, you then need to head to “Add-ins”, search form, and then add the “Excel Labs” as shown below.
Adding the “preview” for Excel Labs in Excel on the Web.
The first time you do then, you will be presented with the following message. I’d suggest you have a read and accept. You can then open the agent to get started! You will see there are two options for use – Agent Mode and an Advanced Formula Environment.
Using Agent Mode in Excel
Select the Excel Labs button
In the Excel Labs task pane, choose Agent mode.
Start working with the Agent to create your project.
An example, Microsoft provide is to “Build a loan calculator that computes monthly payments based on user inputs for loan amount, annual interest rate, and term in years. Generate a schedule showing month, payment, principal, interest, and remaining balance. Present the results in a clear, formatted table“. You can see this in the prompt to the left (you can cut and paste this if you like!).
Watch Agent Mode in Excel in action.
I have built a video to showcase the example above which you can watch at your leisure. You’ll see how I work with it, tweak the calculator and add more functionality as I go… This to be mirrors how most people work. Build, check, reflect, enhance…
Excel Agent in action
How is Agent Mode Different to Copilot Chat in Excel?
Agent Mode is really designed to work for more complex, multi-step tasks such as reshaping data, merging sheets, or creating reports with multiple elements. For simpler, one-step tasks like adding a chart or PivotTable, talking about data, help with formulas etc can be quicker.
Because of the way Agent Mode works, it also takes a little longer to provide an initial response and refine it, particularly for more complex requests. But… It’s leaps ahead of what you can do in Copilot Chat alone..
Remember, for more conversational assistance or tasks that don’t make lots of modifications to your workbook, Copilot Chat is a much more suitable option.
Agent Mode in Excel: Availablility and Limitations
Availability: At time of writing (October 2025), Agent Mode in Excel is available on Excel for the web via the Excel Labs add-in in English. Support for other platforms, and additional languages will be included in the future.
It’s still AI.. You need to work with, but what I love is you can now build quite complex models, calculators or calculations with no code, no formatting experience, no charting skills…
It is still in preview, expect it to get perfected.
Microsoft is in the process of Copilotizing Business / Enterprise versions of your Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote) even for users that don’t have a Microsoft 365 Copilot License.
Microsoft say that “These updates help make Copilot your true personal AI assistant for work: Whether you’re drafting a document, analyzing a spreadsheet, or catching up on email, Copilot is right there, ready to answer questions, create content, spark ideas, and automate tasks. Here’s what’s new.”
This familiar Copilot sidebar will understand the context of your open files, document, PowerPoint or spreadsheet and helps to draft, summarise, analyse, and brainstorm without having to switch apps or leaving your app.
Copilot Chat in Office
Microsoft is introducing a persistent Copilot Chat pane in the ribbon of all it’s core Microsoft 365 Office apps. It will be be:
Fully integrated and content-aware, meaning it will tailors responses based on your current open file.
Including in the Core Microsoft 365 license (no specific Microsoft 365 Copilot license required).
Will have the ability draft, summarise, assist with content and formulas and of course create and rewrite content.
Front and centre to your apps removing (Microsoft hope) the need to deploy other “free” AI plugins such as GPT free which might inadvertently share sensitive data outside your organisation. This is key for organisational compliance, governance and privacy.
How it differs from the Microsoft 365 Copilot license?
The “premium” Microsoft 365 Copilot licence still offers all the advanced capabilities that Microsoft 365 Copilot provides today including file and image upload, image generation, and cross-document reasoning, as well as (most importantly), organisational awareness and acess to the Microsoft Graph API (meaning you can search across docs, meetings, people, email). It also provides the deeper analysis tools and custom agents such as Analyst and Researcher.
Why This matters
This brings a number of benefits to users and organisations. Including:
Streamlined workflows: Users can draft or revise text in Office without opening a browser or switching apps.
Instant insights: Since users can ask Copilot to analyse data ranges, identify trends, or generate pivot tables in Excel.
Faster presentations: Users can get help from Copilot to build outlines, suggest visuals, or transform bullet points into speaker notes in PowerPoint.
Email productivity: By using Copilot in Outlook to summarise long threads, draft replies, or extract action items in seconds.
AUnified experience: Above all, all users get a single AI assistant across their core Office apps. This helps with training, reduces pressure to deploy 3rd party plugins and aids support.
ComplianceandGovernance: keeps data secure knowing that no data is shared online or used to train AI models – a huge risk organisations face when using “free” AI tools such as Gemini or GPT free.
Under the hood: How Copilot Chat works
Context awareness
Copilot Chat works by reading the contents and metadata of your opendocument in real time, so it knows what you’re working on—even titles, headings, tables, and comments.
Secure Processing
Queries are processed within Microsoft’s trusted cloud environment. No data or prompts ever leaves your organisations compliance boundaries or is used to train Microsoft or OpenAI LLMs
Natural-language interface
Copilot Chat allows the users to type or “speak” questions like “Summarise this report” or “Show me the top three trends in this data set,” and Copilot replies conversationally.
Continuity and history
All your Copilot interactions stay visible in the sidebar, so you can scroll back to previous prompts and refine follow-ups without losing context.
Copilot Chat in Office. Image (c) Microsoft
Copilot Chat rollout
Copilot Chat will start rolling out to Business users with Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Business subscriptions.
Rollout will start with users running Microsoft Office Current Channel.
IT Admins may need to enable Copilot Chat in the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre if not already enabled.
Organisations are advised to work with their training and adoption team (or partner) to ensure this is included in training and update communications.
Training or IT can Use the Microsoft 365 usage analytics dashboard to track adoption, active users, and common Copilot queries.
With Copilot Chat in Office Apps, do we still need use Microsoft 365 Copilot?
In many cases users that already have Microsoft 365 will not want to give it up. There are many things to consider however when comparing Copilot Chat to Microsoft 365 Copilot. These inckude:
Whether users want/need to analyse multiple documents or entire SharePoint libraries in one session.
Build (or use) Copilot Agents (whilst Copilot chat users can do this they are cost option and charged on consumption)
Rely on GPT-5’s advanced reasoning, creativity, and summarisation capabilities.
Want built-in image generation or the ability to upload custom files for Copilot to process.
Use other Microsoft Copilot agents for sales, service, or finance workloads that will soon be bundled.
Use features like Facilitator, Interpreter and Meeting Recap in Microsoft Teams
Other advanced features such as Copilot Notebooks.
My Thoughts and Comments
Brining Copilot Chat directly into Office apps should help streamline and standarise IT provision whilst boosting productivity, reduce context-switching, and eliminate routine tasks for all users.
I love that Copilot Chat is now integrated directly into the Microsoft 365 apps and is governed by the Copilot Control System (CCS). CCS is the enterprise-grade portal for IT administrators to secure, manage, and analyse the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat, Copilot Studio, and related agents across their business.
Confusion? Training and awareness will be key to ensure users know that they can and can’t do in Copilot based on the license they have. It could become easy for users with a Copilot Chat acess sitting next to a user with Microsoft 365 Copilot to question why they don’t have access to some features where as their colleague does!
