Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI assistant built into Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and the other 365 apps – drafting documents, summarising email threads and meetings, analysing spreadsheets, and answering questions about your own files. It costs a per-user monthly fee on top of your existing licence, and whether it pays off depends on the work and the data.
What it actually helps with
- Drafting and rewriting – first drafts of documents, emails, proposals
- Summarising – long email threads, meeting recordings, documents
- Catching up – ‘what did I miss in this channel this week?’
- Excel – explaining formulas, spotting trends, building basic analysis
- Finding things – answers pulled from your own SharePoint and email
What it needs to be useful
- Organised data – Copilot is only as good as your SharePoint and email hygiene; a mess in, a mess out
- Correct permissions – it respects existing access, so if sharing is too broad, Copilot can surface things it should not
- Realistic expectations – it drafts and summarises well; it makes mistakes and needs checking
Is it worth it yet?
For roles that write, summarise and research a lot – management, marketing, admin – it can save real time and often pays for itself. For hands-on or frontline roles it adds little. Start with a few licences for the people who would use it most, measure, then expand. Get your security and sharing tidy first.
Need help with Microsoft 365? See our managed IT support or talk to our Edmonton team.
Microsoft 365 guides
- Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365 licensing explained
- What you get with Business Premium
- OneDrive vs SharePoint vs Teams files
- Microsoft 365 security checklist
- Is Microsoft 365 backed up?
- Migrating email to Microsoft 365
Frequently asked questions
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost?
A per-user monthly fee on top of your Microsoft 365 licence. For a small business it is a meaningful add-on cost, so target it at the users who will use it most.
Is Copilot safe with our data?
Copilot works within your existing Microsoft 365 permissions and does not train public models on your data. The risk is that it surfaces content that was over-shared – so fix sharing settings first.
Do we need Copilot for everyone?
No. Start with the people who write, summarise and research a lot. Frontline and hands-on roles get little from it.
How does Scandifix help?
We check your data and sharing are ready, roll out Copilot to a pilot group, help you measure the benefit, and expand licensing if it is worth it.