Confused about which Copilot products are right for your organisation? Our guide is here to help you make an informed decision.
Microsoft has revolutionised the way businesses operate by integrating advanced AI capabilities across its suite of applications. This comes in the form of Microsoft Copilot, your AI companion for increased productivity. Copilot now takes many forms, but generally it’s designed to assist users in various tasks, making work more efficient and effective.
From summarising lengthy documents in seconds and catching up on email threads, to preparing pitch decks and generating visual data, Microsoft’s Copilot products offer a range of solutions designed to streamline operations.
This blog will provide an overview of all the different Copilot options available, but feel free to use the table of contents below to navigate to the one you want to know more about.
- What is Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat?
- What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?
- Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales
- Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service
- Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales
- Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service
- What are Copilot Agents?
- What is Copilot Studio?
What is Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat?
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is the free version of Copilot which is automatically included in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft’s Edge web browser. You can access Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat via a web browser, the Windows desktop app, iOS and Android apps, and via the interface built into Microsoft Edge. If you’re a business user, you may already have access to this handy AI tool. You can try it now by heading to https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat
What can you do with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat?
Copilot as a search tool
Many people use Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat as a search tool, where you can type a search query using natural language to have Copilot provide an answer, linking to the sources it used to obtain that answer.
For example, if we were to enter the following prompt: “Give me a concise summary of recent news about the renewable energy industry in the UK. Outline the key technological advances over the past year, include news on any upcoming developing technology and provide a brief outline of the key players in the UK renewable energy sector.”, we would be given a succinct breakdown featuring bullet points informing us that the UK is significantly expanding its wind energy sector, about new regulations cracking down on modern slavery, energy pricing plans, the increased capacity of renewable energy, innovations in offshore wind farms, and emerging flow battery technology. We’re told of key players like Vestas Wind Systems A/S and the Ecotricity Group Ltd, among others.
This would provide a great jumping off point for a report investigating this topic, without having to at first trawl multiple search results to reach this stage.
Copilot as a problem solver
Alternatively, you can also use Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat’s artificial intelligence to work something out very quickly or use logic to solve a problem.
For example, you could create a prompt telling it all the topics you’d like to cover in an upcoming meeting involving multiple stakeholders, give it the time the meeting starts, ends and time allocated for a quick break and then ask it to provide a timing breakdown of the meeting so you’ll know how much time to allocate to each topic and ensure there is sufficient time to cover everything. You can even use it to create the meeting agenda.
Copilot as an AI artist
Copilot also comes equipped with a ‘designer’ feature where you can ask it to generate an AI image based on a text-based prompt you provide. It’s also possible to provide an image as a reference, however, this currently delivers mixed results.
You can also ask Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (the free version of Copilot) to:
- Write code
- Draft emails
- Create document or blog outlines
- Generate ideas for marketing campaigns, social media and other content
- Get a quick summary of a topic, like ‘Explain the basics of project management’
- Summarise text by pasting it into Copilot and asking for it to summarise key points
- Create simple charts from data you paste into Copilot
- Outline and organise key steps in a process
It’s also worth noting that Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat comes equipped with Enterprise Data Protection (EDP), which includes encryption, rigorous security controls, and data isolation. This means your prompts and responses are protected under the same terms as other Microsoft 365 services, such as Exchange and SharePoint. Additionally, Microsoft commits to privacy standards like GDPR and ISO/IEC 27018, and ensures that data is not used to train foundation models.
The data you enter isn’t available outside your organisation, unlike with other AI models where there have been cases of employees inadvertently leaking sensitive corporate data.
What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot has all the features of the free version, but it’s grounded in your business data and hooked up to apps such as Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel. It can draw from data in OneDrive and SharePoint, meaning you can ask questions to find information fast, instead of searching through files.
Microsoft 365 Copilot also comes with Copilot Studio, meaning users can build and customise Copilot Agents for Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps. We cover Copilot Agents and Copilot Studio in this article.
What can you do with Microsoft 365 Copilot?
- Get summaries of huge documents
- Catch up on email threads in seconds
- Prepare a pitch deck in minutes, not hours
- Summarise meetings and create tasks for actions
- Generate charts and visual data quickly
- Generate detailed reports on market trends and competitor analysis
- Draft blog and social media content using company data sources
- Track project progress, set milestones, and manage deadlines
- Generate FAQs based on common issues
- Perform complex financial calculations and generate forecasts
These are just some examples of the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Copilot Pro vs Microsoft 365 Copilot
It’s also worth noting that there is another paid version you may have seen called Copilot Pro, which is available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Family and Personal plans. You can use this in Microsoft’s desktop apps like Word and PowerPoint but it doesn’t include Teams and the ability to draw from company data via sources such as SharePoint, so it’s designed for personal and family use.
To use Copilot with a Microsoft 365 Business subscription, you must buy Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is a separate product.
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales
Users of Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise or Premium benefit from access to Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales, included in these versions.
This means you benefit from features like ‘smart paste’, allowing for intelligent copying and pasting of ad hoc data into your Dynamics 365 forms. and ‘timeline highlights’, which gives you AI-generated summaries of emails, notes, appointments, tasks, phone calls and more. Microsoft is constantly adding new AI features to Dynamics 365 Sales, so you’ll also have access to additional features as they are released.
What’s the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales and Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales?
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales is specific to the Dynamics 365 Sales application, whereas Copilot for Sales is a broader, cross-application assistant for sellers and integrates with Teams, Outlook and other Microsoft 365 apps. Copilot for Sales also integrates with other sales tools and CRM systems, like Salesforce.
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service is included in Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise and Premium and adds AI features specifically into this CRM solution.
