Copilot in Government: Your Questions Answered In Webinar 1

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how we work, and for the public sector, tools like Microsoft Copilot are creating new opportunities to save time, simplify admin, and focus on what matters most: serving people and communities. 

During our first webinar, Making Copilot Work for You: Everyday Efficiency Tips for Public Sector Professionals, in our series on Copilot for the public sector, hundreds of attendees joined us to explore how Copilot can support daily tasks across roles, departments, and teams. 

We received an incredible range of questions, from getting started to managing inboxes, organising data, and planning more effectively. Below, we’ve gathered the most useful audience questions and expert insights to help you unlock Copilot’s potential in your own work.

(Watch the full webinar recording below to see these examples in action.)

Getting Started with Copilot 

• How easy is it to start using Copilot?
  Copilot is designed to be intuitive. If you can use Microsoft 365, you can use Copilot. Start small by asking it to summarise a document or draft an email. You’ll quickly see how it adapts to your way of working. It’s not about learning a new tool but about extending the tools you already use every day. 
•  I’m not very confident with IT tools. Where should I begin?
  Start within the applications you’re most comfortable with, such as Outlook, Word, or Teams. Look for the Copilot icon and try simple, practical commands like: “Summarise my unread emails from today.” or “Draft a short note for the next council meeting based on this agenda.” As you experiment, you’ll see how Copilot helps with familiar tasks and gradually builds your confidence. 
• What’s the difference between Copilot and ChatGPT?
  Copilot is integrated within Microsoft 365, meaning it can securely access your organisation’s documents, emails, and data, while following the same permissions and compliance rules already in place. ChatGPT, by contrast, is an open web-based tool that can’t access internal organisational content. 
• How does Copilot for Microsoft 365 differ from the free version?
  Copilot for Microsoft 365 connects directly to your organisation’s Microsoft environment, meaning it can understand your internal data and context. The free web version doesn’t have that access and can only reference public web information. 
•  Why do prompts behave differently inside apps compared to Copilot Chat?
  Each Copilot experience has a slightly different context. For example, Copilot in Word focuses on the content of your document, while Copilot Chat can reference multiple files or sources. Think of it like this: in-app Copilot is your focused assistant; Copilot Chat is your broader, conversational advisor. 

Role-Specific Use Cases 

• How can Copilot help in finance roles?
  Finance teams can use Copilot to analyse data, draft summaries, or prepare reports. For example: “Summarise the key variances in this Excel budget report.” or “Draft a short update for the finance committee based on this data.” It’s not just about automation; it’s about surfacing insights quickly and freeing up time for strategic work. 
• What about data engineering or product management?
  For technical or project-focused teams, Copilot helps with documentation, meeting summaries, and reporting. You might ask it to: “Summarise this Teams conversation into key actions for the project team.” or “Create a high-level description of this data flow for a presentation.” 

Inbox, Outlook and Diary Management 

• Can Copilot help manage my inbox?
  Absolutely. You can ask it to summarise unread emails, identify urgent items, or even draft replies. Try prompts like: “Summarise today’s new emails and suggest next actions.” or “Draft polite responses to meeting invitations I’ve missed.” 
• Can it manage delegated inboxes or shared mailboxes?
  Yes, provided you have permission to access them. Copilot can summarise messages, draft responses, or highlight priorities in those shared spaces. 
• Can it move emails directly into SharePoint folders?
  Not automatically (yet). However, Copilot can help you identify which emails relate to specific projects or categories, making manual filing faster and more consistent. 
• How do I use Copilot in meetings?
  In Teams, Copilot can summarise discussions, identify key decisions, and generate follow-up tasks. You can ask: “Summarise the main discussion points so far.” or “Draft a follow-up email with the agreed actions.” 

Planning, Prioritisation & Productivity 

• Can Copilot help me prioritise tasks?
  Yes, Copilot can analyse your calendar, emails, and Teams activity to help you focus on what’s most important. For example: “List my top five priorities for this week based on my recent activity.” 
• Can Copilot support horizon scanning or note-taking?
  You can use Copilot to summarise reports, highlight trends, or create summaries from policy documents and meeting transcripts. It’s especially useful for turning information overload into concise, actionable insights. 
• Why does AI sometimes seem to ‘attend’ meetings?
  This usually happens when Teams transcription or summarisation is enabled. Copilot doesn’t “join” meetings in a human sense, it’s processing conversation data in the background to generate summaries and insights. 

Implementation & Adoption 

• What’s a typical lead time for introducing Copilot across an organisation?
  Most organisations begin with a pilot group within a few weeks, focusing on training, permissions, and governance before scaling up. The key to success is managing both the technology and the change in working habits. Copilot adoption isn’t about switching tools; it’s about embracing new ways of working. 

Data, Dashboards & Automation 

• Can Copilot help me build dashboards in Excel?
  Yes. Copilot can create charts, tables, and summary visuals to help track key performance indicators. For instance:“Create a dashboard showing monthly contract performance.” It’s a great way to visualise data quickly and refine from there.
• Can I link documents/data to Copilot?
  Yes, you can do this by connecting your accounts in Settings → Connectors (OneDrive, Google Drive, Outlook, Gmail, etc.). Copilot can then search across your files, emails, and calendars.
• Is there a limit on the amount of text/data that is submitted to Copilot to review/action? 
  Yes. Copilot works best with short to medium chunks of text or data. Huge uploads (like entire books or massive datasets) aren’t supported.