Teams has a powerful new capability called the Facilitator Agent – a Copilot-driven meeting assistant designed to make collaboration smoother, smarter, and more productive. Think of it as a virtual chairperson that keeps your meeting on agenda, on-time and to point,whilst allowing participants to focus more on the meeting than taking notes.
Facilitator in Teams Rooms – Image (C) Microsoft.
Facilitator auto-drafts agendas, keeps people on track of the agenda and timings, provides rolling summaries, decisions, and action items all in a secure shared Loop page that everyone can co-author / edit across desktop, web, mobile, and even now in Teams Rooms direct from the room controls in Teams Rooms.
What is the Teams Facilitator Agent?
The Facilitator Agent is an AI-powered feature built into Microsoft Teams that works alongside Microsoft 365 Copilot (you need a Copilot license to activate it and interface to it). It acts as a shared assistant within your meetings and chats, providing:
Real-time AI-generated notes: Captures discussion points, decisions, and action items as the meeting unfolds.
Collaborative editing: All participants can view notes and Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users can co-author notes live – this ensures accuracy and inclusivity.
Meeting moderation: Helps manage agendas, prompts for goals if none are set, and even nudges participants to wrap up discussions.
Time management: Includes a meeting clock and reminders to keep sessions on schedule.
Post-meeting recap: Provides a structured summary and tasks in the Recap tab, stored securely in Microsoft Loop in the meeting organisers’ OneDrive.
How is it Facilitator different from the old “AI Notes” feature?
Previously, Teams offered AI Notes as part of Intelligent Recap, which generated summaries after the meeting. While useful, it was a passive experience—participants couldn’t interact with or influence the notes in real time.
The Facilitator Agent replaces and enhances this by:
Working live during the meeting, not just after.
Real-time co-authoring of notes by both AI and humans as the meeting progresses.
Acting as an active participant, responding to @mentions and questions in chat.
Providing dynamic updates as discussions evolve, rather than static summaries.
Keeps a track of the meeting, who has spoken, actions and topic/agenda drift (in otherwords it politely nags you!)
What is Facilitator good at?
Facilitator can or could if trusted, replace the chair or act as a chair/co-chair in a meeting. In my personal experience I have foudn it to be really really good at:
Real-Time Note-Taking & Summarisation Capturing key discussion points, decisions, and action items during meetings, with live co-authoring – I love how it writes as the meeting prgresses and even corrects itself.
Meeting Moderation & Structure Detects if a meeting lacks an agenda and prompts participants to define goals. If a meeting has an agenda it attempts to chunk the meeting into sections and helps keep the meeting on topic and ontime.
Improved Collaboration Works in meetings and group chats, keeping everyone aligned—even late joiners. It allows people to talk to the agent too – by mentioning @facilitator if you need it to do something like set an action or recap a point.
Post-Meeting Recap & Accountability Generates structured summaries and suggested tasks in the Recap tab for people to go back to or generate an email follow from etc,.
Facilitator Agent – Current Limitations
I do love usig it – its been GA for a few weeks now, but there are few limitations which I hope/expect will “go away soon”. These include:
Not Available Everywhere: Facilitator currently doesn’t work in external, instant, or channel meetings; mobile users can view notes but not start Facilitator (yet)..
Compliance Gaps: Sensitivity labels don’t automatically apply to notes yet but this is in thge public roadmap.
Using Facilitator in Meetings
Turning it on: By Default, when you create a meeting via Teams, Facilitator is “off” and needs to be enabled by switching the toggle as illustrated below. It can also be enabled from “within” the meeting.
In Meeting Interaction: When the meeting starts, you are notified that Facilitator is running via an in-app notification. Note the meeting does not need to be recorded for this to be active. You also see this indicator under the notes section at the right of the meeting pane.
By the way, if you join a meeting where Facilitator is not active, you can enable it anytime from the menu under “…more”.
You still get a notification when Facilitator is running, and it will period chat to you in the meeting chat to keep you updated on the meeting.
Facilitator in Meeting
In Meeting – Meeting Notes and Actions Beng taken by Facilitator
Actions Generated by Facilitator
During the meeting (and afterwards, which you can find by going back to the meeting in your calendar), you can view and of course edit the notes, actions and also see any “related” content and “insights” that Facilitator has sufaced that it “thinks” might be relevant to the meeting dsicussion you have been in. These notes are captured in a Loop Space which is stored on the meeting organisers OneDrive and shared (automatically) with all meeting participants.
Post Meeting Notes, Actions and Insights.
Facilitator Agent Use Cases
I use this in most meetings but there are loads of use cases I see and hear about.
Daily stand-ups or project huddles to log progress and blockers
Customer calls and scoping meetings capturing commitments and next steps to eliminate follow-up churn
Project update or planning calls.
Facilitator Agent – What is Coming (Roadmap)
This is in preview and will be fully rolled out (GA) by September, and there are a few thinsg still nt he works which I expect will be out soon enough.
Editable Canvas for Chat Notes: AI notes in chats will move to an editable canvas backed by SharePoint Embedded.
Teams Rooms Integration: Facilitator will also (now in Preview) support ad-hoc and scheduled meetings in Teams Rooms, with QR code invites and speaker attribution.
Improved Compliance: Sensitivity label inheritance and enhanced governance via Microsoft Purview will be supported.
Q & A
Q: Is the Facilitator Agent just a rebrand of the previous AI notes feature? A: It builds on that toggle but expands into a full-blown agent. Beyond post-meeting summaries, Facilitator prompts agendas, generates live recaps, drives collaboration via Loop, and integrates with Teams Rooms by QR code.
Q: How does it differ from using Copilot in a Teams meeting? A: Copilot in a meeting is a private assistant—only you see its responses. Facilitator operates in the group context: prompts, highlights, and action items appear for everyone to view and edit in real time.
Q: What’s the added value over just recording and transcribing? A: Recording and transcription are passive: you consume them after the fact. Facilitator is proactive—drafting agendas, nudging for goals, surfacing decisions, and giving every attendee an editable canvas mid-meeting.
Q: Where does Intelligent Recap fit in? A: Intelligent Recap synthesizes speech and on-screen visuals after the meeting ends. Facilitator closes the loop instantly – keeping the conversation structured, accountable, and collaborative from start to finish.
Q: What are the alternatives to Facilitator Agent?
1. Native recording + transcription then manual or Copilot/ChatGPT note generation 2. Intelligent Recap for post-meeting slide and data context 3. Private Copilot chats for ad-hoc AI queries 4. Manual note-taking or shared OneNote pages 5. Third-party assistants like Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai
Q: Do I need a Copilot license to use the Facilitator Agent? A: Any user who initiates or edits AI-generated notes in meetings or chats must have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Unlicensed participants can view meeting AI notes but cannot start or edit them.
