Copilot 101: Working with Microsoft 365 Copilot
In this episode of the “Copilot 101 Podcast,” Shawn Dorward, Vice President, sa.global, UG Expert, discusses his journey with Microsoft 365 Copilot, focusing on Teams, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel.
This episode is sponsored by the AI Copilot Summit NA, taking place March 17-19, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Key Takeaways
- Overview: Microsoft 365 Copilot costs $30 per month per user and offers evolving functionalities in Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook. While the Copilot for Excel has limitations, such as requiring data to be in tables, there is excitement about future improvements.
- PowerPoint: Shawn notes that he finds PowerPoint particularly useful for creating summary presentations based on lengthy Word documents, as Copilot does a great job at providing a solid starting point. Additionally, the ability to incorporate relevant pictures and look at PDF documents makes it a valuable tool for his speaking engagements and daily responsibilities.
- Outlook and Word: The new ability to use PDFs and the addition of speaker notes in slide decks make Microsoft 365 Copilot a valuable tool, regardless of its $30 monthly fee. Beyond Excel and PowerPoint, Copilot also offers significant benefits in Outlook and Word, such as creating and summarizing documents, and revising text to improve tone and professionalism.
- Valuable ROI: Shawn explains that he often uses Copilot to refine document dialog, making points clearer and more succinct as needed. While $30 a month may seem high initially, the ROI is quickly realized by saving just an hour or two a week, allowing for more valuable business activities.
- Time savings: Using Copilot in Outlook to summarize emails, identify action items, and suggest follow-ups is a valuable feature that justifies the monthly fee, as it saves significant time each week. While learning to use the tool initially felt time-consuming, the time saved in the long run makes it worthwhile.
Stream the audio version of this episode here:
