Less than two years after its initial debut, Microsoft Copilot has become one of the most valuable AI-powered assistants in the enterprise. Not only are more than 85% of Fortune 500 companies using Copilot today – but thousands of smaller companies are integrating Microsoft Copilot into their strategies for digital transformation.
Microsoft has clearly proven that an investment in Copilot pays off – with one Forrester TEI study suggesting SMBs alone can achieve an ROI of over 353%. But real success with any AI solution depends on more than just “adoption”.
Companies need to ensure that Copilot fully integrates with their workflows, processes, and strategies for ongoing success. Here are some top tips for success.
Integrating Microsoft Copilot: Steps for Success
Integrating Microsoft Copilot into your digital transformation strategy is a little more complicated than just “enabling” the tool in your Microsoft 365 apps, Dynamics, or Teams. To get the best return on investment, you’ll need a multi-stage strategy that covers everything from opportunity identification to change management.
Step 1: Identify Clear Use Cases
Copilot comes in many forms – practically infinite now that Microsoft offers both industry-specific Copilots (like Dragon for Healthcare), and the opportunity to customize agents with Copilot Studio.
So, before you start rolling anything out, figure out where you’ll integrate Microsoft Copilot with your workflows and processes.
Start by pinpointing the problems that slow employees down. If manual reporting and data analysis stop your teams from moving forward, you might use Copilot in Excel. If you’re struggling with Customer Service, you might embrace Copilot in Microsoft Teams, Dynamic, and CX tools.
Figure out how you’re going to measure the impact on your digital transformation strategy and overall growth. You might monitor increased adoption of new tools, improved efficiency, faster innovation times, or customer satisfaction scores.
Step 2: Choosing Your Deployment Method
Next, you’ll need to consider deployment. If you’re integrating Microsoft Copilot into your existing business-wide workflows and your team already uses Microsoft Teams, Word, Loop, Outlook, and so on, Microsoft 365 Copilot is a good starting point.
If you have specific goals, like improving security workflows, you might look at Microsoft’s Security copilots. Or you could experiment with pre-built Copilot agents for sales and service teams. For companies with specialist needs, custom agents might be the ideal option.
In Copilot Studio, companies can now build agents that not only integrate with their existing tools, but can actually “use” specific apps and services autonomously. If you’re looking at custom builds, ask yourself whether you need extra support from development or integration teams.
Step 3: Prep for Success
Integrating Microsoft Copilot into your workflows and strategies means preparing your ecosystem. That means mapping out which data sources your Copilot should have access to, cleaning up your Microsoft Graph, and even preparing integrations with other third-party tools through APIs.
A crucial part of this process is effective stakeholder engagement. The more people you involve in your Copilot deployment, the more likely you are to drive positive adoption. Involve stakeholders from IT, HR, and other departments and ask for their insights on what you need.
Consider creating a team of AI champions who can test out new AI capabilities, create workshops for other staff members, and provide support throughout the adoption lifecycle. Ensure you also have IT professionals who can handle things like connecting Copilot systems to Azure AI platforms, CRM systems, ERPs, etc.
Step 4: Deployment – Slow and Steady
For some teams, integrating Microsoft Copilot into existing workflows will be easy. If you’re just starting with a simple deployment, like adding Copilot’s abilities to Microsoft Teams for things like captions, meeting summarization and assigning action items, the process should be straightforward.
Still, if your teams are brand-new to Copilot, it’s usually best to start small. Run a small pilot program with a cross-functional squad, and ask them for constant feedback. Capture insights into productivity improvements and potential issues, and fine-tune before a full business roll out.
Try not to overwhelm your team with too many new features at once. For instance, if you’re using Microsoft Copilot 365, you might start with training your marketing teams on how to use the features in Word and Outlook, before gradually introducing them to custom agents that can handle things like campaign planning and metric monitoring.
Step 5: Handling Governance and Change Management
Microsoft’s Copilot tools are designed to be sure for enterprise teams – but there are still challenges to address – particularly if you’re going to be infusing your bots with sensitive data. Start by ironing out governance policies to guide your team on how to share data with Copilot, and adhere to ethical standards. Set access controls and implement guardrails to control how your AI agents access apps and services.
Constant monitoring is crucial, too, as it can help you catch issues with bias, hallucinations, and even non-compliance before they snowball. Remember to implement a strategy for change management, too. Don’t just dump new tools on your team—show them how they’ll save time on day-to-day tasks or access new levels of creativity.
Listen to their feedback, and help them take an active role in shaping your future development strategy. That way, you’ll take a collaborative approach to digital transformation.
Integrating Microsoft Copilot: Quick Tips
Integrating Microsoft Copilot into your digital transformation strategy isn’t a one-and-done process – as the platform and your needs evolve, you’ll need to stay agile. Follow these quick tips:
- Stay up to date: Pay attention to all the latest updates to the Copilot ecosystem, from the rise of new language models within Copilot to new features like Computer Use. Train teams on every new feature you want to implement.
- Support teams: Show your employees how to make the most of Copilot, with prompt training strategies or insights into special features. Consider giving them the freedom to customize their own models with Copilot Studio.
- Remember compliance: Take a proactive approach to avoiding compliance issues – particularly as regulations evolve. Make sure you’re always monitoring your bots for any mistakes, bias, or data security issues.
- Measure everything: Track the genuine impact Copilot has on your company, whether it’s boosting productivity, accelerating tasks, or improving customer experience. Use your insights to find opportunities to scale.
Additionally, remember that you don’t have to navigate the whole process alone. There are plenty of Microsoft partners who can help you fine-tune your integration strategy.
Integrating Microsoft Copilot into Your Company’s Future
Just “switching” Copilot on within your existing Microsoft apps doesn’t guarantee success – or a true digital transformation. The real ROI comes from making sure that the AI tools you use are integrated fully into your workflows and processes.
Adoption is only the first step. If you want to unlock productivity gains like Softchoice’s 67% reduction in content creation time or Ma’aden’s 2,200 hours saved per month, Copilot has to go deeper. It needs to work with your CRM, talk to your ERP, and surface insights from your knowledge base, and evolve based on your team’s insights.
Ready to learn more about Copilot’s potential? Find out full Microsoft Copilot guide here – or discover what’s next in the Microsoft AI roadmap.