Q: What about in-person meetings? A: Coming soon – a new feature in the Teams mobile app will let you start a dedicated in-person meeting with Facilitator right from your phone. This will then kick off a recorded, transcribed session – again with real-time agendas, notes, and follow-up tasks. When you end the meeting, notes save automatically and a “in the past” calendar event is created—everything is surfaced in Recap. – This will requires a Copilot license and is due to be in preview Auguist/Sept – I’ve seen it but don’t have it yet myself!
One of the most frustrating thing about Teams intelligent Recap and Copilot in meetings is in its ability to not understand company acroymns and internal “language” or terms.
Scheduled to rollout in July 2025, tenant administrators will be able to upload a Custom Dictionary through the Microsoft 365 Admin Portal’s Copilot Settings page.
This feature will finally enables organisations to improve transcription accuracy in Copilot and Teams meetings and calls by enabling Microsoft 365 to understand company-specific terminology. This will means that will be able to understand things such as
Industry jargon,
Internal product names and terms
Multilingual terms
This should help ensure conversations are transcribed and interpreted with greater precision.
Why this matters?
Organisations rely on Microsoft Copilot and Teams transcripts for insights, documentation, and knowledge retrieval. However, standard AI transcription can misinterpret niche terms or acronyms, leading to confusion and even sometimes humorous transcriptions.
This new Custom Dictionary feature addresses this by allowing businesses to define key terms their workforce frequently uses.
Real Benefits.
Legal & Compliance Accuracy: Law firms using specialised legal terminology (e.g., “prima facie,” “voir dire”) can ensure precise transcripts without ambiguity.
Enterprise Acronyms & Branding: Technology companies like Cisilion will be able to maintain more accurate documentation of internal project names (e.g., “Project Nebula”) and proprietary solutions.
Global Team Collaboration: Multinational organisations can optimise transcription quality across multiple languages and regional dialects.
Better AI Insights & Search:Copilot will be able to retrieve knowledge more effectively, ensuring summaries, recommendations, and contextual responses align with an organisation’s unique vocabulary.
This update is part of a broader set of Microsoft 365 enhancements including improved accessibility for sign language users in Teams meetings and expanded Copilot capabilities for 1:1 and group calls.
By refining AI-driven language models, Microsoft aims to make workplace collaboration smarter, clearer, and more inclusive.
You can read more and track this features release on the official Microsoft 365 Roadmap.
There’s instructions for enabling and configuring it here.
Every May 4th, us starwars fan unite under the rallying cry, “May the 4th be with you!”.
Just as the ‘real 1st episode’ A New Hope sparked an adventure in a galaxy far, far away, so too is the pace and rapid evolution of AI that is now lighting the path in modern workspaces, business and how we get work done.
Today, and with the help of Copilot, I am not just talking tech—but diving into the human side of transformation with a blend of Starwars and AI, with tools like Microsoft Copilot leading the charge in millions of global organisations, as they discovering that the secret to success isn’t solely technology, but the people-led change that makes innovation stick.
A New Hope: AI’s Journey into the Mainstream
Much like Luke Skywalker’s journey from an uncertain beginning to becoming a beacon of hope, AI is emerging as our modern-day savior in the digital realm.
Just like the journey to becoming a Jedi, this isn’t just about picking up a light sabre or Copilot license and doing a quick bit of training; today’s transformative breakthroughs with AI require a holistic approach that combines practice, perseverance and some adoption and change management to stop you giving in!
When companies deploy Microsoft Copilot across Microsoft 365, they aren’t just rolling out a new features. They’re empowering teams to rethink how they create content, analyse data, and communicate with one another. That’s the real new hope—a future where technology and human creativity merge to spark innovation.
This is where the force is strong!
Harnessing the Force: Microsoft Copilot in Action
Imagine having a droid by your side to help you through your day. Microsoft Copilot does just that:
In Word: Copilot can generate a first draft of a document of your “attack the death star plans” based on a simple Jedi prompt. Whether you’re drafting a report or brainstorming creative ideas on how to defeat Lord Vadar, it can even transform unstructured text into neat tables or summarize long essays, letting you focus on the big picture.
In Excel: Think of it like having a protocol droid like C3PO, who crunches numbers at light speed. Copilot can analyse your attack data, automate complex calculations, and even forecast trends. It transforms raw data into actionable insights, making financial forecasting and data cleaning as effortless as asking for directions on Tatooine.
In PowerPoint: Need sleek, engaging slides about the new SnowSpeeder? Copilot can help create a visual narrative that captures the essence of your story—from selecting design elements to generating concise content—much like a hologram of Leia offering inspiration for your next pitch.
In Outlook and Teams: Whether it’s summarising battle plans you have had over email or chat, drafting quick replies, or recapping Jedi Council meetings with key action points, Copilot enables swift communication. It acts like the trusty astromech droid R2-D2, ensuring you never miss a beat in your day-to-day operations.. Don’t worry…you get language translation from droid to English too!
Agents: just like out faithful droids, Copilot Agents allow orders to be followed but giving specific rules and actions for Copilot to follow using the data we provide. Agents can even tap into to rich data sources and access those death star plans or layout of the death star.
These real-world examples illustrate how Microsoft Copilot isn’t just a tool—it’s a strategic partner fueling change, much like the Rebel Alliance mobilizing for a brighter future.
Lessons from a Galaxy Far, Far Away
The original Star Wars movie A New Hope reminds us that no single hero can change the universe alone. It was the collaboration, strategy, and shared dream of the Rebel Alliance that led to victory.
Similarly, successful AI adoption is not solely about implementing state-of-the-art tech. It’s about embracing a culture founded on continuous learning and empowerment. Change consultants, much like wise mentors in the series, guide organisations through the evolving landscape of AI—not by delivering quick fixes, but by integrating these tools into the fabric of everyday work.
Celebrating Star Wars Day in the Age of AI
On this Star Wars Day, as you sip a Blue Milk latte or a cup of your favorite smokey brew from a bar on Tatooine, take a moment to appreciate the parallel between the cinematic journey of hope and the exciting progress AI is having in our daily lives and work.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan or an AI enthusiast, there are parallels of R2D2 and C3PO and Microsoft Copilot as your digital side kicks. Remember… It’s not about replacing humans, but about enhancing our potential with the help and assistance of technology —giving us the space to be more creative, proactive, and engaged.
As we continue to harness AI, we’re also setting the stage for a new era of innovation where every tool, every strategy, and every individual plays a key part.
As technology evolves and our worlds where AI and humans will walk together converge, remember that every great journey begins with a single step and a single spark of hope.
This Star Wars Day, let’s celebrate not only legendary heroes of the past but also the brave new frontier of AI, where every one of us can become a part of the story. May the AI be with you, always!
Microsoft has just released its annual Work Trend Index report, and as anticipated, its focus is boldly centered on the transformative impact of generative AI in the workplace.
The report reveals that we’re on the brink of a paradigm shift where AI will not only reason but will also solve problems in unprecedented ways. Much like the industrial revolution or the dawn of the Internet, Microsoft suggests that a complete overhaul of work practices may take decades to fully materialise.
