The Copilot Connection

A deep dive into the evolution of AI tools, emphasizing the importance of aligning technology with organizational goals. The discussion highlights the need for a comprehensive AI strategy, focusing on measuring success beyond mere ROI. Governance and compliance take center stage, particularly in the responsible use of AI. Generative AI shines as a game-changer in business processes, while the call for a Center of Excellence emerges to support AI initiatives. The importance of community engagement and user feedback is also underscored, ensuring a collaborative approach to innovation.

Dive into the highlights of Microsoft Ignite 2024, featuring fascinating discussions on new Copilot updates and innovative agents. Explore the significance of the Prompt Gallery and the evolution of Copilot Studio, which enhance collaboration and automation. With security taking center stage, attendees appreciated the smooth integration of Microsoft products. Discover anecdotes from the conference atmosphere, plus insights on optimizing productivity through AI. There's even a nod to the shifts in office attendance guidelines!

Hosts dive into exciting developments in the AI landscape, discussing the evolving role of agents and the challenges of governance. They reflect on their experience at the recent Scottish Summit and share anticipation for significant announcements at the Ignite conference. Bluesky's vibrant community is praised as a welcome change in social media. The podcast highlights the clever tailoring of new AI models for specific industries and urges listeners to navigate the generative AI hype cycle with a strategic mindset.

Dive into the latest updates in the Microsoft Copilot ecosystem, featuring the exciting new Copilot Labs. Discover how AI is revolutionizing business processes and enhancing employee experiences. The discussion includes intriguing insights on the upcoming Microsoft Ignite conference, emphasizing the significance of AI integration and security. Plus, the hosts share their eagerness for the Scottish Summit, promising interactive panels and engaging competitions that highlight community involvement.

Joining the discussion are Loryan Strant, a tech thought leader on Copilot Wave 2, Caroline Kallin, who shares her expertise on advancements in Copilot technology, and Tom Morgan, offering his insights on the evolution of these tools. They delve into the key updates from Copilot Wave 2, including enhanced collaboration features and the introduction of Co-pilot Pages. The hosts reflect on a year of progress, addressing user feedback, potential challenges in AI adoption, and how these innovations are poised to revolutionize workflows and user experiences.

Send us a textAs the days in the UK get shorter, the grass looks brown and tired and the kids looked bored and ready for school, it's time to recap some of the news that has crept out while many were distracted with holidays. There's certainly been a few things coming through as momentum builds towards the second conference season of year. Zoe and Kevin cover some worrying news on hacking Copilot, some positive news on accessing models and some great events coming up.Related links:Nominate your favourite community folks at the UK Technology Community Awards - https://www.ukcommunityawards.co.uk/Sign up for Scottish Summit and plan in for the Connecting the Copilots panel with Chris Huntingford, Dona Sarkar, Jose Lazaro Pinos , Sara Fennah and us - https://www.scottishsummit.comZoe is co-hosting a webinar for Syskit with Luke Evans on Copilot for M365 after one year https://www.syskit.com/company/events/copilot-for-microsoft-365-after-one-year/New speaker workshop with Sara Fennah, Luke Evans and us - http://www.communitydays.org/event/2024-09-06/microsoft-community-new-speakers-day  - if you're in the UK and doing interesting things with Copilot that you'd like to share Check out the brand new Copilot for M365 MVPs! - Search | MVP Communities (microsoft.com)Hacking CopilotMicrosoft’s AI Copilot can be weaponized as an ‘automated phishing machine,’ but the problem is bigger than one company | Fortunehttps://www.perspectives.plus/p/copilot-bigger-security-threat-than-chatgpthttps://labs.zenity.ioModels in Github - Introducing GitHub Models: A new generation of AI engineers building on GitHub - The GitHub BlogWhat’s new in Copilot | July 2024 - Microsoft Community HubOneNote in Copilot supports Inked Notes - https://insider.microsoft365.com/blog/onenote-copilot-now-supports-inked-notes?ocid=usoc_TWITTER_M365_spl100006091250593Updates to Microsoft Copilot to bring enterprise data protection to more organizations - Microsoft Community Hub

Send us a textAfter a slightly quieter time on the podcast, Kevin and Zoe are back and we pick some of the Month of Copilot sessions to share some interesting ideas from them that will interest you.Check out the rest of the Month of Copilot sessions in the Copilot Connection - YouTube.Kevin mentioned Commsverse and Experts Live UK so check out the links for more info.Finally, if you want to try out the super hero prompt that Zoe mentioned, copy the prompt below and let us know what it finds!Look at the emails and Teams meetings that I have sent in the last 6 months. Use these messages to distill a personal brand voice document that I can use to inform copilot of my personal voice and style.Based on the above analysis, what superhero represents my style of work best? What would my super powers be? Can you format that as a dossier for superheroes -- listing my real name, and most similar existing superhero, and include the rest of the information formatted and edited in dossier style?

Send us a textIn this episode of the Copilot Connection, Kevin McDonnell is joined by Garry Trinder, a developer advocate at Microsoft focused on Microsoft 365 and Copilot. With Microsoft Build taking place this week, they recap the Copilot related news that came out with a special focus on extensions and custom copilots. Plenty of chat about why you should extend, the different ways to extend and when to extend or go custom.  Plus find out how many times Copilot was mentioned in the first day keynotes thanks to Vlad Catrinescu.Useful links:M365 Conf sessions - some online now including the age of copilots -Introducing the Community News Desk with essential content from Microsoft 365 Community ConferenceVlad Catrinescu comedy recap Microsoft Build 2024 Keynote Recap in under 5 minutes!Book of News - https://news.microsoft.com/build-2024-book-of-news/GPT-4o demo by Seth Juarez - Conversational website: Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2024Copilot+PC - Introducing Copilot+ PCs - The Official Microsoft BlogVS Code for Education - https://vscodeedu.comNote that you need a Copilot license to use this with Copilot Studio - Use graph connections with knowledge sources - Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learnhttps://aka.ms/extendcopilotm365/decideUseful Build sessions:BRK 150: Developers guide to customizing Copilot - slides available too BRK 151: Developer deep dive on building plugins for Microsoft CopilotBRK203: Building a copilot: Azure AI Studio or Copilot Studio

Send us a textWith all the announcements made last week at the M365 Conf in Orlando, Zoe and Kevin take a dive into the roadmap to see what is coming up in the short to medium term. With a lot of key updates around Excel, cross application capabilities and graph grounded chat in other applications, take a listen to find out what you can expect in the world of Copilot over the next few months.Key links:Month of CopilotMay Copilot be with youDona teases Project Copilot College M365 Conf announcementsWhat’s New in Copilot | April 2024 - Microsoft Community HubWhat’s New in Microsoft Teams | April 2024 - Microsoft Community HubAnnouncing SharePoint advanced management innovations for the AI and Copilot era - Microsoft Community HubMicrosoft 365 Roadmap - See What's Coming | Microsoft 365 - Copilot Rolling Out itemsMicrosoft 365 Roadmap - See What's Coming | Microsoft 365 - Copilot In Development items

CEO Michal Pisarek discusses Copilot Readiness in Microsoft 365, focusing on environment understanding, oversharing review, and sensitivity label implementation. The podcast also covers latest tech news including Meta AI in WhatsApp and emphasizes the importance of user feedback to Microsoft for CoPilot enhancement.