By Stephen McNickle, commercial director at RMT Technology, the specialist technology arm of RMT Accountants & Business Advisors
The ever-increasing prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and the positive impact they can have on business processes has been a key technology theme in recent years – and judging by the increasing range of AI-related advice and solutions we’re providing to our clients, this trend is seemingly going to continue through 2025.
One of the most prevalent AI technologies is Microsoft Copilot, which has quickly become a game-changer for users looking to streamline their communication, meetings and collaboration.
Launched as part of Microsoft’s initiative to incorporate AI into its suite of products, Copilot works by leveraging the Microsoft Graph and Open AI’s GPT-4 model, and offers insights, drafting capabilities, meeting summaries, and more.
Here are some of the ways you can get the best out of Microsoft Copilot in Teams and how it can help your business complete tasks more efficiently.
1. Optimising chat and channel interactions
One of Copilot’s strengths is helping users with message composition. It can suggest edits to match the tone and format you’re aiming for, help create a professional, concise version of your initial draft and adjust the tone from formal to more conversational if needed, all of which can save time and improve the quality of your communication.
For users joining Teams channels after time away, Copilot can quickly summarise key points from messages and mentions, which saves users from scrolling through a backlog of messages, and can retrieve updates specifically relevant to an individual’s needs, making searching for information shared in busy channels much easier.
2. Driving meeting productivity and efficiency
Meetings are often packed with information, and it’s easy to miss details when multitasking or jumping between discussions. Copilot can create a real-time meeting summary, highlighting critical points, action items and the decisions made, all of which makes postmeeting follow-ups easier to handle.
Copilot can also provide a structured, post-meeting recap with follow-up actions, categorised discussion points and details in lists or tables for easy digestion. This not only streamlines task assignment, but by organising discussions into actionable steps, it also helps to keep projects moving forward and project teams on track.
3. Crafting effective prompts for accurate responses
Developing specific and clear prompts, adding context and revising or rephrasing prompts as required, allows you to get the best out of Copilot, as its accuracy relies on the clarity of your instructions.
Follow-up questions should be asked if you’re not getting the output you need, with refining requests from the generic to the specific (i.e., “Summarise today’s meeting” becomes “Highlight decisions from today’s project kick-off.”) will help to ensure that you get structured, relevant responses.
4. Ensuring Privacy and Security
Copilot operates under rigorous privacy standards, meaning data remains private and secure, and is not shared with external services or used for broader AI training. This privacy commitment is especially important in industries such as finance, healthcare or government, where confidentiality is essential.
Copilot also supports compliance needs for regulated industries, with built-in data management protocols and user control features that provides a secure and compliant environment that aligns with regulatory standards.
The potential of AI to reshape collaboration and productivity within Teams is clearly just beginning.
Microsoft Copilot already enables enhanced meeting management, communication and project alignment, and as the technology evolves, it’s likely that even more capabilities will soon be introduced.
For further information on how Microsoft Copilot and other AI technologies might help your business enhance its systems, processes and efficiency, please contact Stephen McNickle at RMT Technology on 0191 256 9550 or hello@rmttechnology.co.uk