The annual Work Trend Index conducts global, industry-spanning surveys as well as observational studies to offer unique insights on the trends reshaping work for every employee and leader across more than data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, LinkedIn labor market trends, and trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals,as well as leading AI-native startups, academics, economists, scientists, and thought leaders.
The full report is in the link below, but I’ve summarised the key insights around how the report claims generative AI is reshaping work and leadership dynamics.
AI’s Transformative Role
AI continues to advance in its reasoning and problem-solving ability, with the potential to revolutionise work.
Major transitions like the industrial revolution and the Internet took decades and view is that full wide scale AI may follow a similar path.
Immediate Impact of AI on work
Key Finding
Stats
AI Adoption
82% of industry leaders acknowledge AI is changing work
New Work Models
The “Frontier Firm” concept describes organisations using AI-powered intelligence on demand.
New emerging roles
The rise of “agent bosses”—professionals managing AI agents to enhance productivity.
Productivity Challenges
Challenges from the last 5 years continue to plaugue employees and impact productivity with tech overload and AI is seen as a “potential” to reduce this and bring better focus to information workers.
The report reveals that 80% of the global workforce feels overburdened by constant interruptions—an email, meeting, or ping every two minutes. Consequently, about 82% of leaders plan to harness AI and digital labor within the next 12 to 18 months to alleviate these pressures.
82% of leaders plan to harness AI and digital labor within the next 12 to 18 months to alleviate work and resource pressures.
Bridging Business Needs and Human
AI is making intelligence more accessible, shifting focus from headcount to on-demand expertise.
It helps close gaps between business demands and human workload.
Organisations are urged to invest in adoption training and business process reviews to determine the most optimum areas to leverage AI.
Key Finding
% impact
Executives concerned about productivity
53%
Global workforce feeling overburdened
80%
Average interruption rate
Every 2 minutes
Leaders planning to use AI to improve work
82% (within 12–18 months)
Talent, Hiring and Employment Trends
Addressing common concerns about AI replacing jobs, the report delves into LinkedIn data that indicates that top AI labs are hiring at twice the rate of traditional big tech companies. Interestingly, it says that much of this new talent is transitioning from established tech firms, underscoring a dynamic reshuffling of skills and expertise in the workforce.
The report also underscores the necessity for executives to strike the perfect balance between human talent and AI agents. As these digital assistants become ever more integrated into daily tasks, the role of the “agent boss” is emerging leaders who build, delegate, and manage AI agents to magnify their impact and steer their careers in the age of AI.
The report talks of a future where every worker, from the boardroom to the frontline, must adopt a CEO-like mindset for an agent-powered startup, predicting that within five years, 41% of teams will be actively training and 36% managing AI agents.
AI labs are hiring at 2x the rate of big tech firms.
Many AI hires come directly from established tech companies.
Human vs. AI Balance in Workplaces
Leadership Perspective
Employee Persective
67% of leaders understand AI agents.
40% of employees understand AI agents.
79% of leaders believe AI will accelerate careers.
67% of employees believe the same.
AI’s current and future role in Work Automation
AI Usage
Areas Impacted
46% of leaders use AI agents to fully automate workstreams.
Customer service, marketing, product development.
Organisations evaluating human-to-AI balance
AI integration must match societal expectations and business needs. |
But…..it states that AI is shifting the global work landscape, demanding strategic adaptation with..
Percentage
Areas Impacted
83% of leaders
believe AI will enable employees to tackle more complex tasks.
78% of leaders
want to recruit for new AI-related roles.
The report highlights that 67% of leaders are familiar with AI agents compared to only 40% of employees, and 79% believe that AI will accelerate their careers, outstripping the 67% noted for the broader workforce.
What other leaders are saying…
Bill Gates (Founder of Microsoft) said publically that AI might eventually perform “most things,”. We have also seen Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff already rethinking his company’s hiring strategies for 2025. This says that as we navigate this transformative wave, company leaders need to carefully consider when and what digital labour can complement, or in some cases, surpass that of human expertise, especially in roles that demand a personal touch or entail significant responsibility.
There is a necessity for executives to strike balance between human talent and AI agents. As these digital assistants become ever more integrated into daily tasks, the role of the “agent boss” is emerging—leaders who build, delegate, and manage AI agents to magnify their impact and steer their careers in the age of AI
Microsoft Work Trend Index Report
Summary
Microsoft’s Work Trend Index report paints a vivid picture of a future in which they show how AI is starting and has the potential to reshape every facet of our professional lives.
It claims that 83% of leaders believing that AI will empower employees to tackle more complex challenges and 78% actively looking to fill new AI roles, the global work landscape is poised for a dramatic evolution—one that necessitates a delicate balance between harnessing digital innovation and preserving the unique value that human insight brings to the table.
Before we start, why should we get excited about a change to Start Menu?
Afterall, it is something that has been under constant critique since Microsoft changed it up (ok – ruined it) with Windows 8, which was a bold (yet poorly received) attempt to modernise the Start menu after years of “consistency” of the Windows 95 start menu which didn’t really change all the way up to Windows XP.
Classic Windows 95 Start Menu (left) and much “unloved” Windows 8 Start Menu (right
Windows 11 Start Menu Changes
The days of the Windows 8 “start menu-less” UI (which was very optimised for touch and aligned to Microsoft’s entry into the devices market with the Surface RT and now more familiar Surface Pro) are thankfully way behind us. The Start Menu came back with Windows 8.1, evolved through Windows 10 and is now clean and elegant blend of what worked well in Windows 95 and what modern touch friendly interface should look like in 2025.
Windows 11 is a great interface, clean and crisp, but there has been lots of feedback around the need to bring more grouping and controls in to Windows 11. This has also led a to plethora of third-party apps that bring some of this functionality back for power-users.
It is now great to see that, in the latest Dev build of Windows 11 introduces a refreshed Start menu design that is designed to enhance user experience and productivity.
New Windows 11 start menu – in Windows Insider Dev Build
This new design aims to provide a more intuitive and seamless interaction, making it easier for users to access their favorite apps and settings. The updated Start menu features a cleaner layout, improved search functionality, and customisable options that allow you to tailor the experience to your professional needs.
How do I try it out?
The new Start Menu design is being tested for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel .
So if you enrolled (or want to), you can get the latest update and check it out. Don’t forget to file feedback in the Windows Feedback Hub.
This new feature is subject to Microsoft’s usual A/B testing meaning not everyone will see the new start menu straight away.
Share your feedback with the community too and if you find this useful, please share this post and help and help shape the future of Windows!
Change is the only constant
Microsoft continuously refines and updates various components of their Windows Operating system, using the Windows Insider Community for early testing and feedback.
Microsoft has finally unveiled a dedicated Windows 11 roadmap website, designed to simplify the lives of IT pros, and IT technical management and users who care about new features and updates.
This addresses longstanding frustrations about the lack of transparency in the Windows Insider program, where new features are tested before going live.
Why Was This Roadmap Needed?
In short – there has never really been one.
