Exploring Microsoft Copilot: Transforming the way we work

As businesses continue to embrace AI-driven tools, Microsoft’s latest Copilot updates are set to make waves in productivity and collaboration. At Ultima, we’re always excited to share innovations that we believe will reshape how teams work and interact with data. Below, we dive into some of the most compelling new features of Microsoft Copilot and how they can make a real difference in your day-to-day operations.

Copilot Pages:

One of the standout updates is Copilot Pages, a game-changer for content creation and collaboration. With this feature, you can pull a BizChat Copilot response straight into your document, edit it, and share it as easily as you would a Word file. But it doesn’t stop there—Copilot Pages lets your team collaborate in real time, ensuring everyone stays aligned and on the same page. Plus, you can prompt Copilot to improve, expand, or even visualize the content using your own data.

At Ultima, we see this as a significant step toward more dynamic and efficient team collaboration, eliminating version control headaches and enabling faster decision-making.

Learn more here: Copilot Pages

Copilot in Excel and Python:

Copilot in Excel is now generally available, and it brings Python into the mix. This means you can now do advanced data analysis—forecasting, risk analysis, machine learning, and even complex visualisations—using simple natural language prompts. No coding required.

For us at Ultima, this new combination of Excel and Python opens up opportunities for anyone to extract powerful insights from their data, without needing a data scientist on hand. It’s perfect for businesses looking to make smarter, faster decisions with the data they already have.

Learn more here: Copilot in Excel 

Copilot in PowerPoint:

Who hasn’t felt the pressure of pulling together a last-minute presentation? Copilot in PowerPoint has you covered. Now generally available, this feature uses a narrative builder to help you craft a detailed outline, which you can tweak and reorder as needed. Once you’ve nailed the structure, Copilot will generate a full draft of your presentation using your company’s branded templates. You can even pull in images from your SharePoint Organisation Asset Library to make sure everything stays on-brand.

From our perspective at Ultima, this update will save teams countless hours and ensure every presentation looks professional; while still giving you control over the final touches.

Copilot in Outlook:

Managing a cluttered inbox can be overwhelming, but Copilot in Outlook brings some much-needed relief. The new Prioritise My Inbox feature uses AI to sort your emails, highlighting the most important messages based on their content and your specific role. It even provides concise summaries, explaining why certain emails made the cut.

At Ultima, we see this as a huge efficiency boost for professionals who are constantly on the go, helping ensure that nothing critical gets overlooked amidst the noise.

Copilot in Teams:

Meetings are essential, but what happens when you miss one or need to catch up? Copilot in Teams now cross-references conversations happening in the chat and the spoken word, making your meeting recaps more comprehensive than ever. You can ask questions about what you missed, and Copilot will pull together key insights from both verbal discussions and written chat.

We think this is a fantastic way to keep teams aligned, even when schedules don’t always allow for everyone to be present in real time. At Ultima, we’re always advocating for better work-life balance, and this update makes catching up easier and less time-consuming.

Copilot in OneDrive:

For those of us who deal with multiple documents every day, Copilot in OneDrive offers a valuable solution. Imagine being able to compare up to five documents and get an instant, easy-to-read summary of the differences. That’s exactly what this new feature delivers. It’s particularly useful for industries where precision and detail are crucial—legal, finance, and compliance teams, we’re looking at you.

At Ultima, we think this feature will help teams quickly identify key changes and focus on what really matters, without getting bogged down in manual comparisons.

Copilot in Word:

Copilot in Word takes things further by pulling in data not just from Word files, but also from PowerPoint, PDFs, encrypted documents, emails, and meetings. This means you can reference all your key information in one place while drafting a document. And if you’re struggling with writer’s block, Copilot can even suggest prompts to kickstart your creativity.

We believe this feature is particularly valuable for teams that need to produce documents quickly, without sacrificing accuracy or depth. It’s a fantastic way to streamline workflows and ensure consistency across different types of content.

Copilot Agents:

Automation is the key to staying competitive, and Copilot Agents are designed to supercharge every business process. Now generally available in BizChat, these agents can range from simple, prompt-based tools to more advanced, fully autonomous systems that work in the background, handling repetitive tasks and complex workflows.

At Ultima, we see this as a significant opportunity for businesses to reduce costs and drive revenue, all while freeing up valuable resources to focus on more strategic initiatives. And with Agent Builder, creating your own custom agent has never been easier.

Learn more here: https://aka.ms/MCSSeptember2024

Conclusion: Embrace the Future of Work with Microsoft Copilot

As Ultima, we’re thrilled to see how Microsoft Copilot continues to evolve, bringing AI-powered efficiency and intelligence to the tools businesses use every day. From streamlining collaboration to unlocking advanced analytics, these updates are poised to help businesses of all sizes work smarter and stay competitive in an increasingly data-driven world.

If you’re ready to explore how these Copilot features can transform your business, get in touch with us at Ultima, and let’s start the conversation.