How do you really know if your people are making the most of AI at work?

You’ve rolled out Microsoft Copilot. 

You’ve talked about how it can save time. How it can boost productivity. And how it can make day-to-day tasks easier. 

But how can you tell if your team is actually using it? Or if it’s quietly gathering dust on their desktops?

That’s exactly what Microsoft’s new Copilot Dashboard feature, called Benchmarks, is designed to reveal. 

It lives inside Viva Insights (part of Microsoft 365) and gives you a clear picture of how your employees are using Copilot. And how that compares to others.

Benchmarks can show how many people in your organisation actively use Copilot, which apps they’re using it in, and how often they come back to it. 

But it doesn’t stop there. 

It can also compare your company’s usage with other similar businesses. Those of the same size, in the same industry, or even in the same region. 

In other words, you’ll be able to see whether your team is leading the AI charge… or falling behind it.

Now, that may sound like a privacy concern. The idea of your company data being compared against others might raise an eyebrow or two. But Microsoft insists it’s handled safely. All the external data is anonymised, aggregated, and run through mathematical models to protect privacy.

From a business point of view, it’s a clever move. 

Many companies have been slow to fully adopt AI tools, even though the benefits are clear. A recent study found that only about 5% of AI pilot programs ever make it beyond the testing stage. Mostly because businesses struggle to adapt their processes and culture. 

Microsoft’s Benchmarks tool could change that by showing you exactly where adoption is stalling.

Of course, this new visibility might make some employees uneasy. No one wants to feel like their AI habits are being watched. But this is about progress, not punishment. If you can see which teams are using Copilot effectively (and which aren’t), you can identify where extra support or training is needed.

So, is your team using AI well? Soon you won’t have to guess. Copilot will tell you.

How do your team really feel about using AI at work? 

Are they excited? 

Nervous? 

Maybe a bit of both?

A new study has revealed just how widespread AI has become in the workplace. And how mixed people’s feelings still are about it. 

Four in five workers now use some kind of AI tool in their day-to-day role. More than half are using AI assistants regularly to save time. But that doesn’t mean everyone’s comfortable with it.

Some employees worry they’ll be seen as lazy or untrustworthy for leaning on AI. Others feel judged or second-guessed by colleagues when they do. 

It’s a strange situation. People trust AI to help them, but they don’t always trust how others will react to them using it.

The truth is, AI is here to support people. It’s important to see AI as a partner. A tool to help us focus on what we do best. To focus on strategy, creativity, and problem-solving.

But for that to happen, people need to feel confident using it. And that’s where many businesses are falling behind. 

Only one in three workers have had any formal AI training. Most are figuring it out by trial and error. And that can lead to uncertainty, mistakes, and mistrust. 

Managers tend to feel more confident (around 70%), but that confidence drops sharply among junior staff, where only about a third feel the same way.

So what’s the solution? 

Like many other things, it starts with culture. Business owners and managers need to create an environment where experimenting with AI is encouraged, not judged. 

Show your team that using AI tools isn’t cheating. It’s smart working. 

Give them opportunities to learn, whether through formal training, internal workshops, or simple “show and tell” sessions where people share how they’re using AI to make their jobs easier.

AI confidence doesn’t happen overnight. But when people feel supported and trusted they’re far more likely to embrace it. That’s when you start to see results, like better efficiency, more creativity, and a team that’s ready for whatever the future of work brings.

Be honest, how many times have you lost a Word document because you forgot to hit “Save”? 

We’ve all been there. 

The power cuts out, your laptop crashes, or you just close the window too fast… and hours of work vanish in an instant.

Well, Microsoft’s decided that enough is enough. From now on, new Word documents will automatically save straight to your OneDrive cloud storage. Autosave will be turned on by default.

That means your work is backed up instantly. And you can pick up where you left off from any device. 

Accidentally close the file? No problem, it’s sitting safely in the cloud. 

For anyone who’s ever lost an important report, proposal, or invoice, that sounds like a dream come true. Right?

But not everyone’s cheering just yet.

Some people aren’t comfortable with every new document automatically being uploaded to the cloud. They’d rather decide for themselves where a file should live. Especially if it contains sensitive information. 

There’s also the question of privacy. 

While Microsoft says your files are secure and only accessible to you, some people simply prefer keeping their work stored locally, where they feel more in control.

In fairness, Microsoft isn’t locking you in. You can turn this feature off and go back to saving files manually if you prefer. 

But for many, this change could slip by unnoticed. Word will just quietly back everything up for you without asking.

It’s a big shift, and it says a lot about where Microsoft’s heading. The company wants to make OneDrive the central hub for your files, and with new Copilot AI features coming to it, that makes sense. 

Soon you’ll be able to ask Copilot to find, summarise, or even edit your documents directly from OneDrive. There will be no need to dig through folders or filenames.

So, is this update a terrible idea or a great one? 

It depends on how you like to work. 

If you value simplicity, peace of mind, and automatic backups, it’s a fantastic move. But if you prefer a little more control and privacy, it might feel like Word’s making decisions for you.

Either way, one thing’s certain: The days of losing your unsaved masterpiece are numbered.

Ever found yourself juggling between Gmail, Outlook, and a dozen browser tabs just to find one email or check a meeting time?

It’s the kind of digital chaos most of us have learned to live with… until now.

Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot, is about to make life a lot easier. Thanks to a new Windows update, Copilot can now connect directly to your Gmail and Google Calendar, as well as your Microsoft accounts like Outlook and OneDrive.

That means, if you choose to turn it on, Copilot can search across both ecosystems to help you get things done faster.

Can’t remember when you last emailed a client? Just ask, “When did I last speak to Sarah?” Copilot will find it. Even if that message was buried in Gmail.

Need to plan next week’s schedule? It can check both your Outlook and Google calendars so you don’t double-book yourself.

Of course, you’re always in control. Copilot only accesses what you give it permission to. If you’d rather keep your accounts separate, that’s perfectly fine. It’ll keep working just as it always has within the Microsoft tools you already use.

But if you do choose to connect your Google account, it could be a real time saver. It’s one of the first times we’ve seen Microsoft’s technology work with Google’s instead of competing against it. If you mix and match apps from both sides, you’ll know that’s a big deal.

Away from searching and scheduling, Copilot is becoming a powerful creation tool. You can ask it to turn a few notes into a Word document, build a PowerPoint presentation, or even generate a polished PDF, all without opening a single extra app.

Longer responses from Copilot now include an “export” button so you can instantly send its output into the format you need.

The update has rolled out to Windows Insiders (Microsoft’s group of early testers) via the Microsoft Store, but it won’t stay there for long. This is clearly the direction Microsoft’s heading: Fewer apps, fewer steps, and more time to focus on actual work.

There is, however, one big question hanging over all of this. How much do you trust your AI assistant?

Linking Copilot to Gmail and your calendar means giving it access to some very personal data. Microsoft stresses that you stay in charge and your data isn’t used to train its AI, but it’s still worth thinking about before you click connect.

For many, the convenience outweighs the worry. It’s great to see we’re heading towards a world where your tools finally work together, not against each other.