For years, IT professionals grappled with inconsistent communication and unclear timelines in the Windows Insider program. Managing systems with this uncertainty was a challenge, to say the least. Microsoft listened to feedback and responded with a user-friendly roadmap that offers:
Feature Tracking: It shows the current status of features—whether in testing, gradual rollout, or general availability.
Intended Timelines: Features now come with estimated release windows, helping IT teams prepare systems for upcoming changes.
Simplified Navigation and Transparency
The roadmap include features that are in testing with users enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, features in a gradual rollout phase, and features that are generally available. Many of the features will include a target release window, which should help with preparing for upcoming features and changes.
Microsoft new Windows Roadmap
This empowers IT and Change Management teams to manage changes effectively, a step forward from the often-criticised lack of clarity in past processes.
What about Windows Server?
No, not yet. For now, it only covers Windows 11 client editions – leaving out Windows Server.
Conclusion – Yes! Finally!
This roadmap marks an important evolution in Microsoft’s approach to transparency, giving IT administrators the tools they need to keep systems running smoothly. Though it’s still early days, the potential for this tool to grow and cover more updates is vast.
Of course just like the Microsoft 365 roadmap, features listed on the roadmap remain subject to change, postponement, or cancellation.
For more details, check out the Microsoft announcement
Finally, it is here – Microsoft 365 Copilot now lets you save your prompts within Copilot for easy re-use later. Yes – this means you no longer need to save your prompts in separate documents or constantly copying and paste them.
When Copilot has completed its response(s), scroll back to your prompt in the chat.
Hover your mouse over the prompt – you’ll see bookmark and link icons appear.
5. Click on the bookmark icon to save the prompt to your library – you can also give it a friendly name to make it easier to find and reuse later.
Accessing Your Saved Prompts
Finding your saved prompts is just as easy.
Click on “View Prompts” above the chat box.
In the prompt library popup window, select “Your Prompts.” where you will be presented with a list of all the prompts you’ve saved.
Click on any saved prompt, and it will automatically paste the text into the chat window, ready for you to use again.
Why this feature matters
The ability to save and easily access prompts directly within Copilot enhances productivity and streamlines your workflow. It’s a small change with a significant impact, making it easier than ever to manage your prompts efficiently.
No more hassle, no more copying and pasting—just seamless, effortless prompt management.
Copilot and Microsoft 365 continues to evolve and add features. The latest feature introduces a seamless method to transform email threads into productive meeting agendas with a single click.
This new feature is designed to streamline the process, ensuring that your meetings are well-organized and productive.
Making Email Conversations more effective
With Microsoft 365 Copilot’s new functionality, Microsoft are making scheduling of meetings from an email (that needs a meeting) super easy.
Copilot can now reason over all related emails within the thread and creates a thorough meeting agenda with a summary of the conversation within the email chain. This captures the main topics and any early decisions, making sure everyone is up to speed and ready to jump in.
Here’s how to use it:
Open an email thread on a topic for which you would like to schedule a meeting from.
Click “Schedule with Copilot” button found in the top menu bar of the email.
Click the “Insert” button to populate the agenda in your invite. You can then edit and tweak the agenda as needed to ensure it suits your needs.
Once done, you’ve used Copilot to create a Meeting and agenda based on the threads and topics in the email chain without having to plough though it yourself. This can help you ensure relevant topics and themes are brought into the agenda.
Why would you want Copilot to do this for you?
We all had email chains that need to be a meeting at somepoint. Copilot takes most of the effort out of this and ensures that you get a meeting agenda that covers the key themes from a email chain. Copilot also attaches a copy of the original email to the meeting invite and helps ensure that the right people are invites. So all you need to do is choose the time for the meeting. This can be a real timesaver for everyone.
Conclusion
By transforming email threads into organised meeting agendas, Microsofft 365 Copilot in (new) Outlook can help ensures that everyone stays informed and meetings run smoothly.
I personally love this new feature which really helps to ensure all themes and concerns are raised as an agenda in the meeting.
Why not give it ago in your next meeting scheduling task.
As we all get back into the flow of work following the Christmas and New Year break, Microsoft continue to announce new features for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Copilot has been available to “everyone” to buy and use now for a year now and it’ actually hard to conceive that it only actually ben 12 months! That said, I know hundreds of organisations that are using it every day and getting a great experience from it. I also know others (and people in my own organisation that have a bit more of a “hmmmmm and it’s ok” mindset to Copilot.
As I head back into my first full week at work with Copilot at my side, it’s worth looking at just how far it has come. From taking notes and summarising content, helping me catch up things I have missed (or forgotten) and evening being my companion to help me thrash out ideas, explain things, get a different opinion – Copilot is by my side.
Copilot is like that tireless colleague who’s always ready to lend a hand, doesn’t get tired, doesn’t take a lunch a break and doesn’t need to pop out for a coffee when I need it! I often describe Copilot as a drunk intern, in that it adds huge amounts of value to my day, but it doesn’t solve every work problem, nor can it assist with every task. It can’t make decisions for me, do my executive reports, remember to do things for me (there’s other tools for that) and can’t actually do my job for me. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a tool, a powerful tool, but like any tool, its effectiveness hinges on how you use it and more importantly how you don’t!
Having helped many customers and seen the results it can have, as well as my own experience of integrating Copilot into my daily work (and personal online life) routine, it takes time. It not as simple as allocating a licensing and clicking the Copilot button. Good adoption and useful results require practice (lots), sharing what works, and an understanding of its capabilities and limitations. In this blog. I share a few little tips we have learned on the way, coupled with some tips to see value every day.
1. Results may not be instant – Practice makes perfect
You may hear people say “it is rubbish” or “it didn’t do what I thought”, or “Copilot can’t help me in my job”.
This is sometimes true, but nearly all of the time, it is simply not! Copilot can certainly help you brainstorm ideas, answer questions, explain content and even get a third person review on something you have created, but it it is not going to transform you into a master mathematician, coder, web designer or salesman overnight.
Like learning a new musical instrument (my son is learning the trumpet at the moment) or a language, it takes time (and patience) to get the hand of pretty much any tool.
Success comes (and I see it every day) by embrace the learning curve, trying new things and giving yourself room to grow alongside this technology which is constantly evolving and improving. Working with Generative AI is a totally different way of working with technology so give yourself time to work with it. There is no AI Natives (yet!).
2. Don’t get fired – Copilot for everyone but not for everything!
Think of Copilot as your co-pilot, not as the captain of your work. Copilot is there to assist you in what you do but not to take over. While it might draft a great email or executive summary, help you expand on a point or explain something, only you (as the Pilot) can ensure it aligns with your objectives and ask and that what it produces resonates with your audience.
Remember you are accountable for what Copilot produces for you – Copilot is the co-pilot. You are always in command. Copilot will remind of this, but do. Check the content, is it what you needed and asked for. Does it seem correct, read well and has it used the right content and context. If Copilot get’s it wrong, its your block on the line not Copilot’s.