When you enable Copilot features in Dynamics 365 Customer Service, you can use AI to respond to questions, compose an email, draft a chat response, summarise a case and conversation, and more.
What’s the difference between Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service?
Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, workflows, and knowledge sources, including Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 apps. It also integrates with other service tools and CRM systems, like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Zendesk.
Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales
For much larger enterprise-level sales departments, understanding the importance of efficient and effective sales processes and being able to stay on top of pipelines is crucial. Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales is designed to enhance your sales team’s productivity with advanced AI capabilities and utilising your sales data.
Unlike Microsoft 365 Copilot, this sales-led AI solution integrates seamlessly with your existing CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, including native support for Dynamics 365 Sales and Salesforce, but can be configured to integrate with other sales solutions.
What can you do with Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales?
- Automatically summarise emails and meetings, highlighting key points and actioning items directly within your CRM platform
- Create tailored sales content, such as email campaigns and presentations, that resonate with your customers
- Provide intelligent recaps of sales meetings, summarising discussions and outlining next steps
- Gather sales insights from your CRM data and ask questions of it using natural language
- Access AI-generated key performance indicators (KPIs), and suggested tasks during Teams calls
What’s the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales and Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales?
If you are using Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise or Premium, you will have Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales included. This version is specific to the Dynamics 365 Sales CRM application, whereas Copilot for Sales is a broader, cross-application assistant for sellers and integrates with Teams, Outlook and other Microsoft 365 apps. Copilot for Sales also integrates with other sales tools and CRM systems.
Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service
Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service is an AI-powered solution which provides real-time, data-driven insights that help your service representatives handle support cases more effectively and accurately. It is designed to boost productivity and resolve cases more efficiently, increasing customer retention. It’s ideal for companies with a large workload of customer support cases.
By bringing case insights and next-generation AI into the tools your team uses daily, Copilot for Service helps them tackle issues like slow case resolution and inconsistent customer experiences, ensuring your team can deliver exceptional service with ease.
Unlike Microsoft 365 Copilot, this customer service-focussed AI solution integrates seamlessly with your existing CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, including Dynamics 365 Sales, Salesforce, and ServiceNow.
What can you do with Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service?
- Access real-time insights from your CRM data
- Generate concise summaries of support cases
- Use AI to tailor responses and solutions based on historical data and customer interactions
- Seamlessly integrate with your CRM’s knowledge base to provide accurate and timely information to service representatives
- Receive AI-driven recommendations based on CRM data analysis
- Share CRM-linked insights and updates within Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook and Teams
What’s the difference between Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service?
Unlike Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service (included in Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise) which adds AI features specifically into the CRM solution, Copilot for Service integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, workflows, and knowledge sources, including Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 apps.
What are Copilot Agents?
Copilot Agents are intelligent AI assistants that you can customise to meet the specific needs of your business. These agents can automate routine tasks, provide insightful data analysis, and enhance decision-making processes. Rather than just automating processes using a formula or pattern, these autonomous agents can ‘think’ for themselves, using logic and predefined instructions to handle a variety of functions, from customer support to sales assistance, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic activities.
Implementing Copilot Agents in your business can significantly boost productivity and efficiency. Whether it’s handing over repetitive tasks, gathering real-time insights, or being able to enhance customer interactions, you can use the power of Copilot Agents to support your team and drive the business forward.
What can Copilot Agents do?
- Schedule meetings, send reminders, and organise files
- Analyse data and provide real-time insights
- Answer customer queries, provide solutions based on historical data, and escalate issues
- Automate workflows using their own intelligence
- Tailor responses and actions based on individual customer profiles and preferences
In fact, Microsoft has already created a range of pre-built Copilot Agents to get people started. Here are two examples:
Employee Onboarding Agent
This agent streamlines the onboarding process for new employees by automating tasks such as document submission, training schedules, and introductions to team members. It ensures that new hires have a smooth and efficient start, reducing the administrative burden on HR teams.
IT Helpdesk Agent
Designed to help employees resolve technical issues independently, this agent can troubleshoot common problems, provide solutions based on internal knowledge bases, and create support tickets if necessary. This helps reduce the workload on IT staff so they can focus on the big projects without interruptions!
Adding Agents to Microsoft 365 Copilot
It’s possible to add agents to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, but it gets a bit more complicated, so it’s worth contacting our team for more information. If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, the use of agents comes included.
What is Copilot Studio?
Copilot Studio is a graphical, low-code tool designed for business owners, team leaders, and IT administrators who want to create and customise intelligent AI agents without needing extensive technical expertise.
With Copilot Studio you can build your own agents and agent flows that can automate tasks, provide insights, and interact with customers and employees across various channels, such as websites, mobile apps, and Microsoft Teams.
What can you do with Copilot Studio?
- Create agent flows that automate routine tasks, such as scheduling meetings, sending reminders, and organising files
- Develop agents that can answer customer queries and provide solutions
- Design agent flows that integrate your apps and services
- Create agents that tailor responses and actions based on individual customer profiles
- Build research agents that assist with complex, multi-step research tasks
- Create agents that streamline HR processes such as employee management
- Create a compliance agent to track regulatory changes, ensure compliance with industry standards, and generate reports for audits
- Monitor stock levels, predict inventory needs, and automate reordering with an inventory management agent
These are just some examples of the many things you can create with Copilot Studio.
Summary
It’s clear that Microsoft’s Copilot technology has a wide range of potential applications within many organisations; whether it’s helping sales staff sell more, service staff provide more efficient support, or simply assisting with the day-to-day tasks of office life. However, to get the most from Copilot, it’s worth speaking to an expert to ensure that you implement it correctly. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, why not get in touch with one of our team today to discuss your options?
