Microsoft's Copilot Event - Wave or Tsunami?

[@ThisWeekinIT]

Thanks for watching! Have you tried Microsoft 365 Copilot and what is your experience so far?

[@theredmonkey]

I bought a license specifically for one project in excel that was driving me crazy and I was curious, I had some data validation to do against 3 massive multiple column data sets where each item had to be exact across each row and column on all three. The data came from three separate Word document tables. Really just tedious data validation for another document and so I used it for that. It was faster than me figuring out the formulas because it's not something I do often. I use some other CoPilot features to give me some concepts for letters or other things to work on as well and then develop my own from there.

[@ThisWeekinIT]

Great to hear it came in handy!

[@Tobias_M_T]

I really hope they update the licenses to be available for monthly payments, I’d really like to try a new workflow with Copilot, but not want to pay upwards of 300€ a year for something I first have to figure out😬

[@ThisWeekinIT]

A free trial would be nice too. But monthly pricing would also be great.

[@Tobias_M_T]

@@ThisWeekinIT Definetly! But maybe Microsoft doesn’t have the server capacity to handle free trials for all yet. But let‘s see, maybe with this wave they up their game in widespread availability✌️

[@Ashish-no5ys]

Lets go!

[@finnswebsite]

"It feels like a bit of a mess" 100%
I know it's powerful and will be useful. But what does "generally available in Excel" mean?
In Australia it's already available for $529 per user per year for Microsoft 365, which surely includes Excel. But something is changing? It's becoming 'generally available' for Excel. Does that mean we no longer need to pay the $529 for users who only uses it in Excel? Is is this an announcement of something that's already here? I mean, if you had already been paying $529 per year for Copilot...

[@ThisWeekinIT]

Nothing is changing with pricing. Generally available just means that Microsoft believes it's ready for wide adoption in the enterprise.

[@theredmonkey]

Gemini lets me sort my mailbox, I can already do that with not AI so not sure what the benefit is unless it improves the terrible Outlook search. I think that biggest holdup is that a lot of companies won't pay the additional license or turn it on. Where I work they actively push against using AI and I have heard the same from others.

[@ThisWeekinIT]

Why is your company pushing against using AI?

[@theredmonkey]

@@ThisWeekinIT its government, I was being ambiguous. There are data security concerns, incorrect data or hallucinations in some tools as well as the cost considerations on the licenses. I have used it in excel for some big data analysis and its pretty great. General misuse concerns. We have our software and services contractors identifying which items use AI so other government entities in the state can be informed. I do have a friend at a local multinational that does not allow the employees use AI while the execs brag about using it. They have no answer as to why they cannot use it. Its early so I know where I am people are slow to change and embrace new technology, but it will be used in the shadows before being officially embraced.

[@finnswebsite]

In my case, we're not pushing against it, but I've seen a "Business Case' ​for something that was so laughably rubbish it made me ask the sender" Did you use AI to write that?
And they had.
@@ThisWeekinIT

[@synthwave7]

@@ThisWeekinIT It is because they are afraid, and don't understand how AI can help the business. When they get left behind they will say "Ah we should have listened"