Feeling lost with AI? Microsoft Copilot can help
By Stephanie Oley

CCE's new Microsoft Copilot course is designed for professionals who want to harness the power of AI to streamline their tasks and improve efficiency.

Overwhelmed by the choice of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the market? You wouldn’t be alone. Every other week, it seems, another AI tool is launching with functions ranging from general workplace productivity to specialised uses in graphic design, coding, data analysis and other areas.

One of the most widely used AI tools is Microsoft’s Copilot, launched in 2023 and doubtless a large part of your ecosystem already. Even if you’re not yet a regular user, you’ll have noticed its friendly prompts regularly suggesting improvements to your Word documents, PowerPoint slide layouts, Excel charts and other tasks.

The Copilot learning curve can be steep if you’re not naturally drawn to experimenting with technology functions. However, CCE's new Microsoft Copilot Course: Your AI Virtual Assistant, is designed for precisely this scenario. Essentially, it’s for professionals who want to harness the power of AI to streamline their tasks and improve efficiency, but prefer to begin their journey with the guidance of a helpful and experienced human.

As the course title suggests, the focus is on how to use Copilot to simplify work, not assume it will do everything for you. Here's a sneak peek into what you can expect.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Firstly, some background. Microsoft Copilot is an advanced AI tool that draws on large language models to help users with various tasks. A large language model is a type of AI program that is pre-trained to recognise and generate structured information, such as human language and numeric data.

One major advantage of Copilot compared to other AI platforms is its security. Although the tool uses publicly available information, Copilot’s robust security measures ensure your data remains secure within your Microsoft environment and is not shared externally.

If your workplace has Microsoft Pro subscriptions, you’ll find you can already use Copilot freely across apps such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You can also add Copilot Pro to other Microsoft subscriptions, such as Family and Business. If you’re not a pro subscriber, you can get a taste of Copilot’s functions whenever you use Microsoft collaborative tools, such as Outlook and OneDrive.

Meet your facilitator, Clare

Our Copilot course was developed by data analyst and University of Sydney lecturer, Clare Yu. Clare began her career in environmental science, working on tasks such as predicting water quality in the wake of the 2019 bushfires. A self-certified AI enthusiast, Clare uses a range of tools in her day-to-day role. Her favourite Copilot functions include:

1. Emails: Outlook’s new templates can help you start your emails, suggest where to add bullet points and adjust the tone. Why spend time starting a task from scratch, when so much valuable prework already exists in the world?
2. Excel: Many datasets contain inconsistencies such as decimal point placement, capital letter usage or spacing. Copilot can suggest changes and implement them within seconds, using automated search functions, faster calculations and data tidying capabilities.
3. PowerPoint: Convert your data more easily into graphs and presentations, and work with a growing range of built-in templates when designing your slides.

Concepts beyond Copilot

The beauty of learning at an all-day course is that you’ll gain broader insights into the way AI tools work in general. The workshop starts with a look at the basics, starting with the differences between AI and generative AI, a closeup of large language models, and the fundamentals of natural language processing. This essential knowledge will give you the confidence to tackle whatever other AI tools await you in the future.

You'll also learn about the latest updates and features, such as using Copilot in Teams to catch up on missed conversations and key points. This means the course will update constantly, in line with the many updates expected for Copilot, ensuring participants always have access to the latest tips and tools.

AI is here to stay, and learning how to get the most of it will help to futureproof your role – not make it obsolete. Visit our Microsoft Copilot course page, along with our other AI course options, and learn how you can start enhancing your AI-powered productivity.