Your expertise and personal touch are irreplaceable, and you are still responsible for what it produces. Don’t look silly buy not checking what it produces!
3. Remember you are human – It is not!
The Human Touch is everything. For example, when using Copilot to write or reply to a sensitive email, or when writing a personal response to something, Copilot can absolutely provide you with a solid starting point or provide guidance on how to write it.
We have all read those emails comms that are so obviously written by AI. It’s easy to spot an email from someone you know that has clearly left AI to write for them!
Empathy, nuance, and authenticity and the way in which you communicate is what makes you. It’s important to use what Copilot (or an AI) creates as a draft or a guide and ensure you inject your personality and insights to make your communication truly impactful and truly you.
4. Copilot is not a mind reader – be clear in your asks
Copilot doesn’t inherently understand the nuances of your specific situation, so back to my drunk intern analogy, you need to give it context around what you want your assistant to do.
Copilot can “summarise a report” but won’t know how you would like this summarised, the tone you woudl like, who you are summarising it for and how long you want it unless you tell it. Be explicit about the how you want the output (the goal), the context of what you need, and your expectations for how you want the output to be presented.
Remember the formula for Copilot promoting is G.C.S.E – Goal, Context, Expectations and Source.
5. Don’t leave sensitivity to chance
Microsoft 365 Copilot will adhere to your company identity and access management, respect DLP policies and even understand sensitivity labels if they are used.
Many organisations however do not use these (though are starting too), but regardless, make sure you check that you are not feeding Copilot confidential customer information when creating responses for other customers or sharing internal information that is not supposed to be shared.
People get scared that Copilot may share sensitive information. Since Copilot is the assistant and not the author, you are responsible for checking that the data you have fed it (or referenced) can be used and shared externally.
There are new tools coming to help users better protect privacy and for IT / Sec to control what Copilot accesses, but it’s still “on you”. Remember Copilot can’t get the sack – you can!
6. Copilot will not replace learning but it can help you learn.
Some like to portray that they are an expert over night with AI tools like Copilot. Sure Copilot is great at simplify complex concepts or helping you know how to do something in say Excel or Word. Copilot is also really great at helping you understand seomthing, can explain something complex “as if i am a 10 year old” and so on, but it’s not a substitute for your own learning journey.
That said, I find Copilot is great for helping you to learn something. It can help you “learn” the basics about a topic, put things into different perspectives, and even help map learning paths and helps you find resources. At the end of the day, it is still you that will learn what you are learning, but Copilot is really great at helping you learn in your way…
7. Copilot has an appauling memory
One fo the things Copilot is really bad at (by design currently) uis remembering things. This mean that not only will it not ask you how that report went, or if your customer replied to the email it helped you write.
In fact Copilot cannot (currently) evcen remeber past convrsations or preferences so once you “start a new conversation”, all history of that task you were working are forgotten.
As a tip – I tend to have a couple of chats running in parallel so I can switch between contexts as I need to. ChatGPT now has this capability to imagine* it is only time before this comes to Microsoft 365 Copilot
8. The Roadmap is every changing
The last time I looked, there was 112 new features in development and 18 that are currently “rolling out”. This AI technology is evolving rapidly and Copilot is no exception.
New features and improvements roll out regularly. It’s worth checking on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap from time to time to ensure you stay informed about what is coming. There are also a plethor of blogs like this one, user communities, webinars and formal training to help you stay abreast of the latest innovations and tips.
Knowledge is power – the more you know, the more you can leverage Copilot to your advantage.
9. Integrate Copilot into your daily routine
Consistency is key. Copilot really adds avlue when you use it little and often and when it’s seamlessly woven into your daily workflow. Here are some reaaly simple habits to form:
Start your week with a recap: Use Copilot to remind you of any emails you did not repond to last week from your peers or boss, to prepare you for your upcoming meetings, or to sugegst a date your team (rememeber it knows who works for you) are available for an afternoon off-site.
Start Your Day with Copilot: Use Copilot in the morning to outline your your day, important tasks or get you up-to-date on something. You will soon be able to schedule Copilot to do certain tasks for you.
Catch on and control your meetings: One of Copilot’s hero capabilities is to help ypou catch up on a meeting you missed, take notes for you in a meeting and even help keep the meeting flowing.
Remeber your GCSEs: Before engaging with Copilot, know what the Goal is you are trying to achieve. Give Copilot context on how you wnat it done and ensure it knows what you expect. Clear questions yield better answers.
Share and Collaborate: Encourage your team to adopt Copilot and share tips. Collective learning amplifies benefits.
The true power of Copilot lies in how you incorporate it into your daily routine:
10. Don’t Give up
You may not always get the instant results, don’t give up. Ttry again, ask others what works for them and check out help and guidance. There’s loads.
Stay Curious and ensure you experiment with different prompts and functions. You might discover new ways Copilot can assist you.
Reflect Regularly by taking time to assess how Copilot is impacting your work. Adjust your approach as needed to maximise benefits.
Share your success so other can benefit from what you have learned and what works best for you.
Final Tips
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a remarkable assistant that can amplify your productivity, spark innovation, and even make mundane tasks more manageable. But remember, it’s a tool designed to enhance your capabilities – not replace them. By using it thoughtfully, staying informed about its features, and integrating it into good work habits, you can unlock its full potential.
Technology is a force multiplier, but it’s the human element that truly makes the difference. Copilot offers incredible capabilities, but it’s up to you to wield them effectively. Use it wisely, continue to learn, and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Your proactive engagement and thoughtful application are what turn a powerful tool into transformative results. So take charge, embrace the technology, and watch how it elevates the work you do every daym, little my little, bit my bit can make a huge difference in a week.
Oh and don’t forget to share your successes with others.
Microsoft announced at Ignite, the new Facilitator agent – an update to the AI notes in Teams that works inside your meetings and chat and is designed to enhance collaboration and streamline the way teams work. It works similar to the AI generated notes after a meeting, but this works live alongside you and all participants can see it working live in the meeting.
How Facilitator works in Teams Meetings
Facilitator will take real-time notes during Teams meetings (not currently adhoc meetings or Meet Now), enabling everyone to co-author and collaborate seamlessly. This allows meeting participants to focus and engage more deeply in meetings, while ensuring alignment before the meeting concludes.
To enable this feature and use it a meeting, organisers can toggle AI-generated notes setting on or off when setting up a meeting in the Teams calendar or enable it during the meeting via the Notes section in the meeting.
Once enabled, a notification appears in the meeting chat to inform all participants. This also activates meeting transcription, with a notification to users… During the meeting, participants can click on Notes to open a pane where the AI generated live notes are created every few minutes, organised by topics and follow-up tasks.
What is nice about this is that participants can edit the notes inline or assign tasks to users, with attributions indicating whether the content is AI-generated or user-edited making these Co authored notes by humans and AI!
After the meeting ends, notes continue to be accessible in the Recap tab and are stored in the OneDrive of the user who enabled real-time notes. These notes are contextual to the meeting transcript, ensuring relevance and accuracy.
