What can copilots earliest users teach us about generative AI?

Eight months ago, we launched Copilot for Microsoft 365 to help reduce digital debt and enhance productivity, enabling people to focus on tasks that require human creativity and insight. The question everyone is asking now is: will generative AI truly transform the workplace, and how?

New data confirms that productivity gains are indeed happening. Our research, which includes a mix of surveys and experiments, shows how Copilot is revolutionising work, learning alongside our customers as we scale. Copilot already makes people more productive and creative, saving valuable time. In fact, 77% of early users reported they don’t want to return to working without it. This is just the beginning. As generative AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace, the potential to not only boost individual productivity but also elevate the capabilities of entire organisations is immense. Copilot establishes a new standard where every employee gains skills in writing, designing, coding, data analysis, and more. It amplifies expertise, elevating work from good- exceptional.

In addition to Copilot, Microsoft is enhancing collaboration with innovations like Microsoft Mesh Immersive Meetings and Microsoft Teams, providing custom experiences and immersive meeting capabilities. These tools further empower organisations to create more engaging and interactive work environments, facilitating seamless communication and collaboration across teams

Microsoft surveyed 297 users in our Copilot for Microsoft 365 Early Access Program to understand how they are using Copilot, from virtual meetings to drafting documents. Overall, they reported productivity gains and time savings consistent with those experienced by developers using GitHub Copilot. Users are finding themselves more productive and able to complete work faster.

Copilot's integration with immersive spaces enhances virtual meetings by providing dynamic environments that promote engagement and creativity. Users can manage their experiences through the admin center, allowing them to easily organise users or groups and tailor their workflows to maximise efficiency. This powerful combination of tools is transforming the way teams collaborate and achieve their goals.

• 70% of Copilot users said they were more productive.

• 73% said they could complete tasks faster.

• 64% said Copilot helps them spend less time processing email.

• 85% said Copilot helps them get to a good first draft faster.

• 87% said Copilot makes it easier to get started on a first draft.

• 86% said Copilot makes it easier to catch up on what they missed.

• 84% said Copilot makes it easier to take action after a meeting.

• 75% said Copilot saves time by finding whatever they need in their files.

• 71% said they saved time on mundane tasks. Copilot improves quality and creativity:

• 68% said it improved the quality of their work.

• 57% said it made them more creative.

• 68% said Copilot helped them jump-start the creative process.

• 72% said it helped them generate ideas while writing.

Copilot makes people more productive and creative, and saves time Here’s how it breaks down, according to early users

Survey questions asked: Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. Using Copilot...; To what extent do you agree with the following statements about your experience using Copilot in Word/Outlook/Microsoft 365 Chat specifically? Using Copilot…

“It helps [people] get to their ideas faster…It’s not there to replace them, it’s just something they can use to supercharge their ideas.” —James Thomas, Global Head of Technology, Dentsu Creative Copilot is shifting how users spend their time:

• 67% said Copilot saved them time so they could focus on more important work.

• On average, users reported daily time savings of 14 minutes, or 1.2 hours a week.

• 22% of people said they save more than 30 minutes a day.

• If users reported saving more than 30 minutes a day, we asked them what they spent that saved time on. to working without it.

• 77% would not want to give it up.

• Most people also said they would rather have access to Copilot than a free lunch at work—on a monthly (88%), bi-weekly (79%), or weekly (77%) basis.

• 30% even said access to Copilot would influence their choice of employer.

• The top answer was focus work (53%), and hardly anyone was spending it on administrative tasks such as data entry (7%).

  However, the second most common response was using that extra time for additional meetings (16%), which could be counterproductive given the already high meeting loads many face. While these time savings are significant, it is essential for specific users to reinvest their saved time wisely.

  To better understand Copilot's value to employees, we gathered feedback from early users. They consistently reported that once they’ve experienced working with Copilot, they don’t want to return to the old ways of working without it. The integration of features such as personalised avatars and face connections enhances user experience, allowing employees to maintain a clear view of their priorities and collaborate more effectively. This modern approach to productivity helps users manage their schedules better, making Copilot an indispensable tool in the modern workplace.

• 77% would not want to give it up.

• Most people also said they would rather have access to Copilot than a free lunch at work—on a monthly (88%), bi-weekly (79%), or weekly (77%) basis.

