Whats New In Microsoft Copolit

Released in November 2023, Microsoft Copilot is the latest AI addition to Microsoft 365. Designed to enhance and improve the way you work with Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It has a range of capabilities and benefits to streamline your daily workflows and foster effective collaboration.

Copilot is designed to work alongside users in the 365 apps you use daily, it’s here to streamline your daily tasks and make life easier. So, what does it do exactly?

Copilot integrates directly with Microsoft 365 apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams: Many of us use these apps to manage most of our business work and communication. By leveraging the power of AI, Copilot turns your commands and content into actionable, productivity-enhancing tools.

Copilot operates in real-time accessing content and context from your Microsoft Graph – this includes documents, emails, calendar entries, and more. With this information, Copilot provides contextually relevant suggestions and actions, allowing you to be more creative in Word, more analytical in Excel, and more efficient in Outlook and Teams.

Copilot is available on different levels of subscription, with a free version available to all Microsoft users.

Free Microsoft Copilot: The free version of Copilot includes

• Chat with text, voice, and image capabilities
• Summarisation of documents and web pages
• Image creation in Designer (formerly Bing Image Creator)
• Web grounding
• Use of plugins and Copilot GPTs
• For work: when enabled, commercial data protection is included for eligible Microsoft Entra ID users at no additional cost.

Copilot Pro: The next level of Microsoft’s Copilot is designed for individual users and costs £19 per user per month. It includes everything in Copilot, plus:

• Faster responses during peak times
• Copilot in select Microsoft 365 apps
• Faster AI image creation

Copilot For Businesses: Designed for businesses for use with a Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Business Premium subscription it costs £27.20 per user per month. It includes everything in Copilot, plus

• Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook
• Copilot in Microsoft Teams
• Enterprise-grade data protection
• Microsoft Graph grounding
• Customisation and extensibility through Microsoft Copilot Studio

Using Copilot in Word for Document Creation

Transform how you create documents in Word by integrating large language models with your content. You can start drafts, generate comprehensive content based on context, and even transform text into tables. For example, if you need to draft a contract, simply ask Copilot to draft it using specific details, and it will use data from your organisation to produce a precise document. This not only saves time but also improves the quality of your outputs, with the ability to adjust the tone and style as needed.

Analysing Data with Copilot in Excel 

Copilot in Excel revolutionises data analysis by providing insights through simple commands. You can start by asking Copilot to analyse data, and it will display trends, summaries, and even create pivot tables and charts. For a deeper dive, you can ask follow-up questions, and Copilot will generate a new sheet to explore various ‘what if?’ scenarios. This tool is ideal for visualising data trends and making informed decisions based on robust data analysis.

Creating Presentations with Copilot in PowerPoint 

With Copilot in PowerPoint, creating engaging presentations becomes effortless. You can start with an existing Word document or PDF, and Copilot will use your input to build a presentation that includes your organisation’s themes and templates. It can add and animate slides, generate speaker notes, and include relevant images, making your presentations professional and functional.

Overview of Business Chat Feature 

Microsoft Copilot enhances your business communication by integrating seamlessly with Microsoft Teams. The Business Chat feature allows you to interact naturally, using everyday language to request data or information. This capability is powered by the Microsoft Graph, which feeds into your prompts with relevant data from your emails, meetings, and files, ensuring that the responses you receive are not only accurate but also tailored to the context of your query.

Improving Team Collaboration with Copilot in Teams 

Copilot in Microsoft Teams enhances team collaboration by streamlining communication and project management. It organises meeting notes, follows up on action items, and generates status updates, so that information can be readily shared and accessible. By summarising conversations and suggesting responses, Copilot boosts productivity and ensures that team efforts are synchronised, leading to better collaboration.

Managing Projects and Communications with Ease 

For project managers, Microsoft Copilot is a game-changer. It automates routine tasks like scheduling meetings, sending reminders, and generating detailed reports, saving time and improving accuracy in project management processes.

When integrated within Microsoft Teams, Copilot provides real-time access to project documents and communications, simplifies data querying, and assists in creating visually appealing reports through Microsoft Power BI. This functionality not only aids in effective project management but also enhances decision-making by providing clear and actionable insights.

Security and Compliance with Microsoft Copilot 

Security Features and Compliance Policies 

Copilot for Microsoft 365 follows stringent security standards and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and European Union (EU) Data Boundary. The system is designed to block harmful content, detect protected material, and prevent prompt injections, to protect your data. Microsoft Copilot also uses Azure OpenAI services specifically configured for enterprise use, ensuring that customer content is not cached and that modified prompts remain within the secure Microsoft 365 service boundary.

Using Microsoft Copilot In Your Organisation 

Do you want to start using Copilot in your organisation? Softext is here to support you as you use Microsoft 365 for business. Our technical support team will ensure your 365 business apps are configured correctly so Microsoft Copilot can provide accurate insights.

For help and support with Microsoft 365 for business or Microsoft Copilot get in touch by calling 0121 323 2304 or email us info@softext.co.uk.