What Early Adopters Reveal About Microsoft Copilot

Based on surveys of hundreds of global users, results show Copilot helped people complete key tasks 29% faster while earning rave reviews – over 70% of users gained productivity, and 68% reported improved work quality.

Leverage Copilot for increased productivity

So, what is Copilot? In short, it adds AI directly into daily workflows to trim tedious tasks, which frees up focus for higher-value work.

Specialised versions of Copilot tune suggestions for different roles with privacy a top priority. Initial releases include Copilot for Windows, Sales, Customer Service and Microsoft 365

Copilot accesses relevant data within Microsoft apps in a secure process. This approach ensures that your business data is kept separate and isn’t used to train a large language model. This is an important distinction from using ChatGPT or other GenAI tools, which retain data to train their model.

With privacy and security assured, Copilot is an always-available assistant to boost personal productivity.

In this article, we’ve shared our top takeaways of its potential cited by early adopters in the latest Microsoft Work Trend Index Special Report.

Microsoft Copilot Productivity Outcomes

Source: Microsoft Work Trend Index Report

Productivity and Efficiency

In one controlled experiment simulating a typical day, Copilot users achieved faster completion across three everyday tasks: information search, drafting written content, and summarising meetings while maintaining accuracy.

For example, Copilot users summarised a missed 35-minute meeting nearly 4x faster – 11 minutes vs 43 minutes.

Beyond time saved, Copilot could also alleviate mental strain. In the above scenario, participants reported feeling 58% less drained when summarising meetings with AI assistance.

In another study evaluating the effort of searching for information, Copilot reduced time spent gathering details across files, emails and calendars by 27%.

Let’s now look at the impact of Copilot across various roles.

And by freeing up sellers from administrative tasks, more than two-thirds reported that Copilot allowed them to spend more time with customers.

Copilot usage also improved CRM data quality for more informed selling. 68% stated Copilot for Sales makes Dynamics 365 updates easier with less effort. 64% also said it enables more personalised interactions with customers.

Going back seemed unthinkable! More than three-quarters of sellers surveyed said they didn’t want to lose access to the Copilot assistant.

Copilot Use Case Examples

While broad testing groups reflected general productivity gains with Copilot, survey findings also demonstrated measurable improvements for specific roles:

Sales Performance Improvements

Early data from Microsoft’s own salespeople indicates 90 minutes recouped per seller each week. Also, 79% reported Copilot for Sales helped them reduce administrative work.

By minimising manual data entry and helping them stay within the flow of work across Outlook and other apps, 68% said they could keep CRM updated with less effort.

And by freeing up sellers from administrative tasks, more than two-thirds reported that Copilot allowed them to spend more time with customers.

Copilot usage also improved CRM data quality for more informed selling. 68% stated Copilot for Sales makes Dynamics 365 updates easier with less effort. 64% also said it enables more personalised interactions with customers.

Going back seemed unthinkable! More than three-quarters of sellers surveyed said they didn’t want to lose access to the Copilot assistant.

Customer Service Enhancements

Evaluating Microsoft’s customer service organisation of over 11,500 agents, researchers studied a group using Copilot versus a control group without access. Those using Copilot saw a 12% reduction in average case resolution time.

Additionally, 10% of cases needing cross-collaboration were resolved independently by Copilot. This means providing customers faster help to avoid wait times caused by pulling in secondary teams.

Related: How Copilot for Service Transforms Customer Support 

Finance and Accounting 

72% of finance professionals surveyed saw the potential for AI-powered tools to validate data accuracy.

Based on their Copilot usage, 73% believed it could simplify reporting complexities company-wide.

IT Security

A security-focused version of Copilot is an AI-powered assistant tailored to help IT security teams detect and respond to cybersecurity threats more efficiently.

Recent Microsoft research demonstrated how Copilot for Security can act as a force multiplier for IT security. In one study of new-to-career security analysts, those using Copilot for Security were 26% faster across all tasks and 44% more accurate in their responses.

Additionally, 86% reported that Copilot for Security improved their work quality and made them more productive.

Next steps…

As the research shows, a common thread of Copilot streamlining repetitive tasks to safely boost productivity is emerging, allowing staff to focus on satisfying, human-focused work.

While the technology remains in its infancy, feedback from early adopters demonstrates that it can help people across many roles save time and complete tasks faster.

And Copilot achieves this through strict data security protocols and responsible AI principles that respect existing data security policies.

As a technology partner keeping pace with leading Microsoft advancements, our team at ServerSys are ready to discuss how Copilot can support your growth objectives while safeguarding data. We welcome the opportunity to evaluate how these AI-powered innovations can benefit your organisation.

Read about the latest Copilot innovations in the 2024 Release Wave 1.