Microsoft Copilot - this will be important in 2024

Copilot is seen as the "iPhone moment" for Microsoft, according to one analyst. The AI offensive will be available to every Microsoft 365 user from 2024. What IT professionals should know now.

Colleague Copilot

Copilot is an AI-based digital assistant designed to increase productivity and simplify complex tasks in Microsoft 365 applications. It uses language models to generate content, provide real-time responses and keep users up to date on company projects. To do this, the assistant analyses and synthesizes user data stored in Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Copilot will be available in Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams. This will enable the tool to automatically create documents, analyze data and create presentations. In the new version of Teams, meeting notes can be created automatically and tasks can be delegated to team members. In Outlook, it searches through invitation details, related emails and relevant documents to create summaries.

Copilot for Azure and other tools

The AI assistant will also be integrated into Azure and support IT professionals in the management and operation of cloud infrastructure and services. By combining large language models with the Azure Resource Model, Copilot should enable a comprehensive understanding and effective handling of Azure functions.

In addition, Copilot will also be integrated into other tools such as Microsoft Loop to facilitate collaboration and project planning.

What about data privacy?

The first question that many people are now asking is: when will we finally be able to switch to autopilot with Copilot? Microsoft announced the roll-out at the beginning of November. However, only companies with an active Microsoft 365 E3/E5 subscription with at least 300 users can still test the AI.

The topic is particularly exciting from a data protection perspective. The new Outlook app has already caused a stir, as it not only transfers access data and passwords to Microsoft cloud servers, but also all emails.

The language model behind Copilot is based on the information it extracts from the Microsoft Graph. In other words, chats, meeting notes or documents created in Word or Excel. Microsoft assures users on its website that security and data privacy are taken care of. However, how administrators can protect sensitive company data has yet to be tested in practice.

Further challenges

The introduction of Copilot into existing infrastructures and processes will be a challenge for many companies. IT teams need to understand how Copilot works to ensure effective integration and migration.

Microsoft's complex licensing model also requires precise knowledge of the specific license requirements for the desired products or services in order to plan budgets efficiently.

The employees who work with the new tools must not be forgotten. Every IT project should therefore have a change management and adoption plan. Training and internal support programs help to ease the transition for team members and ensure that all questions are answered.

Learn all about AI with skill it

Even if not all users have yet completed the Microsoft 365 Fundamentals course, our course is suitable as preparation for the roll-out of Microsoft Copilot. Microsoft 365 Fundamentals. And if you want to delve deeper into the topic and build your own AI application, the course "Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution" provides comprehensive knowledge.