Drive Business Value With M365 Copilot

Adopt and scale Copilot with intent and trust.

Analyst perspective

Translate Copilot capability into measurable value.

Mahmoud Ramin

Research Director
AI Research
Info-Tech Research Group

Andrew Sharp

Research Lead
AI Research
Info-Tech Research Group

Microsoft 365 Copilot introduces a steep change in how the work gets done. It enables users to write content, analyze data and get insights within seconds, craft emails according to the provided documents and client sentiments, and provide a summary of meetings and define next steps. These capabilities boost employee productivity and work quality while reducing errors and saving time.

To realize this value, users must understand Copilot’s capabilities and how it will impact their tasks. Business leaders need to know about the requirements to use such an impactful solution. Data privacy and access control are central concerns. As Copilot automatically adheres to an organization’s stringent security, compliance, and privacy protocols, providing it with an effective privacy policy will prevent data breaches.

Besides privacy concerns, business leaders want to make sure that Copilot will be the right technology for them given their infrastructure landscape, making use case identification critical. They also want to make sure that Copilot will be well adopted by users to ensure the expense doesn’t go to waste.

This research helps organizations establish foundational understanding about necessary requirements for successful Copilot deployment. It supports leaders in defining clear guardrails and creating the conditions for safe and scalable Copilot adoption.

Executive summary

Your Challenge

The business wants AI, and you’re the one that’s expected to deliver it.

• Your organization is a Microsoft shop. Copilot feels like the logical first step to deliver AI tools to your wider organization.
• You’re expected to both configure the solution and train the business to use it.
• It’s your job to manage the solution once it’s deployed.

Common Obstacles

Getting value from Copilot requires more than buying and provisioning licenses:

• Business leaders have serious expectations for Copilot’s capabilities.
• However, left to figure it out on their own, users tend not to use the tool to its full potential.
• Data silos, inconsistent governance, and messy access permissions can reduce the accuracy of results or create privacy and security risks.

Info-Tech’s Approach

Overcome the obstacles and get to value:

• Align Copilot’s key capabilities to real business problems and opportunities.
• Unpack what’s needed to make these use cases work in practice.
• Identify controls and change management approaches aligned to risk.
• Identify roles and responsibilities for ongoing Copilot support.

Info-Tech Insight

Enablement depends on many complicated and technical factors: data, governance, licensing, access, change management, etc. Lack of balance between opportunity and risk can create business risk or limited usefulness. Leverage the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot by strategically defining goals, identifying user groups, implementing robust data protection plans, and monitoring deployment progress through user feedback.

Your challenge

You’re rolling out M365 Copilot to your organization.

M365 Copilot is Microsoft’s end-user offering to enable an organization’s employees to integrate the functionality of large language models (LLMs) with the organization’s data and familiar productivity and collaboration tools, including Teams, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. To ensure effective and M365 Copilot adoption, organizations need to:

• Address organizational demand for AI technology.
• Deliver tools and training in a streamlined and sustainable manner.
• Identify business opportunities for M365 Copilot and work toward showing concrete business value.

Many organizations choose to implement an AI-powered assistant like M365 Copilot just because everyone else is.

The challenge is to consequentially impact ROI and productivity at the enterprise level, reducing confusion along the way.

Info-Tech Insight

M365 Copilot adoption may seem straightforward at the start, but when considering organizational capabilities, implementation complications, and a rapidly changing technological environment, organizations can often find themselves struggling to find a starting point or order different aspects of technical implementation properly. Ensuring thorough adoption requires proper prioritization.

M365 Copilot: How is it really?

Apparent Opportunity

• Copilot is integrated into familiar productivity tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams, which should help improve daily work.
• The commercial results seem to speak for themselves: Microsoft reported 430 million paid commercial seats worldwide with about 7% year-over-year growth in Q3 FY2025, and Copilot usage tripled over last year (“Fiscal Year 2025 Third Quarter,” Microsoft, 2025).

Bridge the Gap

• Identify business-driven, high-value opportunities aligned to M365 Copilot’s key capabilities.
• Set essential governance and boundaries to address safe adoption.
• Establish clear KPIs for Copilot usage and outcomes.
• Manage usage and right-size your deployment where appropriate.

Adoption Challenges

• Customers report challenges in scaling AI adoption across industries and regions.
• Customers may experience problems with integrated apps like Excel and PowerPoint.
• Customization is limited, and responses can be generic or superficial.

Key obstacles

Misaligned controls and inefficient messaging can slow value, adoption, and impact.

Push for ROI

Organizational need to show return on investment can often rush decision-making and implementation, leading to skipped steps around data, governance, security, and other factors.

If organizations force an implementation of Copilot with the sole aim of deriving ROI and business value as fast as possible, it becomes a distraction rather than an enabler.

Balance of Controls for Opportunity and Risk

Poor controls create unacceptable business risks, but overly restrictive controls limit opportunity for value creation.

Starting with controls in planning without a proper process gets in the way of business value.

Research shows a large discrepancy in adoption vs. return on investment:

90%

90% of organizations are choosing to adopt AI into their everyday workflows…

39%

…yet only 39% report EBIT impact at the enterprise level.

Source: McKinsey & Company, 2025

Info-Tech Insight

Organizations that rush Copilot adoption planning to show quick ROI often skip essential steps in data quality, governance, security, and setting expectations. Getting Copilot implementation right requires discipline upfront, with a process that involves realistic pacing, balanced controls, and a long-term enablement mindset focused on sustainable outcomes rather than shortcuts.

