Rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot successfully goes beyond implementation. To see real results with Copilot adoption, you need a structured approach—one that prioritizes high-impact use cases, hands-on training, and ongoing improvements. People need clear guidance, practical training, and steady support.
In our recent webinar, James Spignardo, Strategic Solutions Consultant, and Greg Dodge, Strategic Solutions Architect, shared ProArch’s journey with Microsoft 365 Copilot, the use cases we created and steps to get the team on-board.
Read on for ProArch’s structured approach to help you ensure Copilot adoption delivers real business value.
How ProArch Approached Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption
There is a lot to consider when deciding if Microsoft 365 Copilot is right for your business and how you’ll approach adoption. At ProArch, integrating Copilot made business sense for us because:
- We are heavy Microsoft 365 users. No surprise there because we’re a Microsoft partner. All our daily operations are underpinned by Office apps.
- We deliver AI solutions and already use AI apps. Our AI culture was already there.
We went through our own Copilot journey, which happened in a little over a year. We use Microsoft 365, we're 100% in the cloud. All of our stuff is set up to use modern technology, the right security, and compliance.
Breakdown of Steps for Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption
The first step to successful Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption is designating an AI champion and/or AI working group. Someone needs to take ownership and drive the initiative forward for it to work. They need to understand the value, encourage usage, and gather feedback.
Once you have an owner in place, you’re ready to go through these adoption steps:
1. Identify High-Value Targets:
Not every team will benefit from Copilot in the same way. Don’t start with everyone in your organization. Start with the roles that deal with a lot of communication and writing—where Copilot can provide the most immediate value.
At ProArch, the first groups to use Copilot were:
- Service Desk Engineers – Quickly summarizing customer interactions and locating internal documentation
- Project Managers – Automating meeting notes and action items.
- Sales Teams – Drafting proposals and preparing follow-ups faster.
2. Dig Into Challenges:
Before introducing Copilot, our internal Adoption Working Group worked with managers and employees to pinpoint where people were spending too much time on repetitive tasks.
Some of the biggest challenges we found included:
- Emails take too long to draft and organize.
- Meetings generate lots of notes but little action.
- Manual proposal writing eating up valuable time.
Copilot wasn’t introduced just because it was available—it was introduced where it could make a real difference.
3. Develop High-Impact Use Cases
Once the main challenges were identified, ProArch focused on specific ways to use Copilot that would show clear, measurable improvements.
Some of the first success stories came from:
- Email summaries – Cutting down response time by providing quick overviews.
- Meeting notes automation – Ensuring key takeaways weren’t lost.
- Proposal drafts – Reducing the time spent on routine document creation.
Starting small allowed ProArch to measure early wins and refine how Copilot was used before expanding further.
Your first success stories will come from teams who spend time writing, summarizing, or responding to information.
4. Train and Adjust Based on Feedback
We ran hands-on training sessions, but training wasn’t a one-time thing. Based on feedback, we adjusted how Copilot was introduced and provided ongoing tips to help people use it in ways that actually saved our time instead of adding extra steps.
Tracking Adoption: What’s Working and What’s Not?
How ProArch quantifies Copilot’s value:
- Review Adoption Metrics: Tools like Viva Insights Dashboard tracked overall usage and engagement rates.
- Center of Excellence: Dedicated training resources to equip teams with best practices and ongoing support. A CoE makes accessing information easier by consolidating resources and minimizing one-to-one communications.
- Conduct Employee Surveys: Regularly gather feedback to identify areas for improvement and highlight successes.
Our results?
- 97% adoption rate month-over-month
- 400+ Teams meetings processed using Copilot in just 28 days
These numbers weren’t the goal—they were the result of an approach that focused on practical, everyday improvements.
What’s Next After Copilot Adoption?
Beyond adoption, the next step is enhancing Copilot’s capabilities through deeper integrations and automation. This includes building or sourcing connectors to integrate Copilot with CRM and ticketing systems, ensuring more grounded and context-aware responses.
Additionally, organizations can develop Copilot Agents to automate repetitive workflows and introduce narrow AI for industry-specific efficiencies. Finally, leveraging Copilot Pages can enhance team collaboration by embedding AI-driven insights into shared workspaces.
Change is hard, but it’s worth it". "Copilot has the potential to transform workplaces, but success hinges on embracing a culture of continuous improvement.
ProArch Can Help Drive Your AI Journey Forward
With AI and generative AI rapidly evolving, you need a strategy to maximize Copilot’s impact. That’s where we come in. ProArch, a top Microsoft Partner, can help organizations like yours seamlessly integrate and optimize Microsoft 365 Copilot for real business outcomes.
- 6-Week Microsoft 365 Copilot Smart Start: A readiness assessment that takes you from Copilot vision through deployment, including fine-tuning and preparing your Microsoft 365 environment for Copilot.
- 4-Week ImpactNOW Assessment: If Copilot isn’t right for you, but you want to explore what’s possible with AI, we can test your AI use case in 4 weeks and provide recommendations for moving forward.
Ready to take the next step? Reach out.
