My Initial Experiences with Copilot
Microsoft has been teasing the release of Copilot for some time. Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 apps and can be used to help you write code, documents, emails, and more. Microsoft Copilot became available to enterprise tenants in November 2023, but it wasn’t until mid-January 2024 that small and mid-sized organizations gained access. For some time, I’ve believed that Copilot has the potential to transform how small and medium-sized organizations get work done every day. So, when Copilot became available, we were quick to add it to our toolkit. Here are my initial thoughts based on the first two weeks of using Copilot.
How is Copilot different from other AI tools?
While ChatGPT and other AI platforms are widely available, these tools typically operate as standalone platforms unless custom integrations are built. Using external AI tools for certain tasks has been worthwhile but can be inconvenient.
Copilot, in contrast, is embedded throughout the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. You use Copilot in context, alongside your daily workflow. Its context awareness is a significant benefit, speeding up tasks that would otherwise require switching between tabs and platforms.
Most importantly, for organizations using Microsoft 365, Copilot is already part of the platforms you use and has access to your internal organizational information. This makes it easier to maintain compliance with organizational information security and knowledge management policies. Copilot uses Microsoft Graph, which securely connects to your content. This means Copilot can leverage your organization’s collective knowledge and expertise without introducing new privacy, security, or data sovereignty concerns.
What’s the user experience like?
Copilot’s interface is minimal. It can be accessed directly or from within several Microsoft 365 apps.
Accessing Copilot Directly
To go directly to Copilot, click the icon in the left sidebar. If Copilot is licensed and assigned to your account, it appears alongside other Microsoft 365 apps (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.).
Interacting with Copilot in this way feels like a hybrid between a chat-based AI tool and an advanced search focused on your organization’s data. You’ll see some starter prompts, but you can ask your own questions. The key is that Copilot has access to all your content within Microsoft 365—it can find, analyze, and synthesize information you have permission to access.
- In tests, Copilot did a good job synthesizing project notes from multiple sources and summarizing interactions with colleagues—including current projects and recent activity.
- Asking “What’s the latest from [person], organized by emails, chats, and files?” produced better results than a generic project summary request.
This kind of synthesis and summarization can be valuable, but Copilot is most effective when used within apps like Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
Accessing Copilot from Word & Other 365 Apps
In Microsoft Word, for example, the Copilot icon appears at the start of a paragraph before you type. Click the icon to open the “Draft with Copilot” prompt, then describe what you’d like to write.
Once you enter a prompt, Copilot generates text directly in your document. After a few seconds, the text appears and you can choose to keep it or make adjustments.
- The quality of Copilot’s output depends on your prompt: the better and more specific your input, the more useful the results; vague or poorly defined requests yield less helpful output.
- Copilot can also help with PowerPoint presentations, generating slides, bullet points, titles, and even images. It can suggest an outline, add summaries or conclusions, and help rehearse your delivery.
- In Outlook, Copilot operates similarly, assisting with drafting and summarizing emails.
What are the downsides of Copilot?
Copilot Licensing & Costs
Copilot costs $30/user/month (annual subscription, plus taxes). As of this writing, there do not appear to be discounts for nonprofits or volume buys. When first released, a minimum subscription quantity was required, but this has changed.
While $30/user/month is only slightly higher than the $20/user/month for premium ChatGPT, the cost may preclude a full organization-wide rollout.
Other Issues & Considerations
- Copilot features can take several days to appear after initial licensing. Some components may be immediately available, but full functionality may take time. Patience is required—sometimes requests are met with a “try again later” message.
- Like any large language model, Copilot may become fixated on incorrect ideas, requiring user guidance to redirect its responses. For example, Copilot can sometimes repeat incorrect suggestions even after being corrected.
In short, human critical thinking is still required. Copilot is a useful partner, not a replacement for expertise or good judgment.
Is Copilot Magic? Maybe
Copilot is not a magic wand that can write anything for you. There are some limitations and challenges that you need to be aware of when using Copilot. For instance, Copilot is not very good at generating original or creative content, such as stories, poems, or jokes. Copilot relies on existing data and sources to generate suggestions, so it may not be able to produce something new or unique. Also, Copilot is not very good at understanding context, nuance, or sarcasm, which can lead to misunderstandings or inappropriate suggestions. Copilot may also have biases or inaccuracies in its data, which can affect the quality and reliability of its suggestions. Therefore, you should always review and edit what Copilot generates before using it.
It’s beginning to feel more and more like a magic wand to me.
Stay tuned—these are just early impressions based on my initial experience with Copilot. We’ll share more about Copilot, especially its implications for knowledge management and information security in future posts.
