Artificial Intelligence is all over the place these days. Based on the news cycles, you would think you’re about to be replaced with an AI bot any second now… or maybe you already have been. It seems like you can’t turn around without hearing about another company’s AI capabilities. We would be remiss if we didn’t give you some clarification about Microsoft Copilot and other Microsoft AI solutions since Microsoft is the leader in productivity software, Microsoft 365 is used in a vast majority of business, and we’re a Microsoft Partner.
What is Copilot and Does Microsoft Have Other AI Offerings?
Copilot is Microsoft’s generative AI solution designed for use as a digital assistant and productivity tool that integrates directly with Microsoft 365. We’re going to focus on Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat but there are other components to Copilot. Microsoft’s other AI services are designed to help end users indirectly or provide AI services for a narrower set of topics. By indirectly, we mean they provide AI services for organizations to build their own custom services on top of (e.g. a customer service chat bot to answer specific questions about product order status).
What Can Employees in My Organization Do with Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Copilot can do a lot. Microsoft believes that using Copilot can help reduce errors, boost productivity, and save workers’ time. It can summarize document contents for you, write email drafts, and help re-write email/document/blog content that you think could sound better. Microsoft is building out a scenario library to explain different use cases for Copilot to help you plan your adoption journey.
- Going to the Copilot Chat interface here.
- Logging in with your Microsoft 365 account (make sure you get the green shield and checkmark at the top right).
- Begin using Copilot via the chat interface (you can even upload documents in this interface).
What About Security?
Security is absolutely a concern. First and foremost, Microsoft has a lot of resources on how AI works, security of its AI solutions, and even a hub for “Responsible AI” (references below). The absolute basics of security around AI boil down to a few things:
- Make sure you have updated corporate policies in place so employees know what is acceptable (e.g. Acceptable Use, Approved Applications list, Approved AI resources list, Approved processes for use of AI generated content).
- Make sure you are logged in to Copilot and have the green security checkmark before you begin using it.
- Make sure sensitive content in Microsoft 365 is properly secured (e.g. all the HR data is in the HR SharePoint site with the proper security groups).
How Do You Get Started?
Reach out to us about licensing options and costs. Vista has a special going on for Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses if you purchase a Copilot subscription before September 30, 2025 (added on to business subscriptions only; minimum 10 users; other terms and conditions apply).
If you think your organization might have the internal resources to handle a Microsoft 365 Copilot implementation, your best place to start is the Microsoft Adoption Site.
The adoption site has a plethora of resources targeted at different audiences such as the leadership team to help set proper goals and understand governance/compliances, the end users to understand how to get the most productivity from Microsoft 365 Copilot, and technical staff to understand how to secure and control Microsoft 365 Copilot.
If you aren’t sure or don’t think your organization has the resources to handle a Microsoft 365 Copilot implementation, please contact us. We have many resources to be able to assist your organization with its adoption journey whether it’s just talking through licensing options, identifying where your organization might get some value, preadoption security assessments, or other parts of the journey.
Interested in discovering what your Microsoft 365 Copilot journey could look like? |
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References:
- Step 1: Understand Copilot: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/collections/7rmiy0yrnw8d6
- What are Azure AI services? https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/what-are-ai-services
- Microsoft 365 Copilot drove up to 353% ROI for small and medium businesses—new study: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2024/10/17/microsoft-365-copilot-drove-up-to-353-roi-for-small-and-medium-businesses-new-study/
- Introducing Copilot Analytics to measure AI impact on your business: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftvivablog/introducing-copilot-analytics-to-measure-ai-impact-on-your-business/4301717
- Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-privacy?view=o365-worldwide
- Empowering responsible AI practices: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/responsible-ai
- Enterprise data protection in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/enterprise-data-protection
- Prepare your organization for Microsoft 365 Copilot: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/prepare-your-organization-microsoft-365-copilot/
