Copilot: What is it and how does it work?

Microsoft Copilot, officially launched on November 1, 2023, for enterprise customers, is an advanced digital assistant integrated into Microsoft 365 applications. But what is Microsoft Copilot? It is a technology that utilizes generative artificial intelligence and large language models (LLM) to process and understand data from Microsoft Graph, such as emails, chats, and documents, to which users have authorized access.

Microsoft Copilot assists users in creating and optimizing texts and images, enhancing work efficiency. Its introduction was announced on March 16, 2023, and a demonstration of its capabilities took place on March 28, 2023, during the Enterprise Connect event.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

So, what is Microsoft Copilot? Microsoft Copilot is an advanced solution designed to optimize and initiate routine knowledge-based tasks commonly performed by users. It is an assistant integrated into the daily-used Microsoft 365 applications, leveraging generative artificial intelligence and large language models (LLM) through the Microsoft Azure OpenAI service.

Copilot works in synergy with users, generating responses based on an organization’s data, including documents, emails, calendars, chats, meetings, and contacts. At the user's request, Microsoft 365 Copilot can combine these data with the user’s current work context, such as ongoing meetings, email exchanges, and chat conversations. Microsoft ensures that the user always maintains complete control over the process, deciding what to keep, modify, or delete.

Microsoft Copilot: How does it work?

The following diagram provides a visual illustration of Microsoft Copilot's operation process.

To fully understand how Microsoft Copilot works, let’s examine the process in detail.

1. User Input

Microsoft Copilot receives input from users within applications like Word or PowerPoint. This input can be a request for assistance in content creation, editing existing texts, or generating responses to emails or messages.

2. Initial Processing (Grounding)

Before processing the input, Copilot performs a pre-processing phase known as "grounding." During this phase, the input is analyzed to improve the specificity of the request. For example, if the input includes text from files or other sources, Copilot integrates it to better understand the context. It is important to note that Copilot only accesses data to which the user has authorized access, ensuring security and privacy.

3. Post-Input Processing

Once a processed input is obtained, Copilot sends the request to the large language model (LLM) for processing. The response generated by the LLM is then subjected to a series of additional processes by Copilot. This process includes additional grounding calls to Microsoft Graph to acquire further context, responsible AI checks to ensure ethical processing of responses, and security and compliance checks to ensure adherence to company policies.

4. Response Return

Once the processing is completed, the processed response is returned to the application where the request was generated. Users can then view and evaluate the response, deciding whether to keep it as is, modify it, or discard it.

This process occurs iteratively, with Microsoft Copilot coordinating the various services involved to produce relevant and specific results for the organization, based on the context of company data.

5. Semantic Index for Copilot

This index is a map of user and company data that identifies relationships and connections. It works with Copilot and Microsoft Graph to create a comprehensive map of all data and content within an organization, allowing Microsoft Copilot to provide personalized, relevant, and actionable responses.

6. Microsoft Graph

Represents the “gateway” to access data and intelligence within Microsoft 365. It provides a unified programmability model that allows interaction with data not only in Microsoft 365 but also in Windows and Enterprise Mobility + Security.

The functionality of Microsoft Copilot relies heavily on Microsoft Graph and the Semantic Index.

Microsoft Copilot, and its key integrations

To access Microsoft Copilot, a company must subscribe to a license costing $30 per user per month, available to Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium customers. It is important to note that Microsoft has established a minimum requirement of 300 seats for access to Copilot. Additionally, the company’s IT must configure and enable Copilot for use, meeting the set prerequisites.

Microsoft Copilot offers support in creating documents, presentations, spreadsheets, notes, emails, and other tasks.

Let's see what kind of support Copilot offers within a company's main software tools.

Microsoft Word and Copilot

Copilot facilitates the composition and editing of texts on a specific topic, providing intelligent suggestions based on existing content in the document. Additionally, it can generate summaries of existing documents, providing a clear and concise view of the content.