Future Capabilities in Meetings
As the Facilitator agent gets developed futrther, Microsoft say that it will be able to take on more tasks to enhance meeting effectiveness. Soon, it will also manage meetings from end-to-end, including managing agendas, moderating discussions, and handling action items automatically or semi-automatically
In early 2025, the real-time note-taking experience will also expand to Microsoft Teams Rooms. Employees will be able to invite a Teams Room to a meeting, allowing all participants to see real-time notes however, they have joined the meeting. This feature will also be available for ad-hoc meetings, enabling in-office discussions to be captured seamlessly.
How Facilitator works in Teams Chats
As of now (November 2024), the Facilitator Agent creates and maintains up-to-date summaries of what it considers valuable information within Teams chats. This includes key decisions, action items, and open questions, helping groups stay focused, align faster, and resolve issues efficiently.
AI-generated notes are automatically enabled when creating a new chat. For existing chats, users can toggle it on via the Notes icon which is shown at the top right of the chat window as shown below.
When notes are enabled, a notification appears in the group chat to inform everyone that notes are being taken in real time.
To access the notes users simply click on the Notes icon in the top right corner of the chat to show a summary of the chat thread, organised by topics with corresponding decisions, action items, and unanswered questions.
These are continuously updated as the chat conversation progresses.
Availability and access
Facilitator is already in public preview now for desktop (Windows/Mac), web, and iOS/Android. To access the public preview of the new Facilitator agent, meeting hosts need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Facilitator will only be available to users that have app permission policy for Microsoft apps set to “Allow all apps”. The Facilitator App will become available soon for Admins to see and manage in Teams admin center. For more information about app permission policies, see Manage app permission policies in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
The new Agent Builder in SharePoint is designed to help people use and share Copilot Agents to query sibsets of data within your organistion using a simple click, point, create and tweak approach. Out of the box every SharePoint site (assuming you have a Copilot license) brings a Copilot sidebar allowing you to ask questions about the content, but you can also replace this with a custom Copilot Agent which we will walk through here.
The goal is to enable business users to easily empower their employees use Copilot to reason over specific information sources or across discrete repositories. Microsoft provide a handful of “use cases” as why a Copilot agent might be useful and what’s great is that “anyone” can create one!
Image – Microsoft Copilot Adoption Hub
Once created and tested, these custom Copilot Agents can be easily shared via a simple hyperlink that can be embedded in SharePoint pages or used in Teams.
In this how to blog, I walk you through the setup and customisation of a Copilot Agent using Agent Builder in SharePoint, customising of the agent, and sharing of the agent. Free to follow along and create your own agent.
Copilot agents are specialised AI assistants designed to enhance the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot by connecting to your organisation’s knowledge and data sources. They are custom tools embedded in Copilot Extensions, providing additional functionalities tailored to specific needs. In SharePoint, Copilot agents are natural language AI assistants that give trusted, precise answers and insights. Agents are expert systems that operate autonomously on behalf of a process or company.
Building your First Copilot Agent
Step 1 – Choose your starting point.
First, you need to navigate to a SharePoint site, library or document library you want to create an “agent” from. You will of couse need to have access to that Library and also need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to create the agent.
From here, you can select the three dots and choose “Create a Copilot agent“
Step 2 – Click and you are done!
Done (well – you will probably want to customise it and test it), but once you do this, your Copilot Agent is created for you. Click “Edit” to make changes, such as change the name, and then of course test it out.
Step 3 – Edit and Customise
Here I have clicked “Edit” to take me to the customisation pages. From here you can toggle across different options to customise your Copilot agent.
The customisation pages are split into three sections – Idenitity, Sources and Bebaviour – each of these allow you to tweak the way the agent works. There’s also the ability to edit for advanced customisation through Copilot Studio but this feature is not available at time of writing…
In the Identity Section – you can change the name, icon and description (who the agent introduces itself to the user)
In the Sources Section – you can modify the sources that the Copilot Agent uses. You can add additonal SharePoint sites, individual files or extenal sources such as websites.
In most cases, I suspect you will want to use a single library or a discrete set of files, but you can add up to 20 different information sources. These 20 information sources can be mean sites, libraries, folders, or documents. What’s more, you can have a combination of these as long as the total is 20 sources – for example, you could add 20 sites or 20 documents, or 3 sites, 5 document libraries, 2 libraries and 10 descrete files as long the total sources totals 20.
Note: You of course need to ensure that the intended users of the agent have access to the sources your specify as agents run under the security context of the user using the agent.
In the Behaviour Section, you can customise the welcome message which will help your users to understand the purpose of this Copilot agent and can also edit or change the starter prompts to help users get some tips on some of the things the agent can do for them. You can also give the agent specific instructions on how it should respond and behave based on the user input.
As you update the behviour, you will see the changes in real-time.
Testing your Copilot Agent
Once you are ready, you can test your agent, simply writing a prompt in the chat dialog as you would with any other Copilot – feel free to try one of the templates or create your own.
Be sure to test a few things, you might find you need to update the user instructions and review the sources before you share it with other people to test further.
Once you are happy with your agent, click save. The agent is saved a “file” with a .copilot extension in the root of the SharePoint folder you started creating your agent in.
Using your Copilot agent
Once saved, your new Copilot Agent launches automatically for any user accessing the SharePoint library that has a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. This replaces the default copilot interface that opens when you visit a SharePoint library.
Sharing your Copilot agent
Since the Agent is encapsulated as a manifest “.copilot” file, you can simply share the file like you would any other file, or click the three dots and select share.
Once shared, they click on the file and open it and it displays like a standalone app or can of course access it from the SharePoint library directly.
[Current] Limitations
Currently Custom agents do not appear on the main Copilot Business Chat pages, though this is coming I beleive. On the FAQ on Microsoft’s support page it clearly states that “You can access a Copilot agent from a SharePoint site, page, or document library. You can also use it in Teams if added. We plan to make it available across Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Copilot.” https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/get-started-with-copilot-agents-in-sharepoint-69e2faf9-2c1e-4baa-8305-23e625021bcf.
Advanced editing with Copilot Studio is not currently available, but is also coming soon.
It’s not possible to “hide” the .copilot file (that I can see anyway), so make sure to change permissions on the file.
Microsoft yesterday, announced the next stage of the evolution of Microsoft 365 Copilot with Wave 2. Amongst the many new features was the launch of Copilot Pages. This innovative feature is the first step into the new evolution of Copilot which is set transforming how employees interact with Microsoft AI in a new collaborative environment.
What are Copilot Pages?
Copilot Pages is a dynamic, persistent canvas integrated into Copilot chat, designed to facilitate what Microsoft call “multiplayer AI collaboration”. It allows users to turn insightful Copilot responses into durable, editable content that can be shared with teams for further collaboration.
“This is an entirely new work pattern – multiplayer, human to AI to human collaboration”. | Jared Spataro | VP of AI at Work | Microsoft.
