Copilot for Finance – A Worthwhile Upgrade.
Topics on This Page
- Microsoft Copilot for Finance is a Worthwhile Upgrade
- Enterprise Benefits of Copilot for Finance
- Copilot for Finance Use Cases
- Further Leverage Copilot in Forms and OneDrive
- What Does Copilot in Windows 11 Bring to the Table?
- Copilot in Microsoft 365 Mobile App Upgrades
- What These Copilot Changes Mean for You
Microsoft Copilot for Finance is a Worthwhile Upgrade
Copilot for Finance is a worthwhile upgrade from Microsoft that allows you to streamline Dynamics 365, SAP, and Excel. See the latest features in the table below to help your enterprise’s Finance team gain additional insight in real-time, automate repetitive tasks, and save time each and every day.
Recently, Microsoft unveiled its next innovations in the Copilot for Finance space, with new Copilot generative AI products and capabilities bringing new possibilities to the finance industry. With the new Copilot for Finance on the horizon and Copilot in Forms having arrived this month, it’s going to be an interesting year for finance businesses. Microsoft is also planning to release Copilot in Microsoft 365 as a mobile app, will add an AI-based “Help Me Create” function to the Microsoft 365 Web App, and will see new functions and improvements across their Copilot for Windows 11 and 365 products.
Enterprise Benefits of Copilot for Finance
Microsoft Copilot for Finance is a new addition to the Copilot offering that has entered the public preview stage. It’s designed to help with financial analysis work by pulling data from existing financial data sources, such as SAP and other ERP systems, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Graph.
Copilot for Finance includes Copilot for Microsoft 365, which likely means that it works for Microsoft 365 applications. One potential use case is to perform Excel spreadsheet analysis with text prompts. Copilot for Finance leverages automated data structure comparisons to ensure accuracy. Similarly, Outlook users can generate customer account summaries and details or turn financial data into charts and graphs with a simple prompt.
Copilot for Finance Use Cases
Here is a table that shows how Copilot for Finance can be a good upgrade for enterprises.
| Feature | Potential Benefit | Upgrade Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Automation | Saves time and reduces manual work | Cost: Subscription fee vs. free alternatives. |
| Examples: Automatic bill pay, budgeting rules, investment rebalancing. | May not be necessary if you already have automated features elsewhere (bank, investment platform). | |
| Financial Insights | Deeper understanding of your finances | Value: Is the information valuable enough to justify the cost? |
| Examples: Spending breakdowns by category, financial health visualizations, future projections (if available). | Free budgeting apps might offer basic insights, but Copilot could provide more in-depth analysis. | |
| Goal Setting & Tracking | Stay motivated and achieve goals | Needs: Do you already effectively track goals with another tool (spreadsheet, notes app)? |
| Examples: Set savings goals, track progress towards debt repayment, monitor investment performance. | Copilot can centralize goal tracking and provide visualizations for better motivation. | |
| Security | Peace of mind with data protection | Research: Ensure Copilot’s security practices meet your standards. |
| Secure data storage, encryption methods, multi-factor authentication (if offered). | Important to understand how Copilot protects your sensitive financial information. |
Whether Copilot for Finance is a worthwhile upgrade often depends on several factors:
Enterprise Needs
If you are regularly engaged in developing financial models, algorithms, or dealing with financial data analysis, Copilot for finance could provide enhanced support for such tasks by understanding domain-specific languages and requirements.
Productivity Boost
Evaluate whether the tool significantly boosts productivity or improves code quality in your specific context. The AI could help by suggesting industry-standard practices, reducing bugs, and accelerating the development process.
Cost vs. Benefit
Compare the cost of the subscription against the expected gains in efficiency, code quality, and potentially reduced debugging and maintenance time.
Compatibility and Integration
Consider how well it integrates with your current tools and workflows. Seamless integration can lead to smoother operations and better overall value.
Security and Compliance
In the finance sector, data security and regulatory compliance are critical. It’s important to ensure that any AI tool you use adheres to these standards.
