Copilot for Microsoft 365 was launched eight months ago . Now everyone wants to know if generative AI will really change work and how?

New data shows that productivity growth is real. We conducted research using surveys and experiments to deeply understand how Copilot is changing work? Copilot is already making people more productive, creative and saving time. Early adopters don't want to go back to work without it: 77% said they don't want to give up Copilot!

And this is just the beginning. As generative AI spreads across the workplace, the real opportunity is not only to transform personal productivity, but also to empower the entire organization. Copilot sets a new benchmark – one where every employee gains skills in writing, design, coding, data analysis and more. It also strengthens expertise, taking work from good to exceptional.

First look

Here's what stood out in our research:

70% of Copilot users said they were more productive, and 68% said it improved the quality of their work .

Overall, users were 29% faster in a series of tasks (searching, writing, and summarizing).

Users were able to catch up after missing a meeting almost 4 times faster.

64% users found that Copilot helps them spend less time processing emails.

85% users have found that Copilot helps them get a good first draft faster.

75% users said Copilot "saves me time by finding everything I need in my files."

77% users said that after using Copilot they did not want to give it up.

1.Perceived productivity gains with Microsoft Copilot

We surveyed 297 users of our Copilot for Microsoft 365 early access program to find out how they use Copilot?

From meetings to document creation. Overall, they reported productivity gains and time savings consistent with the benefits experienced by developers using GitHub Copilot.

Copilot users are more productive and finish work faster:

70% Copilot users said they were more productive.

73% found they could complete tasks faster.

64% found that Copilot helps them spend less time processing emails.

85% found that Copilot helps them get a good first draft faster.

87% found that Copilot makes it easy to get started on your first draft.

86% found that Copilot makes it easier to catch up.

84% found that Copilot makes it easier to take action after a meeting.

75% found that Copilot saves time by finding everything they need in their files.

71% found that they saved time on mundane tasks.

Copilot improves quality and creativity:

68% stated that it improved the quality of their work.

57% found that it made them more creative.

68% said Copilot helped them start their creative process.

72% said it helped them generate ideas while writing.

Copilot changes the way users spend their time

67% found that Copilot saves them time so they can focus on more important tasks.

On average, users reported daily time savings of 14 minutes, or 1.2 hours per 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.

The most common answer was concentrated work (53%), and almost no one spent any time on administrative tasks such as data entry (7%).

However, the second most common response was to use this time for additional meetings (16%) - which can be counterproductive with an already heavy meeting workload.

These time savings are extraordinary, but it will be crucial for everyone to wisely reinvest the returned time.

Copilot makes people more productive, creative and saves time

Here's what the breakdown looks like by early adopters

Productivity and speed

It helps me get a good first draft faster 85%

I save time by finding everything I need in my files 75%

Saves time on mundane tasks 71%

Makes me more productive 70%

It allows me to spend less time processing email 64%

Quality and creativity

It helps me generate ideas while writing 72%

It helps me speed up the creative process 68%

It helps improve the quality of my work or results 68%

Focus time

I save time so I can focus on more important work 67%

2. Copilot's impact on meetings, emails, research and writing

In addition to qualitative research, we set out to quantify Copilot's productivity gains through observational studies of four components of knowledge work: meetings, email, information searching, and writing. We know that the digital debt people feel is real. Our largest Microsoft 365 users receive over 250 emails per day and send and receive 150 chats1, and the number of Teams meetings per person has increased 3x globally since 2022.

With Copilot, people save time on key tasks

Quantitative results show that Copilot increases the speed of tasks such as writing, summarizing meetings, and searching for information.

Study 1: A day in the life

The first study simulated a day in the life of a knowledge worker in a series of tasks. We divided 147 people into two groups, one working with Copilot and one without it. We asked them to complete three tasks: research information from multiple sources, summarize the meeting recording, and write a blog post.

Copilot users completed tasks faster – while maintaining quality and accuracy:

Users were 29% faster on all three tasks, taking 29 minutes and 42 seconds , compared to 42 minutes and 6 seconds .
For the writing task alone, the first draft with Copilot took 8 minutes and 12 seconds compared to 13 minutes and 48 seconds .
There was no statistically significant difference in accuracy across all three tasks.
The Large Language Model (LLM) panel also evaluated blogs written with and without Copilot. There was no statistically significant difference in quality.

Copilot actually reduces the burden of work:

Copilot users don't just put in less effort - they feel like they do, too.
85% users found that Copilot reduced the effort required to complete tasks.

Study 2: Missed meeting

Here we looked specifically at Copilot in Teams, which is where we've seen the most use of Copilot so far. We divided 60 Microsoft employees into two groups, one with Copilot and one without, and asked them to summarize the meeting they missed. The 35-minute recorded meeting included interrogations, debates and off-topic discussions to make it more difficult and more realistic.

Copilot users summarized the meeting almost 4 times 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 this task 58% less strenuous .
As expected, we observed a slight decrease in comprehensiveness. Of the 15 meeting details, Copilot users included 11 while control users included 12 to achieve a perfect summary score.