Copilot Pages -Key Features
Dynamic Collaboration: With Copilot Pages, employees can work directly with Copilot on a shared page, prompting and refining responses together as a team rather than individually in silos.
Persistent Canvas: The pages are persistent, meaning collaborative efforts are saved and can be revisited and edited at any time by anyone.
Team Learning: This feature encourages learning from each other’s prompts, enhancing the overall quality and depth of the information gathered.
Getting Started with Copilot Pages in 5 Steps
Access Copilot Pages: Open your Copilot chat and look for the new “Pages” tab. Click on it to create a new page or access existing ones.
Create a New Page: Click on “New Page” to start a fresh canvas. You can name your page to keep your projects organized.
Collaborate with Your Team: Invite team members to your page by sharing the link. Everyone can contribute by adding prompts, refining responses, and editing content.
Save and Revisit: Your pages are automatically saved. You can revisit and edit them anytime, ensuring your collaborative efforts are always up-to-date.
Share and Export: Once your page is finished, you can share it with others outside your team or export it for presentations, reports, or further analysis.
Check out the Microsoft Video for more.
Where are Copilot Pages Stored?
Copilot Pages are .loop files stored in a new user-owned SharePoint Embedded container. IT Admins can manage these files using Loop admin switches and other governance tools. The feature supports various compliance and manageability capabilities, including GDPR compliance, Intune device management, and data loss prevention. IT admins manage these .loop files just like any other files (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx, etc.). They support all the features of the SharePoint file system, including everything detailed here.
Additional capabilities, such as programmatic API access for third-party tools, are expected in Q4 CY2024.
Copilot Pages is rolling out “later this month” for Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers and will soon be available to all Microsoft 365 subscribers. Loop must be enabled in your environment.
What’s one of the biggest stumbling blocks to incorporating AI tools like ChatGPT and of course MicrosoftCopilot into daily work? Well, I can tell you that from first-hand experience is it not knowing how or when to use it. In this blog I’ll explore a few scenarios where I believe anyone with a Copilot License can start seeing real tangible value from GenAI today.
What is Copilot in Microsoft 365?
I’m hoping by now that I don’t actually need to answer that one, but… In short Copilot for Microsoft 365 is Microsoft’s Generative AI chat bot, that is grounded (meaning it has access to) your Microsoft email, chat, documents and more and is also integrated (natively) into all your Microsoft 365 apps and services like Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, Loop etc.
The goal of Microsoft 365 Copilot is to make us all more productive and creative what ever job we do and results from many of the customers we have been working with this past 12 months is impressive.
Overcoming the adoption hurdle
The biggest hurdle to getting regular and good results with Copilot is actually not what the tool can do or can’t, the expertise around ‘good prompting‘, as important as it is, but is in fact, realising the benefits of making Copilot part of everything you do through habit forming.
To do this, we need to get into the habit of using Copilot every day to really see the value we get from it little by little. many of our customers have this same problem and it’s not a Copilot thing, it’s a new technology thing. We are all so busy doing our jobs that many don’t have time to learn new things or try new ways of working.
Good adoption and successful use of any technology requires some input and perseverance from us as users. As we realise the value, we use these technologies more and the value we get from increases exponentially. Think about the first time a company introduced a word processor in place of a typewriter for example!
Adoption and Change Management, whether run internally (as part of any technology deployment) makes a huge difference to successful deployment and Copilot is a big change in how people work and what it can do, so it does need to be handled that way. Stats show that technology projects that have a proper adoption and change programme linked to them are significantly more likely to deliver the desired return on investment. According to Microsoft, proper change management can lead to 85% of users finding tools like Copilot helpful in getting to a good first draft faster.
Adoption and change management is not just training (though that is of course part of it). Its about helping people learn the tools within their roles, to see the benefits and to tell/show other team members so they learn and benefit together. At Cisilion, we know (first hand) and through the dozens of customers we are working with that one of the primary blockers to adoption of Microsoft Copilot is simply not knowing how or when to use it and so simply “forgetting about it”.
My Copilot Hero Scenarios
What follows next is 3 (three) Copilot for Microsoft scenarios that I use all the time that I can honestly say have become habit forming for me and many of my team.
Goodbye Internet Search: Firstly, I very rarely now ever use internet search to find information. Both in work and personal life, whenever I need to find information about something I turn to Copilot. Whether I’m looking at finding out about a new product, event, news story or whether it’s in my personal life, Copilot just gives me the details I need in seconds rather than giving me a page of search results which I have to sift through manually to see what is relevant. If you use SharePoint at work – this becomes even more powerful!
Email and Meetings (and calls): These are definitely the biggest use cases for Copilot in my daily routine. I simply don’t work or handle email and meetings in the same way anymore. One of the things Copilot can do really well is summarise what’s in my inbox and prioritise requests and things that need my attention – especially If I have been away for a few days. The same goes for meetings. I can pay more attention “in” meetings and have Copilot tackle notes for me, summarise things or even check things for me.
Copilot can summarise actions, clarify points, and what is really cool is that it can do this for me even if I can’t actually attend the meeting (through a new feature called “Follow a Meeting“. Copilot in Outlook can summarise long email threads and can even draft replies for me in a professional manner so all I have to do is edit and refine before clicking send. Copilot also works on phone calls if you have Teams Phone by the way!
My Goto First: Copilot is the first place I go when I have a document, presentation or other document to read or reference. What do I mean by that?
Like us all, I get sent a lot of documents to read, review and comment on. I am now in a habit (I think it’s a good one) of using Copilot as my assistant as my first point of call every time. I always ask Copilot to summarise the document (Word does this automatically now when you open a document) so I can quickly understand the key points of the document before I read it more deeply. This is useful for getting up to speed quickly, determining if I need to read it (guess what – sometimes I don’t) or to help me understand the theme as I do read it. I also use Copilot to ask questions about a document (PDF, Word, PowerPoint etc).
I can also ask Copilot questions about the document such as, “does this business case make a clear and strong argument“, or “what is the financial impact of this proposal“, or “what risks have been identified in this project plan“, etc. I can use Copilot to help me spot gaps, or areas that the author might have overlooked or omitted. I can also ask Copilot to summarise things I do not understand in a simpler language or to help me get a new perspective on something.
Summary
Using any new tool, like Copilot sometimes takes time to realise the true value and power of what it can do. Working with Gen AI like Copilot is as revolutionary as the internet was back in the 90s. Many doubted it and now the world would stop without it.
If you are lucky enough to have a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license, then I suggest you try the above. Use it every day and share your successes with your peers. If you don’t have an adoption and training team in house, then reach out to a partner for help, check out the adoption hub at Microsoft or get some ideas from my other blogs, or from YouTube 🙂
Remember, think about and push Copilot to help you get more value at work and at home. Before starting any task, such as a presentation, meeting minutes or follow-up or research, think “Can Copilot help me here?“
Yes – there’s a bit of a learning curve, but the effort you in will be worth it (IMO).
Some video links…
I have a growing handful of use case and scenario videos I am happy to share below… Hope you find the useful. If you do.. Let me know.