Microsoft Outlook and Copilot

With Copilot, users can delegate email drafting, allowing Copilot to draft responses and provide summaries of email conversations. This enables efficient communication management and quick resolution of issues.

Microsoft PowerPoint and Copilot

Copilot transforms presentation creation, allowing the generation of entire presentations, including images and texts, based on content from other documents. It can also create summaries of longer presentations and support the reorganization and restructuring of the presentation to maximize visual and conceptual impact.

Microsoft Excel and Copilot

Copilot enables the creation of complex formulas based on users' needs descriptions. Using artificial intelligence, it can analyze datasets and identify specific trends, providing contextual comments to guide analytical decisions.

Microsoft Teams and Copilot

With Copilot, long and complex discussions within Teams chats, as well as VoIP and PSTN calls, can be summarized. Copilot extracts key points of the conversation and suggests relevant actions in real-time, during or after a meeting, to facilitate collaboration and improve team efficiency.

Microsoft OneNote and Copilot

Users can leverage Copilot’s prompts to draft plans, generate ideas, create lists, and organize information intuitively and efficiently. Copilot acts as a virtual assistant for task management and the creation of organized and informative content within OneNote.

Microsoft 365 Chat and Copilot

Copilot offers contextual summaries of projects, people, and meetings, keeping users updated. It enables collaboration on ideas and content through instructions or reference files, enhancing group work efficiency. Additionally, Copilot helps users find information from various sources, including files, meetings, chats, emails, the web, and company data.

Microsoft Loop and Copilot

Copilot is useful for planning, brainstorming, and collaborating within Loop, allowing users to refine and modify projects collaboratively. It provides intelligent support during the creation and review phases, contributing to optimal decision-making and team productivity.

Whiteboard and Copilot

Using Copilot in Whiteboard, users can receive creative suggestions to stimulate idea generation. Copilot helps organize and summarize ideas on the virtual whiteboard, enhancing productivity and creativity during collaborative work sessions.

Moreover, there are further implementations of Microsoft Copilot that extend its reach and capabilities.

Here's a couple of examples.

Copilot in GitHub

This version aims to assist software development professionals in accelerating the development process. Utilizing artificial intelligence, Copilot for GitHub provides contextual suggestions and guidelines during code writing, improving the efficiency and quality of development work.

Copilot in Power Automate

Here, Copilot is integrated into Power Automate to simplify the creation of automated workflows using natural language. Users can describe their intentions and desired actions to Copilot, allowing Power Automate to translate them into operational and automated workflows.

Microsoft Sales Copilot

This version is specifically designed to help sales professionals optimize sales processes and CRM updates. Integrating artificial intelligence, Microsoft Sales Copilot provides contextual suggestions and predictive actions to improve sales performance and customer management effectiveness.

Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365

Bringing AI to both CRM and ERP, this implementation extends Copilot’s capabilities to improve data and business operations management within Microsoft Dynamics 365. It offers intelligent suggestions to optimize business processes and improve customer relationships.

Copilot in Windows

This version provides artificial intelligence capabilities directly into the Windows operating system. Powered by Bing AI and using OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 and Microsoft Edge WebView, Copilot for Windows offers contextual assistance and suggestions during the use of the operating system and integrated applications.

Copilot: an intelligent coding assistant

Microsoft holds a unique position in the field of artificial intelligence to provide advanced business solutions through the Copilot system. This system goes beyond merely integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Microsoft 365. It is a sophisticated processing engine that operates in the background to combine the enormous potential of large language models, including the powerful GPT-4, with Microsoft 365 applications and company data in the Microsoft Graph. This data is now accessible to everyone through the natural language interface.

Based on your company data

Microsoft Copilot is designed to optimally leverage company data. The large language models (LLM) powered by AI are trained on a broad data corpus, albeit limited. The key to improving business productivity is connecting these LLMs to your company-specific data, ensuring security, compliance, and privacy. Integrated into Microsoft 365, Microsoft Copilot has real-time access to content and context in the Microsoft Graph.

