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What is a copilot?

Discover what a copilot is, how to use a copilot, and how a copilot can boost productivity.
Explore Microsoft Copilot

What is a copilot?

A copilot is a conversational, AI-powered assistant that helps boost productivity and streamline workflows by offering contextual assistance, automating routine tasks, and analyzing data.
  • Get an overview of what a copilot is and how it helps improve productivity with AI.
  • Explore how to use a copilot to reduce manual tasks and refocus on strategic work.
  • See real-world examples of AI assistance in action across industries like retail, finance, healthcare, and government.

What can a copilot do?

A copilot offers a wide range of AI-assisted capabilities to optimize workflows and enhance productivity. A copilot helps people by:  
  • Boosting productivity. Complete tasks faster with a copilot’s intelligent suggestions, making content creation, data analysis, and communication more efficient.
  • Simplifying automation. A copilot can automate repetitive tasks, no coding required.
  • Providing contextual intelligence. AI suggestions help you make faster, more informed decisions.
By working alongside people, a copilot boosts overall efficiency, allowing users to focus on higher-value tasks rather than manual, time-consuming activities.
You can use a copilot to help with and simplify tasks like:
  • Document creation: Microsoft 365 Copilot helps you draft reports, presentations, and emails by generating content and offering editing suggestions so the final result has your personal touch and suits your own style and needs. Learn more about creating documents with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
  • Data analysis: In Excel, Microsoft 365 Copilot can help you analyze data trends, generate formulas, and create visualizations to simplify decision-making. Learn how to identify insights with Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel.
  • Project management: With Microsoft 365 Copilot in Microsoft Teams, it’s easier to track tasks and schedules to keep projects on course. Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams also helps record meetings, take notes, and create action items based on conversations in your Teams calls. Learn more about working with Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams.
  • Communication: In Outlook, Microsoft 365 Copilot can help summarize key action items from your inbox by topic or sender. Microsoft 365 Copilot can also summarize lengthy email conversations, draft emails with your desired tone and length, and help adjust the tone and structure of your emails for the clearest message possible. Learn more about Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook.
Learn more about what you can achieve today with Microsoft 365 Copilot and follow the Microsoft Copilot blog for the latest updates and news.

How to use a copilot within other Microsoft tools

Copilot is built into Microsoft 365 applications so you can streamline tasks such as drafting documents, analyzing data, and managing projects, while staying in the flow of work.  
  • Copilot in Word helps you draft and revise content, saving time on writing tasks.
  • Copilot in Excel simplifies complex data analysis by automating formulas and generating insights.
  • Copilot in PowerPoint assists in creating visually compelling presentations from an existing file or a simple prompt with AI-driven design suggestions.
  • Copilot in Teams enhances collaboration by summarizing discussions and streamlining project management.
Accessing Microsoft Copilot within Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams makes workflows more efficient. But the potential extends even further when connected with other Microsoft services like Azure and Dynamics 365, opening the door to advanced business applications that can transform how organizations operate.
Within Azure, Microsoft Copilot can help:
  • Automate infrastructure management, optimizing cloud workloads based on usage patterns.
  • Enhance app development by providing AI-assisted coding suggestions and generating testing scripts.
  • Deliver predictive analytics and insights to support business forecasting and operational efficiency.
Within Dynamics 365, Microsoft Copilot can help:
  • Streamline customer interactions by generating AI-driven recommendations for sales, marketing, and customer service teams within a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
  • Automate financial reporting, invoice management, and other routine tasks, improving operational accuracy and efficiency.
  • Forecast demand and optimize inventory levels with AI-enhanced planning tools.
These integrations allow businesses to scale tailored, AI-powered applications that support decision-making, automate repetitive processes, and uncover actionable insights. With Microsoft Copilot embedded in Azure and Dynamics 365, organizations can drive innovation across departments, making AI a central part of their operations.

How a copilot uses AI and machine learning

AI assistants are powered by cutting-edge AI and machine learning technologies, making them more intuitive with each use. By learning from user interactions, a copilot provides personalized recommendations that adapt over time, improving productivity and decision-making.
The key components of a copilot’s functionality include:
  • Natural language processing, which helps a copilot understand and respond to commands through everyday language.
  • Machine learning algorithms that analyze user behaviors, preferences, and patterns, allowing a copilot to offer more accurate and context-aware suggestions and refine its outputs to anticipate user needs based on previous actions.
As you continue interacting with a copilot, you’ll see it adapt to your workflow to offer increasingly tailored support. For example, a copilot may recommend formatting options or suggest advanced data analysis based on your habits.

