Technology innovations have dramatically transformed the way that many of us work today. As modern marketers, digital tech tools have helped us automate tasks and streamline processes, increasing our ability to find and connect with potential new buyers more effectively. The technology leading most current discussions in the B2B MarTech space is AI, “with 92% of businesses considering investing in AI-powered software in 2024” (Gartner). Although B2B marketers are excited about the potential to enhance their marketing efforts with the use of AI, many continue to have concerns about data security. To help us better understand the role that AI can play in the marketer’s toolbelt, we spoke with Andrew Brathwaite, Partner Enablement and Training representative at TD SYNNEX about the AI-powered tool, Copilot for Microsoft 365.
What is Copilot for Microsoft 365?
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is an AI-powered tool that coordinates large language models (LLMs), content in Microsoft Graph, and the Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Andrew explains, “Copilot works within your Microsoft 365 environment with your existing business data.” This integration provides users with real-time intelligent assistance, enabling them to enhance their creativity, productivity, and skills. Copilot works alongside the user to automate tasks and create content, with the user deciding what to keep, edit, or discard. Andrew adds, “The user is always in control. It’s not an autopilot.” Copilot for Microsoft 365 requires the user to have a prerequisite base license assigned. A complete list of eligible base licenses can be found in the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 service description guide.
How does Copilot for Microsoft 365 work?
Once Copilot is enabled:
- Users can begin by typing a prompt within a Microsoft app, such as Outlook. Prompts can be crafted using natural language and should be as descriptive as possible. For example, “Write an email to thank the keynote speaker for attending the event.” Andrew adds that creating descriptive prompts takes practice but suggests taking some time to test out different prompts.
- The input prompt then goes through pre-processing which works to improve the specificity of the prompt to help you get answers that are relevant to your specific task. At this point, Andrew explains, “Copilot is trying to interpret what you are asking for, then retrieves data from your Microsoft content based on its understanding. That data plus your prompt is then sent to the LLM for processing.” Copilot can only retrieve data that you are able to access within your Microsoft 365 environment, based on existing role-based access controls.
- Copilot then takes the response from the LLM for some post processing, which involves responsible AI checks and security, compliance, and privacy reviews. Andrew says, “This step is all about the security aspect – making sure that the response and what’s included, only includes what you are supposed to be seeing and nothing that you’re not.”
- After post processing, Copilot releases the response to the app, where you can access and review it.
Copilot processes include a couple of extra steps that do not exist with other, similar technologies. Andrew explains, “The reason for that, is because it's always within a private Microsoft environment. You’re not having to cut and paste your Word document and put it into a public environment.”
How can Marketers use Copilot to help with everyday tasks?
Busy marketing professionals can increase their productivity by using Copilot to automate everyday tasks such as composing email replies in Outlook, creating PowerPoint presentations, and drafting social media posts in Word. Andrew suggests, “One of the easiest ways to get started with Copilot is using it for the purposes of a first draft for your content creation.” We took Andrew up on his suggestion and created the first draft of this blog using Copilot!
Let’s explore some practice scenarios where Copilot can make a significant impact for marketing professionals:
-
Content Ideation
-
Personalize Buyer Communications
-
Manage Social Media Engagement
-
Optimize SEO Strategies
-
Repurpose Existing Content
-
Edit and Improve Marketing Copy
Copilot can check the tone and quality of your marketing copy to ensure that your messaging aligns with your brand voice and resonates with your audience. It can easily rephrase messages, adjust the tone of voice to be more engaging, and shorten and/or lengthen copy to deliver better results.
By automating routine tasks, Copilot can drive efficiency for marketing professionals, giving them time to focus on more strategic work. Andrew adds, “Test questions out like, ‘Copilot change the font in this slide or change the colour of the font in this deck’. Basic things like that, that you can do manually but the whole point is, let Copilot do it.” Remember that Copilot learns from context, so the more you use it, the better it becomes at understanding your intentions.
Exciting times ahead! Stay tuned.