• 30% even said access to Copilot would influence their choice of employer.

Is Copilot worth more than a free lunch?

If offered the choice, users overwhelmingly said they would pick Copilot.

Survey question: If your organisation offered you the choice between a monthly/bi-weekly/weekly free lunch and having access to Copilot, which would you choose? (Monthly free lunch estimated $10/month, bi-weekly free lunch estimated $20/ month, weekly free lunch estimated $40/month)

In addition to qualitative research, Microsoft has conducted observational studies to measure the productivity gains achieved with Copilot across four essential areas of knowledge work: meetings, email, searching for information, and writing. The digital debt that users face is substantial, with the most active Microsoft 365 users receiving over 250 emails daily and engaging in 150 chats. Since 2022, the number of Teams meetings per person has tripled globally.

1.Data represents top 20 percent of users by volume of searches across Microsoft 365 services, emails received, and sent and read chats in Teams, respectively

2.Microsoft Work Trend Index Annual Report 2023: Will AI Fix Work?

Study #1: A day in the life

The first study simulated a day in the life of a knowledge worker through a series of tasks. We divided 147 participants into two groups: one group used Copilot, while the other did not. Participants were asked to complete three tasks: search for information across multiple sources, summarise a meeting recording, and write a blog post. Those using Copilot completed their tasks more quickly while maintaining quality and accuracy.

• Users were 29% faster in all three tasks, taking 29 minutes and 42 seconds, compared to 42 minutes and 6 seconds.

• For the writing task alone, a first draft with Copilot took 8 minutes and 12 seconds versus 13 minutes and 48 seconds.

• Across all three tasks, there was no statistically significant difference in accuracy.

• A Large Language Model (LLM) panel also scored the blogs written with and without Copilot. There was no statistically significant difference in quality. Copilot actually lifts the weight of work:

• Copilot users don’t just expend less effort—they feel like they do too.

• 85% of users said Copilot reduced effort to complete the tasks.

With Microsoft Copilot, people save time on key tasks

Quantitative findings show Copilot increasing speed on tasks like writing, summarising a meeting, and searching for information.

In three different studies, we divided participants into two groups, one with Copilot and one without, and compared them as they completed assigned tasks. Writing study: draft a blog post. Meeting study: Summarise a 35-minute meeting recording. Search study: gather information from multiple sources, including files, emails, and calendars.

Study #2: The missed meeting.

Microsoft specifically examined Copilot's use in Teams, where it has seen the most extensive usage to date. They divided 60 Microsoft employees into two groups: one group used Copilot, and the other did not. Both groups were tasked with summarising a 35-minute recorded meeting they had missed. The recording included crosstalk, debate, and off-topic discussions to increase the complexity of the task and simulate a real-world meeting environment.

• Copilot users summarised the meeting nearly 4x faster (3.8), in 11 minutes and 13 seconds, compared to 42 minutes and 34 seconds.

• Copilot users felt 2x more productive.

• Copilot users found the task to be 58% less draining.

• As expected, we saw a slight decrease in comprehensiveness. Out of 15 meeting details for a perfect summarisation score, Copilot users included 11, whereas control users included 12.

Study #3: Email effectiveness.

Microsoft also asked a blind panel of 62 people to evaluate the clarity and conciseness of various email messages. Some of these messages were written with the assistance of Copilot, while others were not. The panelists were unaware of which messages were crafted with Copilot's help.

• Emails written with Copilot were rated 18% more clear.

• Emails written with Copilot were also rated 19% more concise.

• Participants scored emails written with Copilot 25% higher on, “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Our people are seeing immediate productivity improvements with Copilot.” —Kate Johnson, CEO, Lumen Technologies

“We are seeing meaningful impact in our daily lives; it makes a difference when we are able to find information faster or we are shown relevant content. We are more agile, Microsoft Copilot is helping us to have the right information at our fingertips.” —Sarah Lewandowski, Global Technology & Innovation Lead, Bayer

Study #4: The strain of searching.

Microsoft asked 163 participants—80 with access to Copilot and 83 without—to perform a task involving gathering information from multiple sources, including files, emails, and calendars. Participants were asked to imagine they were joining the procurement department of a fictional company. Their tasks included retrieving information about the company's procurement policy (requiring a search through company files), determining what kind of assistance their fictional manager needed (requiring an email search), and finding the timing of two upcoming meetings (requiring a calendar search).