This allows Microsoft Copilot to generate precise responses based on your company data, such as documents, emails, calendars, chats, meetings, and contacts. Copilot combines this information with the current work context, such as ongoing meetings, recent email exchanges, and chat conversations. Thanks to this contextualization, Microsoft Copilot provides accurate and relevant responses and suggestions, improving business efficiency and productivity with personalized and real-time AI support.

Built on Microsoft’s approach to security, compliance, and privacy

Integrated into Microsoft 365, Microsoft Copilot automatically inherits all your company’s security, compliance, and privacy policies and processes. Microsoft Copilot uses two-factor authentication, defined compliance boundaries, and advanced privacy protections to ensure the security of company data.

Copilot respects and enforces existing security policies, ensuring that all information complies with corporate standards. At tenant, group, and individual levels, Microsoft Copilot prevents data loss between user groups and only accesses data for which the user has appropriate permissions. This makes Microsoft Copilot a reliable AI solution capable of providing advanced AI support while respecting stringent security, privacy, and compliance standards.

Architected to protect data

Microsoft Copilot addresses major concerns about data loss and security. The language models of Microsoft Copilot are not trained on your tenant’s data or your prompts, preserving the confidentiality of company information. A rigorously tested authorization model ensures that data is not disclosed between user groups.

Microsoft Copilot uses established authorization technology, ensuring that only data accessible to an individual is presented. This technology, committed for years, reinforces trust in the security and privacy of Microsoft Copilot. The system adopts advanced measures to comply with global security and privacy regulations, such as two-factor authentication and privacy protections. This approach ensures that Microsoft Copilot exceeds required security standards, making it a reliable AI solution for businesses.

Integrated into the company’s apps

Microsoft Copilot is much more than a simple AI integration into daily productivity apps. It represents a significant step forward in the digital transformation of business operations, offering a sophisticated and always-available virtual assistant to optimize daily work. The integration of Copilot into key applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams allows users to fully leverage AI’s potential to improve productivity, accuracy, and creativity in their tasks.

The presence of Microsoft Copilot in all major Microsoft 365 applications ensures a uniform and consistent user experience, whether creating documents, processing data, designing presentations, or coordinating team work. This consistency not only simplifies Copilot’s use for users but also ensures a seamless integration into daily operations, contributing to a smooth transition towards a more intelligent and AI-oriented way of working.

Designed to learn new skills

The core functionalities of Microsoft Copilot mark a turning point in business productivity: the system can create, summarize, analyze, collaborate, and automate using specific content and business context. However, Copilot’s capabilities go beyond these basic functions. The system can interact with applications, executing commands like “animate this slide” and operating between different apps, for example, translating a Word document into a PowerPoint presentation.

Additionally, Copilot is designed to continuously learn new skills. For instance, through Viva Sales, it can acquire the ability to connect to CRM systems to extract customer data, such as interactions and order histories, to improve communications. Over time, Copilot will be able to perform increasingly sophisticated tasks and respond to more complex requests, adapting to new business domains and processes.

Copilot: a support for business productivity

Microsoft Copilot revolutionizes the work process in four ways.

1. More room for creativity

With Copilot in Word, users can kickstart the creative process without starting from a blank page. Copilot provides an initial draft to modify and refine, significantly reducing the time needed for writing, researching, and editing. While always maintaining control, the author can guide the creative process, asking Copilot to make changes, summarize, or provide feedback. In PowerPoint, Copilot facilitates the creation of engaging presentations, suggesting relevant content from previously created documents. Additionally, in Excel, Copilot can analyze trends and create professional data visualizations in moments.

2. Increased productivity

Every worker aspires to focus on the 20% of their work that truly matters, but often 80% of the time is consumed by tedious and repetitive tasks. Here, Microsoft Copilot steps in to lighten the load. With its ability to summarize conversations, lengthy emails, and quickly draft suggested responses, Copilot in Outlook allows users to empty their inbox in minutes rather than hours.

