Digital Liaisons with SAP CoPilot

There are instances when an innovation gets so rapidly and seamlessly embedded into our regular transactions that we fail to pause and realize the distance we have traveled and the ground we have broken. For SAP, the CoPilot application is an embodiment of my statement. So, what exactly is SAP CoPilot? It is an intelligent application that addresses a gamut of operational needs of SAP users in a simple, speedy, engaging, consistent, and conversational manner. We often refer to it as “SAP’s digital assistant for the live enterprise”.

SAP CoPilot sits at the convergence of multiple key cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and chatbot technology. Its conversational user interface leverages NLP to not only parse user’s statements and commands but also simulate a human-like experience. A simple example of how you would use the CoPilot is via a command like this: “Show me the open purchase orders for Vendor XYZ” and getting the results back almost immediately. Should you intentionally obfuscate or are unintentionally ambiguous, CoPilot will ask you for additional specificity. ML provides the foundation for CoPilot’s AI as it assimilates past data and experiences to respond to the user’s immediate or future needs. Its consistent look-and-feel ensures cross-platform compatibility. Since CoPilot integrates all bots into one user interface, it also acts a conduit to the correct business context and therefore, in obtaining the most contextual response. And finally, it utilizes APIs to not only connect with other SAP and non-SAP systems but also provides customers and partners the ability to enhance the CoPilot. So, what’s not to like?

CoPilot was first made generally available to the SAP world, with our cloud ERP product, S/4HANA Cloud in May 2017 (or release 1705 to be precise). As for our S/4HANA on-premise version, CoPilot was made publicly available as of 1709, Feature Pack 01. For those unfamiliar with our release/versioning methodology, 1709 was the version that was publicly released in September 2017. In Q2 2020, we will be celebrating CoPilot’s 3rd anniversary in what seems like a blink of an eye. In lockstep with our march towards innovation and automation, its capabilities continue to be continuously augmented. Therefore, we expect many more anniversaries with more and more reasons to celebrate.

Personally, I practice what I preach. I lean on my dependable Digital Assistant for a variety of operational tasks. Thanks to the CoPilot app on my iOS device, I now have more time to invest into creative, value-added pursuits that help my customers rapidly innovate and therefore accelerate the pace of their digital transformation with S/4HANA. Simply put, it helps me operate more intelligently. You, as an SAP customer, can take similar steps to operating as an intelligent enterprise by increasing and accelerating your usage of SAP CoPilot.

If this post has aroused your curiosity in SAP CoPilot, please check out the following links:

• https://www.sap.com/products/conversational-ai.html?infl=8525a61a-16eb-413d-94d8-97e5777624ab
• https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/SAP_COPILOT/1905/en-US