Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been growing in popularity since late 2022. Many digital platforms now claim to have AI capabilities. AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is a broad field of research that involves developing computer systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. Pop culture has painted a picture of AI as a one-stop shop for your digital life. This misconception extends to the business world. To understand Microsoft Copilot and its potential benefits for your business, you must first know what it is capable of.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence is just that, artificial. Computers are given datasets, specific parameters, and guided on how to interpret the data. Through this process, many companies have created Large Language Models (LLMs) to help with specific tasks. Not one LLM is versed in all things. Microsoft Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant that integrates into Microsoft 365 products and is specialized in generating content. It can read your emails and files to understand how you communicate. When drafting an email, document, or PowerPoint presentation, it assists in writing for you based on your communication style.
Capabilities of Microsoft Copilot
One feature that makes Copilot stand out against competitors is its access to all the data you store in Microsoft 365. This allows for contextual searches and emails drafted for you based on the content in a sales report document, for example. Copilot uses enterprise-level security to ensure that your data stays safe. If you search for data in a document through Copilot, it will actively search for and respond to your questions. Immediately after the interaction, Copilot loses access to the file, keeping everything private to your organization. It does not use your company data to train the model. Both free tiers of ChatGPT and Copilot use your data to train future versions of the model. It is important to keep your business data safe by using the business version of Copilot when exploring the potential benefits it can bring to your organization.
Benefits of Using Microsoft Copilot
In its current stages, Copilot works best as an assistant for those who receive large amounts of data each day and need to decide what is most important to work on from the top down. It can provide email summaries of the top 10 most important emails you received while out and offer potential replies. It is also helpful in revising, summarizing, and organizing data in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Limitations of Microsoft Copilot
Some of the limitations of Microsoft Copilot are:
– It is not fully integrated with the desktop versions of Microsoft 365 apps. To use its full functionality, you need to access the online versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
– It takes some time to learn your communication style and preferences. You may need to adjust or edit the content it generates for you in the first few weeks of using it.
– It is not a replacement for human creativity or critical thinking. It can assist you in writing, summarizing, and organizing data, but it cannot create original ideas or arguments for you.
– It is more suitable for certain tasks and domains than others. It works best as a personal assistant for busy admins who need to handle large amounts of data and emails. Larger corporations may use it to integrate AI into their products or services, but for most small businesses, the personal assistant feature will be the most valuable.
Conclusion
Understanding AI port and its capabilities is crucial for leveraging Microsoft Copilot in your business. Copilot can significantly improve productivity by assisting with various tasks, ensuring data security, and providing contextual insights. However, it is important to be aware of its limitations and use the business version to keep your data safe.