Every meeting becomes an opportunity for productivity thanks to Copilot in Teams, capable of summarizing key discussion points in real-time and suggesting immediate actions. Moreover, with Copilot in Power Platform, anyone can automate repetitive tasks, create chatbots, and quickly turn an idea into a working application.

Data from GitHub confirms that Microsoft Copilot promises to increase productivity for everyone. Among developers using GitHub Copilot, a significant percentage report increased productivity, with 88% stating they are more productive, 74% reporting they can focus on more satisfying tasks, and 77% claiming they save time searching for information or examples.

3. New knowledge model

Microsoft Copilot not only improves individual productivity but creates a new paradigm of knowledge for every organization. Leveraging a vast reservoir of often inaccessible and unused business data and knowledge, Copilot generates an environment where knowledge can flow freely across the organization. Through Business Chat, the necessary information and insights emerge from the vastness of business data, saving users valuable time searching for answers. Access to Business Chat is available via Microsoft 365.com, Bing, and Teams, offering unified access to business resources.

4. Skills growth

Microsoft Copilot enables users to excel in their strengths and quickly acquire new skills. While most people use only a small fraction of the available commands in Microsoft 365, like “animate a slide” or “insert a table,” Copilot unlocks the full range of functionalities using natural language. This is just the beginning of a significant change in how people interact with AI and vice versa. Although there is a learning curve associated with this new work model, those who embrace this revolution will quickly gain a competitive advantage.

Copilot: What's the future of Microsoft's AI?

Microsoft Copilot has charted a detailed roadmap for its future developments, promising significant improvements in the system’s effectiveness and versatility. Firstly, they have implemented the service with support for GPT-4 Turbo, designed to handle more complex tasks, leveraging an updated knowledge corpus up to 2023. This update allows Copilot to draw on two additional years of information, providing more precise and in-depth responses.

In parallel, Copilot has included the new version of OpenAI’s DALL-E model, specializing in generating high-quality images from text. This upgrade brings even more accurate and high-quality visual results.

In the long term, Microsoft Edge will gain the ability to rewrite website text through Copilot, while Bing will integrate a feature called “Deep Search,” optimized by GPT-4 to offer more relevant and effective search results.

Programmers will be able to use Copilot to perform more accurate and complex calculations, analyze data, create visualizations, and conduct advanced mathematical operations with greater ease and precision.

Over time, Copilot will increasingly adapt to specific contexts and be able to perform a wide range of functions and tasks. It will support education by facilitating the design of activity plans for students. It will simplify decision-making in purchases, providing personalized assistance. Additionally, it will find applications in travel, historical research, education, and work, promoting greater efficiency and facilitating access to crucial information.

These developments outline a future where artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated and indispensable, radically transforming the way we work, learn, and interact with the world around us.

Conclusion

Microsoft Copilot represents a revolution in the field of artificial intelligence applied to work and productivity. With its advanced natural language generation and context understanding capabilities, Copilot seamlessly integrates into users' daily activities, offering intelligent suggestions and automating repetitive tasks.

Thanks to its integration with major Microsoft applications and the constant evolution of its features, Copilot promises to improve efficiency, stimulate creativity, and allow users to focus on activities that truly matter.

With a promising future and untapped potential, Microsoft Copilot is an indispensable work companion for your business.

FAQ on Microsoft Copilot

What is Microsoft Copilot?

‍Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered digital assistant integrated into Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Teams. It helps automate tasks, create content, and provide data insights using company-specific data from Microsoft Graph.

How does Copilot work?

‍Copilot processes user input through grounding, sending it to a large language model (LLM), then refining it with context from Microsoft Graph to produce personalized responses.

Which applications support Copilot?

‍Copilot is integrated into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and more, enhancing productivity across these platforms.

Is Copilot secure?

‍Yes, Copilot adheres to Microsoft's security, compliance, and privacy policies, ensuring data protection through measures like two-factor authentication.

How can my company access Copilot?

‍Copilot requires a Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, or Business Premium subscription and costs $30 per user per month, with a minimum of 300 seats.