Examples of a copilot in action

AI is already driving productivity and innovation across industries by automating tasks, improving decision-making, and supporting strategic initiatives. Here are some real-world examples of how businesses could use a copilot to streamline their operations.
  • Retail: Retailers could use a copilot to optimize marketing budgets, employee shift scheduling, and store revenue with real-time monitoring and data analytics. Personalizing shopping experiences and streamlining processes like product stocking can improve customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
  • Financial services: Financial institutions can use a copilot to automate financial modeling and reporting, speeding up analysis and improving reporting accuracy. Streamlining customer service operations, like decision-making and investment strategy development, can increase customer satisfaction, market share, and revenue.
  • Healthcare: With a copilot, hospitals can enhance collaboration between care teams, reducing administrative tasks and allowing more focus on patient care. Processes related to drug research and development and clinical trials can all be simplified with AI as well. And workforce shift planning, a significant challenge in healthcare facilities, can be made more efficient with AI-powered data analysis.
  • Education: In educational settings, a copilot can enhance productivity and student engagement. Educators could use AI to streamline lesson planning, assessment creation, and administrative tasks like policy drafting. By automating data analysis, a copilot can assist with understanding student performance and enrollment trends, making it easier for administrators to focus on strategic improvements. AI can also help personalize support for student learning by adapting content to individual needs and simplifying complex topics. That frees up time for faculty to prioritize high-impact teaching.
  • Government: In government, a copilot could transform processes by optimizing budgeting, enhancing communication, and streamlining operations. AI-assisted data analysis can help departments manage budgets effectively, create strategy reports, and improve courtroom and public service operations. A copilot could help streamline communication by assisting with drafting public information, translating messages, and prioritizing tasks, ultimately empowering government agencies to operate more efficiently and transparently.
  • Manufacturing: A copilot can enhance efficiency in manufacturing by automating complex processes, optimizing asset management, and simplifying workforce tasks. AI can help monitor production equipment, predict maintenance needs to reduce downtime, and manage inventory levels with precision. It can also support quality control by analyzing data logs for early detection of issues and help manufacturers effectively evaluate supplier performance and contracts for better supply chain management.

The business benefits of a copilot

A copilot uses AI-assisted automation to handle repetitive work, allowing people to concentrate on high-value, strategic activities instead. A copilot can help people:
  • Reduce manual effort. Automating processes like document creation, data analysis, and scheduling minimizes time spent on routine tasks, making employees happier and more engaged with important work.
  • Enhance decision-making. By providing intelligent insights, a copilot empowers users to make data-informed decisions faster.
  • Make a real impact on the bottom line. When employees spend less time on administrative work and make important decisions faster, they have more time to focus on the strategic tasks that drive business forward—and that has positive impacts throughout the business.

Explore more about AI

A copilot is a powerful tool that redefines productivity by streamlining tasks, enhancing decision-making, and empowering teams to focus on what matters most. Across industries, AI is transforming how people work and helping organizations operate more efficiently.
If you’re interested in further exploring what a copilot is and how Microsoft 365 Copilot could work for your business, download the Copilot Success Kit, explore Copilot Lab, or take a Copilot QuickStart Training course.
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Frequently asked questions

  • Yes, Microsoft Copilot works seamlessly with Azure and Dynamics 365, extending its AI-assisted capabilities to more advanced business applications. This integration helps automate tasks in areas like customer relationship management, finance, and supply chain management. Learn more about these integrations and find the right Copilot solution for your needs.
  • Businesses across industries use Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline processes. For instance, retailers optimize inventory forecasting, financial institutions automate reporting, and healthcare providers improve collaboration. Explore more examples of how to use Microsoft 365 Copilot in the scenario library.
  • To use Microsoft 365 Copilot, ensure your Microsoft 365 environment meets the necessary requirements. Setup typically involves enabling Microsoft 365 Copilot in your admin settings and customizing it to your business needs. For detailed instructions, visit the Microsoft 365 Copilot AI Get Ready guide.
  • Maximize your experience with Microsoft 365 Copilot with help from tutorials, support pages, and training modules in the Microsoft Copilot learning hub.
  • Yes, Microsoft 365 Copilot is available in multiple languages and supports multilingual workflows. It can assist users across all available language settings within Microsoft 365 so teams can collaborate globally. Learn more about working with Microsoft 365 Copilot.