Study #3: Email effectiveness

We also asked the 62-person team to rate the clarity and conciseness of multiple emails, some written with Microsoft Copilot and some without. Study participants did not know which messages were written using Copilot.

Emails written using Copilot were rated as 18% cleaner.
Emails written using Copilot were also rated as 19% more concise.
Participants rated emails written with Copilot 25% higher in the "I couldn't have said it better myself" category.

“We see a significant impact on our daily lives; it makes a difference when we are able to find information faster or are shown relevant content. We are more agile, Microsoft Copilot helps us have the right information at our fingertips”

Study 4: Search bias

We asked 163 participants, 80 with Copilot and 83 without, to repeat a task involving gathering information from multiple sources - searching for information in files, emails and calendars. We asked subjects to imagine that they were joining the procurement department of a fictitious company. Their task was to obtain information about the company's purchasing policy (which required searching company files), what kind of help their fictitious manager needed (which required searching emails), and the dates of two upcoming meetings (which required searching the calendar ).

Copilot users were 27% faster , finishing in 17 minutes and 54 seconds , compared to 24 minutes and 18 seconds .
There were no statistically significant changes in accuracy between the two groups.

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3. Problems and opportunities for individual tasks

We see broader opportunities for Copilot to drive organizational impact at scale across every function. We take a learn-it-all approach, starting with our own salespeople and customer service.

Sale

We surveyed 133 Microsoft salespeople who use Copilot for Sales at least once a week. Here's what we found:

Users saved an average of 90 minutes per week.
83% found that Copilot for Sales increases their productivity.
79% found that it reduces the amount of administrative work they have to do.
78% found that it helps them keep their work flowing smoothly.
73% found that they could complete tasks more easily.
68% found that they could update their customer relationship management (CRM) systems with less effort.
67% found that they were able to spend more time with their customers.
64% stated that it allows them to better personalize relationships with customers.
58% found that they found the CRM information they needed faster.

Copilot for Sales gives salespeople a better way to work

Customer service

In another study, we assessed how Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service impacted agent productivity from April 2023 to July 2023 on the Customer Service and Support (CSS) team at Microsoft, one of the largest customer service organizations in the world . We studied two groups: 6,500 agents who used Copilot and a control group of 5,000 agents who did not use Copilot.

Agents using Copilot had 12% less time to resolve a case .
10% of cases that would normally require collaboration with other staff were resolved independently when agents had access to Copilot – meaning fewer clients had to be put on hold.

Security

There is also an urgent need for Copilot to help fill the cybersecurity workforce skills gap, with 3 million unfilled positions globally as cyber threats become more frequent and more serious. In one study, we examined how Copilot for Security can help defenders, regardless of their level of expertise. We compared the results of 149 novice security analysts divided into two groups, one with Copilot and one without it. Both groups were asked to identify scripts used by cybercriminals, create incident reports and determine appropriate remediation steps.

The results showed:

Copilot users were 44% more accurate and 26% faster on all tasks .
86% stated that Copilot for Security helped them improve the quality of their work.
83% found that Copilot reduced the effort needed to complete a task.
86% found that Copilot increased their productivity.
90% said they wanted to use Copilot the next time they did the same task.

Transforming business processes with artificial intelligence

We surveyed 18,100 people in 12 countries across six key functions to better understand the broader capabilities of generative AI to fundamentally transform business processes. Overall, people told us they were drowning in digital debt. They estimate they spend more time searching for information (27% of the day) than creating it (24%), communicating (24%), or consuming it (25%). They also claim that only half (50%) of the information they consume every day is necessary to do their job.

We asked people where generative AI could have a positive impact on work performance across all six functions. “Finding the information you need” was at the top of the list. We then noticed unique needs based on function.

Salespeople mentioned identifying sales opportunities (75%) and unifying marketing and sales data (74%) .
Customer service agents cited intelligently routing cases to the appropriate agents (70%) and spotting trends in agent-customer interactions (68%) .
In finance, employees mentioned simplification of financial reporting (73%) and verification of data quality (72%) .

Here's how sales, customer service and finance professionals say AI will most improve their performance

The way forward

Data shows that personal productivity gains with Microsoft Copilot are real and significant. But moving beyond individual experimentation and building an AI-powered organization will require engaging with work in new ways. Those who treat Copilot not as a search engine, but as a highly capable, endlessly patient and always available assistant will gain the most.

Build a daily habit with Copilot. Just like exercising or mastering a new language, realizing Copilot's productivity gains will require intentional daily practice. Those who start building this habit early will gain an advantage.

Think like a manager. Utilizing Copilot's full potential requires the ability to delegate, exercise good judgment and apply expertise - essential human skills in the machine age. Each employee will need to manage their new assistant and know when to delegate a task to AI and when to apply their own unique human intelligence.

Don't waste your recovered time. One of the new leadership imperatives is to help every employee consciously use the time saved with Copilot. Managers can spend more time coaching and caring for their teams. Salespeople can spend more time building relationships with customers and closing deals, and marketers can free up time to create new products. In the future, everyone will have more energy for fulfilling work that has the greatest impact and value to the organization.

Source: What Can Copilot's Earliest Users Teach Us About Generative AI at Work? (microsoft.com)