How Microsoft 365’s AI Is Already Helping SMEs Work Smarter
When Microsoft first added Copilot to familiar apps like Outlook, Word, and Teams, it was seen as a handy new tool - something to help with writing drafts or summarising emails. But for small and medium-sized businesses across the UK, Copilot is proving to be much more than that. It’s becoming a trusted digital assistant, working quietly in the background to make day-to-day tasks quicker, easier, and less stressful.
Take Outlook, for example - it can now summarise long email threads into a few key points. Word can turn a rough idea into a structured document in no time. Excel answers plain-English questions and offers insights, not just data. And PowerPoint, often a time-consuming task, can now build clean, professional slide decks from just a list of bullet points.
These features aren’t just on the horizon, they’re available now and being used across all sorts of roles and departments. In Teams, meeting summaries are ready before the call even finishes. Marketing and bid teams are turning around polished first drafts much faster. Finance teams are spotting trends without having to write a single formula. These aren’t vague promises - they’re real, practical benefits businesses are already seeing.
Importantly, all this happens securely within your existing Microsoft 365 setup. Copilot respects your organisation’s file permissions (it can only access what users already have access to), and your data is not used to train public AI models. These protections are built in from the start, so you can take advantage of Copilot’s capabilities without putting your data at risk*.
Microsoft is also introducing more ways to customise Copilot. Businesses can now create their own AI assistants tailored to specific tasks or departments, using focused datasets and clear instructions. For those working with data, the new Code Interpreter feature allows more technical users to perform advanced analysis, calculations, and scripting - all within Microsoft 365’s secure environment.
At Kick, we’re already helping SMEs explore how Copilot can make a real difference. The technology is ready to go - it’s just a matter of understanding how it can support your teams, save time, and fit naturally into your existing ways of working.
There’s even more to come. Later this year, we’ll see features like real-time meeting translation, seamless third-party integrations, and AI agents that can carry out entire workflows on their own. We’ll dig into those in our next news article, but they’re worth keeping in mind as you plan ahead.
Getting ready for what’s next
The benefits of Copilot are clear, but to get the most out of it, a bit of prep work is essential. Start by reviewing your file permissions in SharePoint and Teams. Copilot won’t override access controls, but if a file is shared with a team, it can draw on it in a response. This is a great chance to tighten permissions and avoid accidental oversharing.
Next, think about where Copilot can make the biggest difference. A good approach is to start small, try it out with one team, like marketing or operations, and see how it works in practice. That way, you can learn what works well and where the real time savings are, before rolling it out more widely.
To help with that, Kick offers a Cyber Readiness Assessment tailored specifically for Microsoft 365. It covers data access, tenant security, and overall governance, so you can be confident your Copilot rollout is secure and compliant.
Want to learn more? Get in touch with us or speak to your Kick Account Manager. AI is already reshaping the way we work - now’s the time to make sure your business is ready to take full advantage.