It’s been well over a year that partners have been delivering Microsoft Copilot  – and it looks like the fun is just getting started.

Microsoft Ignite 2024 just wrapped and there was no shortage of huge Copilot announcements. Let’s rephrase that: There was a relentless stream of big, fascinating, exciting Copilot news. New agents. New security tools. New pricing. It was frankly hard to keep up.

That’s why today we’re going to break down the biggest take-aways and discuss some of the opportunities they give you, the trusted partner.

1. Copilot Actions: Automate Everyday Tasks Like Never Before

Microsoft introduced Copilot Actions, allowing users to automate repetitive tasks such as scheduling emails and compiling weekly reports. This feature is currently in private preview.

Actions streamlines client workflows, helping to reduce manual effort, increasing efficiency and productivity.

Partners might see this as an opportunity to deepen consulting services to implement and customize Copilot Actions for clients, helping them stay competitive and excel in the digital age.

2. New Copilot Agents: Enhancing Team Collaboration

Microsoft also announced a series of new agents that work alongside teams.

Facilitator Agents work within Teams meetings and chats, taking real-time notes. These agents are in public preview for customers worldwide and are available on desktop (Windows/Mac), web, and iOS/Android (consumption only).

The Interpreter Agent provides real-time speech-to-speech interpretation during meetings, and users can choose to have it simulate their own speaking voice. Interpreter will begin with supporting nine languages including Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish, and will be available for public preview in early 2025.

In Business Chat, Employee Self-Service Agents answer common questions about company policies and other topics such as how to open an IT helpdesk ticket. Microsoft employees are already benefiting from this, seeing a 36% increase in self-help success rate for IT issues. Now available in private preview, it will be available more broadly in early 2025.

By incorporating them into their daily workflows, these agents can transform how teams interact and operate, improving collaboration. For partners, there is an opportunity to help clients create agents tailored to their needs, deepening client relationships with ongoing support and customization.

3. Agents in SharePoint: Transforming Knowledge Management

AI agents are now showing up in SharePoint. They will enable users to turn SharePoint sites and documents into scoped agents that act as subject matter experts.

For instance, a team lead can create an onboarding agent to onboard new team members, providing them with access to the most current information and the source files.

These agents are now in general availability and have already started to roll out, with expected completion by the end of this calendar year.

This enhances knowledge accessibility within organizations, helping clients find information faster (with two billion files added to SharePoint and OneDrive every day, there is certainly a lot of content to sift through)!

Partners might focus on providing training and support to help clients maximize the benefit of SharePoint agents, empowering them to navigate and utilize their information repositories effectively.

4. Quick Machine Recovery & Windows 365 Link: Empowering Every Employee to Work Securely

Windows 365 Link, a password-less device for Microsoft 365, enables desk-based users to securely work on a familiar Windows desktop in the Microsoft Cloud. It is now in public preview and will be generally available for $349 in select markets starting April 2025.

Quick Machine Recovery is a new solution to help customers recover from unexpected disruptions. It also gives admins the ability to execute targeted fixes from Windows Update on PCs even if they’re unable to boot. This feature will be available to those in the Windows Insider Program in early 2025.

There is an opportunity for you to sell and support these devices to help your clients to stay ahead in hardware solutions, and offer secure, cloud-based work solutions to address evolving security needs. By incorporating these devices and features into offerings, you can support your clients during critical times, modernize the workplace, and elevate the standard of IT support.

5. Copilot Analytics: Measuring Adoption and Business Impact

Copilot Analytics will be generally available in early 2025 as a component of the new Copilot Control System. This allows IT and business leaders to measure the adoption and business impact of Copilot and agents. As part of the new Copilot Analytics, Viva Insights will be included in Microsoft 365 Copilot at no additional charge.

Furthermore, the new Business Impact Report, now available in public preview, is designed to help organizations understand how Copilot usage relates to KPIs.

This new capability empowers your clients to see the value of their investment in Copilot, making it easier to plan strategically.

You can harness this data to show the effectiveness of the solution you have implemented, solidifying your role as trusted advisor. These insights also open the door for you to recommend additional services, driving new revenue and deepening your client relationships.

6. Pricing Updates: Introducing Monthly Billing

Keeping up on Microsoft licensing and pricing changes is always key.

At Ignite, several commercial licensing and pricing updates were also announced, including a new monthly billing plan for annual term subscriptions of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Rather than making an upfront annual payment, customers who purchase annual term subscriptions of Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales, and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service can choose to pay monthly. This option will be introduced on December 1, 2024, and will cost 5% more than the annual billing option.

Starting on April 1, 2025, Microsoft will standardize the monthly billing price for all new and renewing annual term subscriptions. This standardization will ensure consistency and transparency across all platforms.

Copilot in 2024 was about the hype. 2025 is about adoption.

Despite all the excitement around Copilot, there is still room to improve the adoption journey, and this Ignite session highlighted several key barriers to usage:

• Only 53% of users know what tasks to use Copilot for (“the knowledge gap”).
• Only 46% of users feel equipped to make the best use of Copilot (“the skill gap”)
• Only 37% of users believe they are able to realize the full potential of Copilot (“the confidence gap”)

While 79% of leaders think their company needs to adopt AI to stay competitive, 60% worry their organization lacks a plan and vision to implement AI.

By understanding these key announcements related to Microsoft Copilot and potential adoption hurdles, you can position yourself as a forward-thinking partner ready to help your clients navigate this dynamic landscape, and help them realize their vision.

Want to position your team as the Copilot experts to make adoption happen? We can help.

To uncover your clients’ security needs and build the best path for Copilot for Microsoft 365 adoption, check out Block 64’s Copilot Readiness Assessment. (You’ll get your first eligible client assessment free between now and December 31, 2024.