Ready or Not, Here Comes Microsoft Copilot – Are You Truly Prepared?

The Big News: Microsoft Copilot is Now Available to Every Organization!

The moment has finally arrived! Microsoft Copilot, the game-changing technology we've all been eagerly anticipating, is now accessible to businesses of all sizes. The excitement is palpable, but here's a twist – are you genuinely prepared for this technological leap?

The Harsh Reality Behind the Hype

We all have dreams of skyrocketing productivity with Copilot, imagining an incredible 1000% boost just by deploying this AI wizard across our teams. But, let's pause and rethink. Microsoft has been subtly hinting, and I'm going to spell it out:

Deploying Copilot isn't a simple plug-and-play. In fact, diving in unprepared could turn your organizational workflow upside down, leaving you in a deeper mess than where you started.

The Uncomfortable Truth: Why You Might Not Be Ready for Copilot

So, why the caution? What makes Copilot a double-edged sword for the unprepared? Let’s dive into some reasons that might make you reconsider if you’re truly ready to welcome Microsoft 365 Copilot to your organization:

Your Microsoft 365 environment is a mess

If your Microsoft 365 is cluttered with disorganized SharePoint sites, OneDrives filled with disarrayed content, Teams and SharePoint sites bearing illogical names, and a general difficulty in locating information, then Microsoft Copilot may not be effective for you.

Microsoft Copilot, harnessing the power of the semantic index, depends on well-organized and relevant content to execute its generative AI capabilities.

In cases where you possess numerous versions of a document, like a holiday policy, each differing and containing outdated information, Copilot might struggle to identify the most current and accurate version to provide you with the right answer.

No Change Management

This is a common issue with new technology, particularly with Microsoft 365. Often, when a new feature is released, the immediate reaction is excitement: "Great, let's enable it and users will figure it out!" However, this approach is unlikely to be effective with Copilot.

Its simplicity is deceptive; its complexity lies in the nuances of prompt engineering, which can greatly impact user experience. Without clear communication, users may be bewildered by what Copilot actually is, leading to confusion and misuse. It's crucial to have a strategy to inform users about Copilot, including practical examples and training.

Moreover, as Copilot is a cutting-edge technology, user expectations are often high. You don't want to face a scenario where users try Copilot, struggle due to lack of understanding, obtain poor results, and say that this sucks.

You have no idea who has access to what

It's a well-known fact that managing permissions in Microsoft 365 can be incredibly complex, and it might be even more chaotic in your organization. Individuals often have access to content they shouldn't, often without their knowledge. This approach of 'security through obscurity' seems to be a common, albeit flawed, practice in numerous organizations.

Enter Microsoft Copilot, a tool that could reveal these flawed permission settings. Copilot not only utilizes existing content for its generative abilities but also aids in content discovery.

Consider someone querying, “How much did the CEO get paid last year?” Unlike traditional searches focusing on keywords, Copilot's semantic index understands that this question seeks information related to terms like 'payslip,' 'remittance,' or 'salary.' It's adept at identifying who handles such documents and can unearth a file mistakenly shared with the entire organization due to poor permission management.

Think this scenario is far-fetched? Recall the days of Delve, where content was automatically surfaced to users. How often did we hear confusion or surprise from people seeing content they didn't know they had access to? With Copilot, this issue is magnified, as it can provide detailed answers to seemingly simple queries if the user has access to the relevant content.

You don’t know what Microsoft Copilot can do to help you

Your understanding of Microsoft Copilot's capabilities is unclear. I emphasize the term 'Microsoft Copilot' in my discussions because Microsoft offers various Copilot versions. The key is to focus on specific use cases rather than just the tool itself. I've encountered many customers who mention generic benefits like 'helping to create documents' or 'catching up on meetings,' but this perspective is too limited.

Instead, concentrate on high-value tasks that could significantly benefit from Copilot's assistance. Work with your users to identify specific areas such as summarizing meetings, drafting monthly Project Updates, or responding to RFPs (Requests for Proposals). Understanding what tasks are crucial to your operations and then leveraging Copilot for those specific purposes is essential for maximizing its utility.

So what do you think? Will you be deploying Copliot and if so does anything above reasonate? Would love to her your thoughts ??

(PS: I wrote this article in word but then used ChatGPT-4 to improve it. Honestly though I think my original version was far funnier but I bow down to our AI overlords)