Are you one of those business owners who have heard about the power of AI and its potential to transform your operations, but you’re still not quite sure how it works or how it will help your business? If you’re being honest, you’re not alone. But, don’t worry—today, we’re diving into a game-changing AI feature that might just be the solution you need: Copilot agents.

The Basics: What Are Copilot Agents?

Before we get into the specifics, let's quickly break down what Copilot actually is. It's Microsoft's AI-driven offering designed to streamline and automate repetitive tasks within your Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Think of Copilot as your productivity assistant, freeing up time by handling the mundane tasks, allowing you and your team to focus on what truly matters.

The Percy Example: Solving Real Business Problems

Let’s imagine a typical business setup. You have a HR Officer, let’s call him Percy, who is tasked with a wide variety of jobs. These include:

• Recruitment and managing social media posts

• Engaging with the senior management team in meetings

• Staying updated with the latest HR regulations

• And, of course, answering dozens of day-to-day questions from employees

These inquiries might include things like vacation days, pay during sick leave, or mileage reimbursement. It’s no surprise that handling such routine queries takes up a significant portion of Percy’s week. In fact, it’s estimated that administrative tasks could account for as much as 20-30% of his work time.

Now, imagine this: instead of Percy answering these questions, we build a Copilot agent called Harry HR. This AI-powered agent is loaded with all your company’s policies, procedures, and other essential HR information. Employees can simply ask Harry HR their questions via Microsoft Teams, leaving Percy to focus on higher-level tasks.

By automating these queries, Percy could reclaim 20-30% of his time and boost productivity across the business. But the real magic happens when you roll this out across multiple departments.

Scaling Up: Imagine Automating 30-40% of Your Business

What if you expanded this concept throughout your organisation? Imagine automating 20-40% of the tasks across your company’s various departments using Copilot agents. This could free up significant resources and enable your employees to focus on more impactful, creative, and strategic tasks. So, what would your business do with that extra 40%?

The possibilities are endless.

How Much Do Copilot Agents Cost?

Now, let’s talk about the pricing structure, as this is a crucial aspect for any business evaluating Copilot agents. Microsoft 365 offers two options:

• Copilot Chat (Free Plan): You can create Copilot agents using this free plan, but the functionality is limited to basic web-based data sources.

• Copilot (Paid Plan): For $30 per user per month, you unlock more advanced capabilities, including integration with your Microsoft 365 data (Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive).

But that’s not all—there’s also the option for pay-as-you-go pricing, which starts at a penny per message. This is ideal if you're just getting started and don’t want to commit to the full $30/user plan straight away.

The Demo: Creating Your Own Copilot Agent

If you’re thinking, “This sounds great, but I’m not a coder—how do I build my own agent?”—don’t worry. Microsoft makes it easy. The process is designed for end users who don’t need to be IT experts to build simple, functional agents.

Here’s how it works:

1. CoPilot Studio: This is where you’ll create your agents. You can either use pre-built agents or create your own from scratch.

2. Configuring Your Agent: For example, let’s build a Harry HR agent. You can upload the necessary HR documents, set a friendly tone, and decide how you want the agent to behave (e.g., professional, casual, or cheerful).

3. Adding Knowledge: You can use SharePoint URLs to integrate all your company’s existing HR policies into your agent, allowing it to answer questions based on the latest information.

Final Thoughts: Empowering Your Team with AI

Copilot agents are the next step in business automation, and they can radically transform how your business operates. With the ability to automate routine tasks, you’ll free up time for your employees to focus on more valuable work, while also making sure that important queries are answered instantly and accurately.

So, if you’re ready to streamline your operations, embrace the power of Copilot agents, and reclaim valuable resources within your business.