Microsoft Copilot in Teams is an AI-powered assistant that simplifies meetings and chats, saving users time and improving productivity. Here’s what it offers:
- Meeting Features: Live transcription, automated notes, task tracking, and detailed summaries.
- Chat Tools: Summarized threads, advanced search, and smart reply suggestions.
- Microsoft 365 Integration: Seamless connections with apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for project management, document summaries, and follow-ups.
- Pricing: $30/user/month (annual commitment).
With Copilot, you can skip manual tasks like note-taking and focus on decisions, while AI suggests action items and insights. It’s designed to streamline workflows and enhance collaboration, especially in hybrid work environments.
Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams Meetings
Meeting Features and Tools
Copilot simplifies Teams meetings by offering tools like real-time transcription, task tracking, and detailed summaries.
Live Meeting Text and Notes
Copilot transcribes spoken words and chats in real time. Organizers can set its availability in three ways:
| Access Level | Availability | Ideal Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Full Access | During and after meeting | For thorough documentation |
| Meeting Only | Only during the session | For real-time assistance |
| Disabled | Not available | For private or sensitive discussions |
Latecomers can select "Open Copilot" to catch up without interrupting the meeting. These tools also assist with managing tasks efficiently during discussions.
Task Creation and Tracking
As meetings progress, Copilot identifies action items and organizes them into a task list before the session ends. It assigns tasks, monitors their progress, aligns with company task deadlines, and even creates follow-up tasks after the meeting wraps up.
Meeting Summary Reports
For users with Teams Premium and a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, Copilot generates in-depth summaries. These reports include key points, agreements, disagreements, participant input, action items, and decisions. They also incorporate chat messages from up to 24 hours before the meeting. You can use prompts to highlight unresolved issues or draft follow-up emails.
Keep in mind, these features are not available for end-to-end encrypted meetings or in GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments.
Chat Support Features
Copilot’s chat capabilities are designed to make team collaboration in Teams simpler and more efficient. By improving communication flow and saving time, these features help teams stay focused on what matters.
Chat Thread Summaries
Copilot makes long conversations easier to digest by summarizing key decisions, action items, and discussion highlights. By default, it reviews chats from the past 30 days, but users can adjust the timeframe as needed. Keep in mind, Copilot does not analyze images, loop components, or shared files within chat threads.
| Summary Type | What Copilot Provides | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Catch-up | Highlights from the last 24 hours | Daily updates |
| Weekly Overview | Key points from the past 7 days | Project tracking |
| Monthly Digest | Comprehensive 30-day summary | Strategic review |
In addition to summaries, Copilot enhances how users search and respond in Teams chats.
Message Search and Finding
Finding specific messages is easier with Copilot’s advanced search. It supports natural language queries, helping users locate messages faster and providing direct references for navigation. Teams also offers built-in search tools like Keyword Query Language (KQL) with modifiers such as "from:", "in:", "subject:", and "sent:", plus quick searches using Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on macOS).
Smart Response Options
Using machine learning, Copilot suggests context-aware replies to save time on routine typing. It can generate confirmations, include relevant @mentions, add emojis, and adapt responses to quoted messages. These smart reply features are turned on by default but can be customized in Teams settings. Administrators should ensure the "Show suggested replies in chat" option is enabled for smooth operation.
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Microsoft 365 Integration
Copilot brings Teams and Microsoft 365 together, making workflows smoother by reducing the need to jump between apps. It builds on Copilot’s meeting and chat tools, helping teams work more efficiently.
Project and Task Management
Copilot simplifies managing projects by identifying tasks from meetings and chats, then organizing them for easy tracking. It can also create project plans and structure them in Microsoft Loop, keeping everyone on the same page.
| Task Management Feature | Capability | Business Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Action Item Extraction | Identifies tasks from meetings and emails | Cuts down on manual tracking |
| Risk Assessment | Develops task plans with effort estimates | Improves planning accuracy |
| Status Reporting | Shares updates on budgets and schedules | Simplifies reporting |
Team Document Work
Copilot goes beyond task management to improve how teams handle documents. It creates concise summaries (up to 40,000 words) and builds presentations from encrypted files, all while respecting existing permissions.
"Today marks the next major step in the evolution of how we interact with computing, which will fundamentally change the way we work and unlock a new wave of productivity growth." – Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft
Microsoft 365 App Connections
Copilot works seamlessly with Microsoft 365 apps, enabling powerful workflows. For instance, while using Excel in Teams, Copilot can analyze data and create visualizations for real-time discussions. With Context IQ, it pulls relevant cloud files for quick reference.
A great example is how accounting teams use Copilot in Excel to generate monthly financial reports. The AI handles large datasets and creates visualizations, cutting report preparation time from days to hours. This frees up teams to focus on strategic planning instead of manual tasks.
Key integration features include:
- Word Integration: Summarizes and drafts documents based on Teams conversations.
