If it feels like Microsoft 365 Copilot has suddenly shown up everywhere, in emails, meetings, and casual conversations, you’re not imagining it. Nearly 70% of Fortune 500 organizations are now using Microsoft 365 Copilot. Just over the last month, our managed services team has received a steady stream of clients reaching out with questions like: Exactly what is Microsoft Copilot? Do we already have it? Is it secure? How do we use it?
It’s become such a familiar topic around here that half our internal conversations now start with, “So, I got another Copilot question today…”, and honestly, that’s what sparked this blog. Instead of answering the same things one call at a time, we thought we’d walk through it together here.
What Is Microsoft Copilot?
To start, we’re talking specifically about Microsoft 365 Copilot. That’s the one built directly into the everyday tools you already use: Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, and so on. It’s not tied to the ERP side of Microsoft’s ecosystem, which is a whole different world most people never touch anyway. Keeping that distinction in mind helps make Copilot much easier to understand and adopt.
Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant and is integrated with Microsoft 365. Think of it as the coworker who jumps in at just the right moment, summarizing your massive email thread, drafting that first pass of a proposal, building a PowerPoint based on a Word document, or finally explaining that Excel formula you pretend to understand. In fact, Copilot users save 10+ hours per month on repetitive tasks like these. Plus, since it works inside the apps you already know, you’re not learning something new. You’re just getting a seriously helpful upgrade to your existing workflow.
What Copilot Can Actually Do (Real Things Our Clients Are Using it for Today)
The fun part? Most people don’t realize how much Copilot can already do for them. Here are a few examples:
- In Word
Overwhelmed by a blank page? Have Copilot draft a starting point. Need a rewrite that sounds more polished, or more casual? It can do that too. It even generates outlines and tables so you can skip the formatting rabbit hole. - In Excel
Copilot will analyze your data, spot trends, write formulas from plain English, and build charts automatically. No more “Why won’t this pivot table pivot??” moments. - In Outlook
You know those enormous email chains where everyone replies in different colors? Copilot can summarize them in seconds. It also drafts replies, pulls out the action items, and helps you prioritize the chaos. - In Teams
Miss a meeting? Copilot gives you the recap, the decisions made, and the follow-ups. It can even help draft agendas or translate live captions. - In PowerPoint
Turn a Word document into a full presentation with layouts, images, speaker notes, and clean formatting. It’s basically the design help we all wish we had. - Copilot Search
Can’t remember where a certain document is in SharePoint? You can use Copilot search to find it and open it. For example, search for “Show me the latest project proposal documents in SharePoint”. Copilot will then search the SharePoint sites that you have access to.
Let’s Talk Security
When clients call us, this is usually their first question: “What happens to the info I put into Copilot? Where does it go?” Rest assured, it’s stored securely within your Microsoft 365 environment, like Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive. The same secure place where your emails, OneDrive files, and Teams chats already live.
Copilot also doesn’t bypass permissions; if you don’t have access to a document, neither does it. Everything it uses is data you already have rights to. Equally important, it’s aligned with Microsoft’s major compliance standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and FedRAMP. Basically, you stay in control, Copilot suggests. You decide.
You May Already Have Access to Copilot
Here’s the part many people miss. Copilot is available for:
- Microsoft 365 E3/E5
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard/Premium
…but some users still need to add the Copilot license. Others already have access and just haven’t turned it on yet. The easiest way to find out? Ask us. We’re already looking into this exact question for several clients.
Why This Matters for Your Business
Because time is expensive. Because inboxes are overflowing. Because writing, editing, data cleanup, and meeting follow-ups eat up more hours than they should. Because Forrester’s projected ROI of Microsoft Copilot is 112% to 457%.
Copilot helps reduce all of those “busy-work tax” tasks so you can spend more time actually doing your job… not organizing it, and since it’s built right into the tools you already use, the learning curve is pretty gentle. It’s less “new system” and more “new helping hand.”
Thinking About Copilot or Already Using It? Let’s Talk.
We’ve had several clients jump in, and others who want help navigating licenses, setup questions, security concerns, and how to get real value from it. If you’re curious where to start, wondering whether Copilot could benefit your team, or have team members asking you ‘what is Microsoft copilot’ – we’re happy to walk through it with you because the truth is: Copilot isn’t just another tech trend. It’s quickly becoming part of the everyday Microsoft 365 experience, and if it can make your workday even 10% easier? That’s worth a conversation.
Whether you’re already using Copilot or just starting to explore it, our team of experts is here to answer questions and help you get real value from it.
