Artificial Intelligence Revolutionizes Office Software: Microsoft's Copilot in Practice

Microsoft is betting on a workplace revolution with its artificially intelligent assistants and hopes for new revenue streams from an old product: Office productivity software, used by millions worldwide. The so-called Copilots, which can automate manual tasks and generate or summarize text and images, offer great potential – albeit with some challenges. For companies, implementing the Copilots is no easy feat. First, they need to determine which data to pass to the Copilot to avoid misuse and data breaches. This process takes time and money. Early adopters report that while the Copilots summarize information well, they struggle to understand the context of certain requests or process commands across multiple apps. These challenges delay widespread implementation. Jefferies analysts predict that Microsoft will achieve financial breakthrough only in the first half of 2025. Adam Preset, Vice President at Gartner, highlights that while the technology is recognized as a visible productivity enhancement, its impact on the working methods of the average digital employee remains unclear. Microsoft has not disclosed the current number of paying Copilot customers, but reports a growing user base despite existing challenges. Jared Spataro, the responsible Vice President, emphasizes that many companies are already investing in the technology, trusting that initial difficulties can be resolved. By integrating OpenAI’s technology, in which Microsoft has invested 13 billion dollars, the tech giant has made extensive efforts to embed assistants into its products. The origin of the Copilot marketing lies with GitHub, where the assistants are already successfully used to automate time-consuming tasks in software development. Last fall, the enterprise Copilot version – M365 Copilot – was introduced, initially for major customers and later for small businesses. The subscription fee doubles to around 60 dollars per user per month, with discounts common for multi-year contracts. Ernst & Young (EY) announced in June that it would equip 100,000 employees with the Copilot software. The rollout is gradual, with small teams initially testing the functionalities. The concern that AI is a magical panacea was dispelled by EY executive Keith Mescha: "It actually takes a lot of effort to ensure everything is implemented correctly." Preparation is crucial for success, which is why Microsoft has developed training materials and programs for early adopters. Lumen Technologies has already implemented M365 Copilot for several thousand employees. Marketing chief Ryan Asdourian stresses: "The results are significantly better when employees know how to use the product." Analysts and early adopters still point out deficiencies despite training. For example, it was found that the Copilot is of little help in Excel without knowledge of the Python programming language. Microsoft continually works on improvements and regularly releases updates. A critical point is which information the Copilot receives. Too little input makes it an expensive email tool, while too much input poses risks such as unauthorized access to confidential data. Gartner analyst Preset sees this as the biggest obstacle to broad acceptance. Many industry observers nevertheless expect the Copilot to bring Microsoft significant recurring revenue. A study by UBS Group AG showed that large companies are already testing M365 Copilot with around 14% of their employees. It would be a success if half of them became paying customers. For Spataro, the subscription price reflects the value and innovation of the Copilot technology.