If the upgrade addresses these points positively and aligns with your organizational goals, it might be considered worthwhile. Often, trying out a trial version can help in making a more informed decision.
Further Leverage Copilot in Forms and OneDrive
Already released in early March, Copilot in Forms is available with Copilot for Microsoft 365 licenses. If you describe a type of form you want to see, Copilot in Forms will create an editable draft version. Microsoft is planning to expand this functionality to include quiz creation in the future, and all functions of Copilot in Forms will be available for consumers if they have a Copilot Pro license.
Copilot in OneDrive is coming late in April, which will help consumers find information in file storage. This will also be available for Copilot for Microsoft 365 users. You can access it through OneDrive for web, through Teams, or SharePoint. Copilot for OneDrive will enable users to find files easier through simple language prompts, allowing the AI to do the searching for you. You can also use the AI to create FAQs, tables, and outlines from file content. If needed, you could even create a summary of a PDF file or long-form document.
File types supported include:
- Office Documents: DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLSX
- Universal Formats: PDF, TXT, RTF
- Web Files: ASPX, HTM, HTML
- OpenDocuments Formats: ODT, ODP
- New Microsoft 365 Formats: FLUID, LOOP
What Does Copilot in Windows 11 Bring to the Table?
Copilot in Windows 11 is getting an upgrade in April as well. New features coming alongside the April security update will help bring more AI-based enhancements to end users on all eligible devices. These improvements include AI editing enhancements in the Photos app such as a generative erasing capability and Clipchamp silence removal for video creation. Copilot in Windows 11 can also work alongside your plugins, such as Shopify, Klarna, and Kayak.
Late in March, Copilot for Windows 11 gained the ability to respond to prompts aimed at Windows settings, device information, and accessibility. Users can type something like “enable battery saver” to perform the intended action without searching through a variety of settings tabs. There will also be a voice shortcuts capability that enables users to speak an actionable phrase that the AI follows through on, as opposed to using keyboard keys or mouse clicks. This will be sophisticated enough that you could set up multiple monitors for a PC just by using voice commands.
The Windows 11 improvements in April will include the ability to use an Android phone as a Webcam and the Snap windowing feature will generate personalized layout suggestions based on how you’ve used it in the past. Widgets can be organized by categories, inking and photo-sharing will be expanded on, and more when these changes go live.
Copilot in Microsoft 365 Mobile App Upgrades
There will be a new Microsoft 365 Mobile App that integrates with Word and PowerPoint to bring seamless AI efficiency to your fingertips. This version of Copilot will be capable of letting users summarize documents, translate text, explain, or ask questions, all based on selected content. Microsoft has yet to specify what type of Copilot license is needed to gain this functionality, only that a license will be necessary.
Copilot in Microsoft 365 Mobile App works with other applications during the ideation process, integrating with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Forms, OneNote, Lists, ClipChamp, Sway, Visio, Stream, Engage, PowerBI, and Whiteboard. Microsoft indicates that Microsoft 365 Web App will also have a feature called Help Me Create, which allows users to type their intended project and the program will generate content. It will also point users to applications that could assist them in the creation or editing process.
What These Copilot Changes Mean for You
While these extensive additions to an already-impressive product look enticing, they could still lead to support issues in the future. Remember that every new feature introduced will likely have bugs or problems initially. While we’ve spoken on the future of Windows with Microsoft Copilot and the associated cost, that doesn’t prepare everyone for the rise in prices down the line.
Keep your Microsoft Unified/Premier Support costs manageable so you can get the latest and greatest features when you partner with US Cloud. Our support solutions save companies 50% or more on their annual support spend while resolving tickets twice as fast as Microsoft. Our team of domestic engineers stay abreast of the latest changes and features to all Microsoft products so we can help you at a moment’s notice.
Copilot is a new product, but that shouldn’t mean you are left to your own devices when some of its elements fall through. Get faster Microsoft support for less with US Cloud today.