• Copilot users were 27% faster, finishing in 17 minutes and 54 seconds, compared to 24 minutes and 18 seconds.

• There was no statistically significant change in accuracy between the two groups.

Copilot for Sales gives sellers a better way to work

Copilot for Sales gives sellers a better way to work.

Survey questions: Thinking of your experience using Sales Copilot so far, please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statements; Think about how long it takes you to complete tasks with Sales Copilot (e.g., summarising sales meetings, capturing the main points of an email or thread, etc.) and how long it takes you to complete the same tasks without Sales Copilot; How much time do you save per week by using Sales Copilot?

Customer Service

In another study, Microsoft assessed the impact of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service on agent productivity from April 2023 to July 2023 within Microsoft’s own Customer Service and Support (CSS) team, one of the largest customer service organisations in the world. The study involved two groups: 6,500 agents who used Copilot and a control group of 5,000 agents who did not use Copilot.

• Agents with Copilot had a 12% reduction in time spent resolving a case.

• 10% of cases that normally require collaboration with peers were resolved independently when agents had access to Copilot—meaning fewer customers had to be put on hold.

Security

There is an urgent need for Copilot to address the skills gap in the cybersecurity workforce, which faces 3 million unfilled positions globally as cyber threats become more frequent and severe. In one study, Microsoft examined how Copilot for Security supports defenders, regardless of their expertise level. We compared the performance of 149 new-in-career security analysts, divided into two groups: one with Copilot and one without. Both groups were tasked with identifying scripts used by cyber attackers, creating incident reports, and determining appropriate remediation steps. The results revealed:

• Copilot users were 44% more accurate and 26% faster across all tasks.

• 86% said Copilot for Security helped them improve the quality of their work.

• 83% said Copilot reduced the effort needed to complete the task.

• 86% said Copilot made them more productive.

• 90% said they want Copilot next time they do the same task.

Transforming business process with AI

Microsoft surveyed 18,100 people across 12 countries and six key functions to explore how generative AI could fundamentally transform business processes. Overall, respondents reported being overwhelmed by digital debt, estimating they spend more time searching for information (27% of their day) than on creating (24%) communicating (24%), or consuming it (25%). Additionally, they noted that only half (50%) of the information they consume daily is necessary for their job.

They asked participants where generative AI could most positively impact job performance across the six functions. The top response was "finding the information I need." From this starting point, they observed distinct needs emerging by function.

• Salespeople cited identifying sales opportunities (75%) and unifying marketing and sales data (74%).

• Customer service agents cited intelligently routing issues to appropriate agents (70%) and detecting trends across agent-customer interactions (68%).

• In finance, people cited simplifying financial reporting (73%) and validating data quality (72%).

While these are early findings, over time we expect Copilot to result in more deals closed, more customer service cases resolved, and happier customers— the hard measures that not only make work more satisfying and fulfilling but that ultimately drive the bottom line.

Global Survey: How AI will impact specific roles

Here’s how sales, customer service, and finance professionals say AI would improve their performance the most.

Survey question: If artificial intelligence (AI) could help you with each of the following activities, how much of a positive impact do you think it would have on your performance at work?

The Path Forward

The data confirms that the personal productivity gains from Copilot are both real and significant. However, transitioning from individual use to creating an AI-powered organisation requires a commitment to new ways of working. To maximise the benefits of Copilot, it should be seen not as a mere search engine but as a highly capable, infinitely patient, and always available assistant. Building a daily habit with Copilot, much like exercising or learning a new language, requires consistent and intentional practice. Those who adopt this habit early will gain a competitive edge.

Approach Copilot with a managerial mindset. Fully leveraging its potential involves the ability to delegate effectively, exercise sound judgment, and apply subject-matter expertise—essential human skills in the machine age. Each employee must manage their AI assistant wisely, knowing when to delegate tasks to Copilot and when to apply their own unique human intelligence.

One of the new leadership imperatives is to ensure that every employee uses reclaimed time effectively. Managers can focus more on coaching and supporting their teams. Salespeople can invest more time in building customer relationships and closing deals, while marketers can dedicate time to innovating new products. Ultimately, everyone will have more energy to engage in work that has the most impact and value for the organisation.