Copilot in the real world: what 7,600 public servants learned

In the first half of 2024, more than 60 federal agencies handed Microsoft 365 Copilot to 7,600 public servants and watched what happened.^[1]

The verdict, from the independent evaluation: staff reported "perceived time savings of around an hour a day" on summaries, first drafts and searching for information.^[2] Sixty-nine per cent said it sped up their work. Eighty-six per cent wanted to keep it.^[2]

What Copilot does

Copilot is AI built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.^[3] It summarises the email thread you've been avoiding, recaps the meeting you missed, and turns notes into a first draft, all without leaving the app.

Where it stumbled

The same evaluation found "Copilot's inaccuracy reduced the scale of productivity benefits", and its Excel features were rated "poor".^[2] Only about a third of participants used it daily, Microsoft acknowledged.^[1]

The biggest predictor of success wasn't the software. Microsoft reported that people who received three or more forms of training felt most confident using it.^[1]

The small-business takeaway

If your team lives in Outlook and Teams, Copilot can earn its place quickly. Business Standard with Copilot starts from AU$35.20 per user per month, paid yearly and excluding GST, according to Microsoft.^[3] Roll it out to a few heavy email-and-meeting users, train them properly, and measure before you buy for everyone.

Quick answers

How much time does Copilot save?

In the Australian Government trial, staff reported saving around an hour a day on summaries, first drafts and searching for information.