Adoption momentum and enterprise impact of M365 Copilot

Market signals, productivity gains, and lessons from real-world adoption

Daily Impact of M365 Copilot

• Using M365 Copilot helps users save 11 minutes per day, equaling one work week per year (“11 minutes,” Microsoft, 2025).
• M365 Copilot users spend ~30 minutes less per week reading email and complete documents 12% faster (“Early Impacts,” Microsoft, 2025).
• Employees that use M365 Copilot regularly, have reported 20% to 30% higher satisfaction related to productivity and learning (“Copilot Analytics,” Microsoft, 2024).

Adoption Rates

• As of late 2024, 70% of Fortune 500 companies have adopted M365 Copilot (“Fiscal Year 2025 First Quarter,” Microsoft, 2024).
• In January of 2026, Microsoft reported 15 million M365 Copilot paid seats, representing a 160% year-over-year increase (The Motley Fool, 2026).

Despite its potential benefits, only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 users pay for Copilot (Windows Central, 2026). This gap is not about lack of interest in AI but ties back to a combination of readiness, value, and trust required before adopting and scaling Copilot.

Info-Tech’s member engagement on Copilot adoption indicates significant satisfaction:

• 9.4/10 overall satisfaction
• $7,313 average value saved per engagement
• 7 average days saved

Case Study: Globo

Globo used M365 Copilot to increase productivity and savings

Globo

INDUSTRY

Media

SOURCE

“Globo’s Strategic Adoption,” Microsoft, 2025

Challenge

Globo, Brazil’s largest media conglomerate, operates in a highly competitive environment where traditional broadcasting competes with streaming platforms and digital media. The company needed to maintain its leadership position while adapting to rapid technological changes and evolving consumer behaviors. This required finding ways to boost productivity, streamline operations, and foster innovation without compromising the high-quality standards essential for creative work. Additionally, Globo faced cultural challenges in introducing AI tools, as employees needed reassurance about ethical use and compliance.

Solution

Globo adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot through a carefully planned three-phase strategy aligned with its business objectives. The initiative began with the “Você Mais IA” program, designed to integrate AI into employees’ daily routines and promote continuous learning. A multidisciplinary committee ensured compliance, data security, and cultural alignment. Globo also reinforced adoption through hands-on workshops, gamified competitions, and leadership roadshows. This approach emphasized that Copilot was not just a tool but a strategic enabler of innovation and efficiency across the organization.

Results

Globo achieved a 90% reduction in time required to validate financial data, a 78% increase in productivity for incident management through automation, and a 97% reduction in execution time for complex spreadsheet tasks. Certain teams reported monthly savings of two hours per employee, freeing time for more strategic work. Beyond measurable gains, the initiative empowered employees to develop creative solutions, such as building custom apps for critical operations, and fostered a culture of continuous innovation. Globo is now planning to expand the program, aiming to make every employee an agent of change and further embed AI into its strategic vision.

Deliverables

Each step of this blueprint is accompanied by supporting deliverables to help you accomplish your goals:

M365 Copilot Control Map Sample

Use these worksheets to discuss and implement guardrails for Copilot usage.

M365 Copilot Execution Capability Assessment Tool

Use this tool to analyze your organization’s foundational capabilities for Copilot deployment and use.

M365 Copilot Acceptable Use Policy

Use this document to outline how employees are expected to use Copilot responsibly, aligned with organizational standards.

M365 Copilot Roadmap Tool

Use this tool to create an actionable plan for your M365 Copilot project.

Key deliverable:

M365 Copilot Executive Summary Template

Document your activity outcomes using this boardroom-ready template.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

Guided Implementation

“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

Workshop

“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

Executive & Technical Counseling

“Our team and processes are maturing; however, to expedite the journey we’ll need a seasoned practitioner to coach and validate approaches, deliverables, and opportunities.”

Consulting

“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all five options.

Workshop overview

Contact your account representative for more information.
workshops@infotech.com 1-888-670-8889

Identify key players and user groups

A key player analysis uncovers the needs and expectations of key players before implementing Copilot.

Consider the following:

1. Use Cases

   Which teams have roles that are most represented in the identified use cases? Who currently performs the tasks that Copilot is expected to support or automate?

2. Impact and Influence

   Who will be most impacted by the implementation of Copilot? Who influences technology adoption or change management within the organization? Who controls the budget or approvals for the rollout of Copilot?

3. Expertise and Support

   Who understands the workflows or systems that Copilot will integrate with? Who has experience with Copilot or similar generative AI technologies? Who are current internal champions or early adopters of new technology?

Select the right users to get most benefits

Consider multiple factors when selecting users to hit home at real user needs.

Cross-functional representation: Select participants in different departments, roles, and locations to provide comprehensive feedback and create a network of change champions across the organization.

Sentiment toward AI: Include those eager about and open to adopting new technologies. However, also include those with less favorable sentiments toward AI to get a range of feedback and perspectives and to test the communication tactics.

Skills and expertise: Select participants with relevant AI skills and expertise. Include participants with a wide range of level of experience with AI/advanced technology or comfortability with technology.

Open feedback culture: Choose participants from teams that have a culture of open and honest feedback to ensure actionable insights are provided.

Respect and status: Choose participants who are respected and influential within the organization, as their buy-in can facilitate acceptance of the program.

Phase 1

Review M365 Copilot Capabilities

Phase 1

1.1 Establish a shared understanding of what AI is and what it isn’t

1.2 Review the M365 Copilot ecosystem and capabilities and brainstorm opportunities to use it

1.3 Assess the business value of M365 Copilot

1.4 Get hands-on: prompting, context, M365 Copilot agents

This phase will walk you through the following activities:

• Discuss experience with AI.
• Brainstorm Copilot use cases.
• Work on real-world prompting scenarios.

This phase involves the following participants:

• Business stakeholders
• IT representatives
• Innovation/AI leads