Microsoft has introduced Microsoft Copilot 365, an innovative AI-powered productivity tool that revolutionizes the way we work. Designed to reconnect us to the essence of work, Copilot combines large language models (LLMs) with Microsoft Graph and Microsoft 365 apps, transforming words into a potent catalyst for creativity and productivity.

Embedded within everyday tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, Copilot serves as a collaborative partner, unleashing creativity, boosting skills, and streamlining tasks. Additionally, the new Business Chat feature leverages natural language prompts to access data from emails, calendars, chats, and meetings, enabling unprecedented capabilities. Crucially, users retain full control, choosing to keep, modify, or discard suggestions, empowering them to be more creative, analytical, expressive, and collaborative in their work.

As of June 2023, Copilot is in Beta testing and is scheduled for a release “later this year”. The planned price tag, however, is steep at $30 per user per month. This price may cause some companies to pass on immediate adoption but Microsoft is expecting that it won’t take long for most companies to adopt. “This new generation of AI will remove the drudgery of work and unleash creativity,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “There’s an enormous opportunity for AI-powered tools to help alleviate digital debt, build AI aptitude and empower employees.”

What can Copilot help you do?

Microsoft Copilot transforms your creative process in Word, providing a first draft to edit and iterate upon, saving significant time in writing, sourcing, and editing. While Copilot’s suggestions may vary in accuracy, you maintain complete control as the author, guiding the tool to refine, rewrite, or provide feedback. In PowerPoint, Copilot assists in crafting stunning presentations by incorporating relevant content from previous documents, while in Excel, it enables instant trend analysis and the creation of professional data visualizations.

Microsoft Copilot streamlines work by tackling the 80% of busywork that consumes most of our time. In Outlook, Copilot helps clear inboxes swiftly by summarizing emails and suggesting replies, while in Teams, it enhances meeting productivity by summarizing discussions and proposing action items in real-time. Additionally, Copilot in Power Platform empowers users to automate repetitive tasks, create chatbots, and develop functional apps effortlessly. Beyond individual productivity, Copilot establishes a new organizational knowledge model, unlocking valuable insights from untapped data with Business Chat, making information readily accessible across the organization through Microsoft 365, Bing, and Teams.