It remains unclear if mainstream PC users are utilizing Microsoft’s Copilot AI, but the company asserts that businesses utilizing MS 365 Copilot are experiencing numerous benefits. Through a Microsoft survey, it was found that Copilot users at Honeywell are saving up to 92 minutes per week, while customer service agents at Teladoc are saving up to five hours weekly by utilizing the AI tool for drafting responses. With a year passed since the MS 365 Copilot launch at a cost of $30 per seat, Microsoft is eager to introduce more AI features for corporate use. The upgraded Business Chat app now offers better collaboration with the addition of Copilot Pages, allowing for multiplayer sharing of AI generated content among coworkers. Microsoft is emphasizing the importance of collaborative work patterns where human and AI generated content is durable, editable, and shareable. Pages will be available to Copilot users immediately and will soon be accessible to free Copilot customers with Microsoft Entra accounts. Microsoft is also enhancing AI capabilities across the suite of MS 365 apps with improvements such as Python support in Excel, PowerPoint’s Narrative builder capability, and Teams’ ability to scan meeting transcripts and chats. Outlook will introduce a “Prioritize my inbox” feature, while OneDrive will offer the option to summarize and compare files without opening them using Copilot. Businesses can now create Copilot Agents within Business Chat and SharePoint, functioning as chatbots that can access corporate files and be tagged in comments. Despite the need to assess the effectiveness of these Agents, they offer a guilt-free solution for assigning menial information processing tasks at the end of the workday.