- Excel Support: Suggests formulas and uncovers insights during meetings.
- PowerPoint Collaboration: Turns meeting content into polished presentations with speaker notes.
- Outlook Integration: Summarizes discussions and drafts follow-up emails, including action items.
To get the most out of these integrations, save files to OneDrive or SharePoint and enable AutoSave for real-time updates.
Tips for Using Copilot
Writing Better Commands
To get the most out of Copilot, focus on crafting clear and detailed prompts. Include context and specific instructions to guide the tool effectively. For instance, you could say: "Recap the Fundraiser meeting and propose a follow-up agenda with a table of action items and responsibilities".
Here’s a quick breakdown of effective prompt elements:
| Prompt Element | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Goal Statement | Clarifies the desired outcome | "Create a summary focused on budget decisions" |
| Context | Provides necessary background | "From yesterday’s Q1 planning meeting" |
| Format Request | Specifies how the output should look | "Present in a table with categories" |
| Source Reference | Points to relevant material | "Using the shared marketing report" |
When referencing specific content, use a "/" before mentioning people, files, or meetings. This ensures Copilot knows exactly what to focus on. Once you’ve mastered prompts, adjust settings to fine-tune the tool further.
Personal Settings Setup
Customizing your settings can help Copilot better align with your communication style. Use the "Adjust" feature in the compose box to modify outputs. For example:
- Message Length: Choose Concise for quick updates or Longer for detailed explanations.
- Tone Adjustments: Options like Professional, Casual, Confident, or Enthusiastic let you match the tone to your audience.
If you need something more specific, the "custom tone" option lets you tweak messages further. You can make content longer, more upbeat, or persuasive while keeping it professional.
Human Review Guidelines
Even with Copilot’s assistance, human review is critical to ensure accuracy and relevance. As Michael Feathers emphasizes:
"When we use AI for code generation, quality assurance becomes much more important".
Additionally:
"The responses that generative AI produces aren’t guaranteed to be 100% factual. While we continue to improve responses, users should still use their judgment when reviewing the output before sending them to others.".
To maintain quality, establish a review process where you verify facts, tone, and alignment with goals. Pay extra attention to numerical data, dates, and claims. Regularly check and refine the content to ensure it meets your standards. By combining Copilot’s speed with human oversight, you can achieve highly effective collaboration.
Security and Privacy
Data Safety Methods
Microsoft ensures robust data security through Azure OpenAI services, employing encryption protocols that align with contractual commitments. A permission-based access system ensures that only users with proper view permissions can access data, effectively blocking unauthorized access. Additionally, Copilot incorporates safeguards like content filtering, prevention of prompt injection, and protection of sensitive materials.
Meeting Legal Requirements
Microsoft 365 Copilot adheres to strict legal and regulatory standards. As of March 1, 2024, it complies with global privacy laws and data residency requirements, including GDPR, HIPAA, ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 1, and SOC 2 certifications.
"Microsoft 365 Copilot is compliant with our existing privacy, security, and compliance commitments to Microsoft 365 commercial customers, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and European Union (EU) Data Boundary." – Microsoft Learn
Content Control Options
To support organizations in managing Copilot-generated content, Microsoft offers advanced governance tools. Starting in early 2025, SharePoint Advanced Management will introduce content governance features, including:
- Access and Sharing Management: Policies like Restricted Content Discovery (RCD) and Restricted Access Control (RAC) ensure sensitive information is accessible only to authorized users.
- Data Monitoring and Management: Microsoft Purview provides tools like data loss prevention, detection of risky AI usage, oversharing assessments, and web search query logging for audits.
- User Control Customization: Features such as activity history deletion via the My Account portal, citation verification for web search queries, and custom retention settings for chat interactions allow users to tailor their Copilot experience.
Importantly, prompts, responses, and data accessed through Microsoft Graph are never used to train the underlying language models.
Conclusion
Microsoft Copilot in Teams helps users save time – on average, 11 minutes per meeting after just 11 weeks of use. By integrating directly with Microsoft 365 apps, it simplifies workflows with features like automated task creation, real-time support, and intelligent meeting summaries.
"Copilot can summarize key discussion points – including who said what and where people are aligned or disagree – suggest action items, and answer any questions you have, all in real time during or after a meeting." – Microsoft Support
To successfully implement Copilot, organizations should focus on these key steps:
- Check Requirements: Verify that your Microsoft Teams license supports the necessary features, such as meeting transcription.
- Set Up Governance: Form an AI council that includes members from IT, change management, and risk management.
- Plan the Rollout: Start with high-usage teams or specific use cases to maximize early benefits.
On top of these steps, Copilot’s built-in security and compliance features make it a reliable choice for modern collaboration. Ntiva’s rollout in November 2024 shows how organizations of all sizes can now leverage Copilot across various Microsoft 365 plans.
