How 365 Copilot Aims to Transform Our Workdays
Microsoft just dropped a game-changer at Build 2025 with their massive 365 Copilot upgrade that's about to transform how we work. I sat down with Aparna Chennapragada, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer for experiences and devices, to get the inside scoop on workplace AI. (Check out our full 30-minute conversation on YouTube.)
The Evolution
Microsoft began by integrating AI into our daily tools—namely, Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Now they're ramping things up.
Copilot Tuning: Personalized AI
The breakthrough? Copilot Tuning: a low-code approach letting any organization train models on their specific data, workflows, and terminology—no AI expertise needed.
Why this is huge:
Create agents that understand your company's unique language
Embed industry-specific knowledge
Maintain consistent brand voice and style
Imagine a law firm where its AI knows precisely how to format documents, matches the firm's writing style, prepares filings, and crafts arguments that blend firm expertise with client specifics.
Team Players
These aren't solo operators—they work in collaboration. HR, IT, marketing, compliance: each agent handles its specialty and hands off seamlessly when needed. New employee onboarding practically runs itself.
Beyond Efficiency
The research agent doesn't just handle tasks—it spots patterns. It identified topics her boss cared about from previous meetings—connections she admits she might have overlooked.
Real Results
The early adopters are already seeing impressive returns on their AI investments. Wells Fargo has equipped 35,000 bankers with tools that slash search time from 10 minutes to just 30 seconds, dramatically improving client service. At T-Mobile, a single agent can now instantly aggregate product data from 20 different vendors, eliminating the need for countless manual queries. Meanwhile, HCLTech reports closing support cases 40% faster, allowing them to redeploy 30% of their 500-person support team to higher-value work. These aren't just incremental gains—they represent fundamental shifts in operational efficiency.
The Tech Stack
Copilot Studio: drag-and-drop agent building
Azure AI Foundry: access to 1,900+ models
Entra Agent ID + Purview: built-in identity and data security
The Shift
The agents will transition from performing tasks to directing them. Think of AI as your mental booster rocket—you navigate, and it powers the work. Microsoft predicts 1.3 billion AI agents by 2028—more teammates than tools. The winners will be organizations that learn to lead, not just use, their AI workforce. Identity, protection, compliance—these aren't optional extras but essential foundations, as Microsoft rightly emphasizes.
One Possible Future
If this is done right, an AI support team will be as standard as company email. The advantage will go to those who effectively manage these digital colleagues and rapidly upskill their people.
The future isn't about AI replacing us—it's about how companies will use it to their full advantage.
