Microsoft Copilot, Is It Right for My Business? | IT Consultants

THE POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS OF MICROSOFT AI

The adoption of AI continues to accelerate across industries, including manufacturing. According to recent research, 72% of businesses have adopted AI for at least one business function, and half are using it across multiple functions. For manufacturers, Copilot is often a starting point for AI because it works inside tools employees already use every day. The challenge is figuring out whether the organization is ready and where the technology creates the most value. To help clients, prospects, and others, Koltiv has provided a summary of the key details below.

What Is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant, and it’s built into most Microsoft 365 applications. This includes Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. After enabling Copilot through the settings function, it can help users with tasks like summarizing meeting notes or answering emails. For example, a user might ask for help with drafting an email in Outlook or creating a PowerPoint presentation from a Word document. Copilot then generates a response that the employee can review and edit. In other words, it gives employees a running start when working on tasks related to administration or communication.

An important distinction between Copilot and many public AI tools is that it operates within the Microsoft 365 environment. Employees can use Copilot without having to copy and paste any information into a separate platform like ChatGPT. That’s important for all businesses, but it’s especially critical for any business that handles proprietary or sensitive information. Also, by providing an approved platform, leadership can provide employee training and see where AI is creating value.

How Are Businesses Using Copilot Today?

Copilot is most commonly used to improve efficiency and productivity, and many small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are seeing a positive return on investment. It can be challenging to get started through. That’s why most manufacturers are starting with the tasks that employees handle every day, through already familiar tools. If the business has Microsoft 365, Copilot can likely be enabled in the following applications:

• Outlook — Employees can save hours every week by using Copilot here. It can help draft email replies, summarize email chains, and identify action items from conversations. Instead of reading through 20 messages to figure out who is responsible for what, employees can get a quick summary.
• Teams — After a Teams meeting, employees can prompt Copilot to generate a meeting summary and create a custom list of action items. This can be especially useful when someone misses a meeting or needs to review something specific.
• Word — To get communications out faster, office staff are using it to draft, proofread, and adjust tone for a particular audience. Many businesses are using these capabilities to create first drafts and then revise as needed rather than starting from a blank page.
• Excel — Managers are using Copilot to analyze raw data and identify patterns. They can ask questions about anything captured on a spreadsheet, such as “What’s the defect percentage for each product type?” or “Which production line had the most downtime this quarter?”
• PowerPoint — Copilot is frequently used to make presentations based on specific input or prompting. It can also create slide decks from existing Word documents. This can help the sales team. If they are freed up from creating customer presentations from scratch, they’ll have more time to look for leads or prospects and connect with customers.

Understanding the Limitations

There are limitations to this technology. Copilot is a tool, not a decision-making system. Human judgment is still central. AI may make certain tasks faster, and it often sounds correct because of the tight sentences and industry jargon. However, it can make mistakes. For that reason, humans need to stay in the loop of any AI output. It’s important to remember that AI may produce the content, but it is always the responsibility of the human to check for accuracy and appropriate context.

On that same note, Copilot works with the information that already exists within the Microsoft environment. If files are outdated, duplicated, or incomplete, the output will likely reflect those same issues. The old “garbage in, garbage out” saying holds true here. Businesses looking to implement Copilot or any AI system will want to prioritize document management practices to get the most value from the system.

Before moving forward with Copilot or any other technology, business leaders will want to consider a few questions. What business problems are we looking to solve here? What are the risks? How will effectiveness be measured? Is our Microsoft 365 environment ready for AI? Most businesses stand to benefit from this technology, but a holistic review and roadmap for implementation typically increases the level of success.

Contact Us

Implementing Microsoft Copilot is a business decision, not simply a technology decision. A Copilot Readiness Assessment can help organizations evaluate the existing security settings and data quality before forming a rollout strategy. If you have questions about the information outlined above, Koltiv can help. For additional information call 515.223.0078 or click here to contact us. We look forward to speaking with you soon.