What I Learned from Hosting Our Microsoft Copilot Client Briefing
This week I had the pleasure of hosting a complimentary 90-minute Microsoft Copilot briefing for a group of our clients. We invited organisations from a variety of sectors, including companies such as Next, BUUK, GKN Aerospace, Ingleton Wood and the Cambridge Network, and it turned into one of those sessions that reminds you why training is such a rewarding profession.
The original idea behind the briefing was quite simple.
Over the last year, AI has become one of the biggest topics of conversation with our clients. Everyone has heard of Microsoft Copilot, but many organisations are still trying to work out where it fits into their day-to-day work.
- What's the difference between the free version and Microsoft 365 Copilot?
- Is it secure?
- Is it worth investing in?
- How can people actually use it to save time?
Rather than giving a sales presentation, we wanted to create a relaxed environment where people could see Copilot in action, ask questions and explore what it can really do.
Every Organisation Is at a Different Stage
One of the biggest things I took away from the session was just how different every organisation's AI journey is.
- Some people were seeing Copilot for the first time.
- Others had already rolled it out across their business.
- Some organisations had restricted Copilot Agents.
- Others had already developed internal AI governance policies.
There isn't a single starting point for AI. Every business has different priorities, different security requirements and different levels of confidence. That actually made for some really interesting discussions.
Better Prompts Make All the Difference
One of the sections that generated the most discussion was prompt engineering.
Instead of simply asking Copilot:
"How do I increase sales?"
I introduced the prompt framework I've been using called CRITT.
- Context - Explain the background.
- Role - Tell AI who you want it to act as.
- Interview - Ask it to interview you before completing the task.
- Task - Build the work in stages.
- Tone - Explain how you want the response presented.
The Interview stage was the biggest eye-opener for many attendees.
Don't expect AI to guess what you mean. Let it interview you first.
Five or six well-thought-out questions can completely change the quality of the final result.
AI Doesn't Replace Good Microsoft 365 Skills
One point that really resonated with attendees was that AI actually rewards good Microsoft 365 habits.
When demonstrating Copilot in Word, we talked about document structure.
If you're manually changing fonts, colours and sizes throughout a document, Copilot can only work with what you've given it.
However, if you're using:
- Heading Styles
- Consistent formatting
- Well-structured documents
- Meaningful section headings
Copilot becomes significantly more effective.
AI rewards good habits.
Real Questions from Real Businesses
The most valuable learning often came from the questions people asked.
Keeping Company Branding Consistent
One attendee asked how Copilot could produce documents using their company branding.
We discussed creating a simple brand reference document containing:
- Company colours
- RGB values
- Hexadecimal colour codes
- Preferred fonts
- Brand guidelines
This gives Copilot a reliable reference when generating documents.
Comparing Documents
Another attendee wanted to compare multiple documents.
Instead of trying to do everything inside Word, we explored using Copilot Chat to analyse two documents, identify differences and create a summary report.
These weren't theoretical discussions. They were genuine business challenges that organisations are facing today.
A Quick Look at Copilot Agents
Towards the end of the session we briefly explored Copilot Agents and Copilot Studio.
I explained the difference between the two.
- Copilot Chat helps you think, write, summarise and analyse information.
- Copilot Studio allows organisations to automate business processes using Power Automate and Microsoft 365 services.
Judging by the number of questions afterwards, this is definitely an area we'll explore further in a future briefing.
Introducing Our New Customer Training Hub
The briefing also gave us the opportunity to introduce our new Customer Training Hub.
Delegates can now:
- Access course materials.
- Download certificates.
- Review completed training.
Course organisers can:
- Monitor employee training.
- Download certificates for teams.
- Track learning across the organisation.
We're also collecting feedback on both the training and the portal so we can continue improving the experience.
Final Thoughts
After more than 25 years of delivering Microsoft training, one thing hasn't changed.
Technology will always evolve. The real value comes from helping people understand how to use it with confidence.
This briefing wasn't about convincing people that AI is the future. It was about showing practical ways it can help today, answering honest questions and sharing ideas with organisations that are all at different stages of their AI journey.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, asked thoughtful questions and shared their experiences. Your contributions made the session far more valuable than any presentation ever could.
We're already planning our next complimentary briefing, where we'll explore Copilot Agents, automation and practical business use cases in more detail.
If your organisation is beginning its AI journey, or you'd simply like to explore what Microsoft Copilot can do, we'd love to continue the conversation.