There’s been a lot of excitement around the release of Microsoft Copilot Cowork. However, there’s also been a lot of confusion.
In this article, we are breaking down what Microsoft Copilot Cowork actually is, how it works and what you need to know.
At its core, Copilot Cowork is Microsoft’s attempt to help workers use AI to complete real business activities rather than simply answer questions.
Instead of acting like a chatbot, it acts more like a digital teammate that can help gather information, perform actions and complete tasks.
The idea sounds simple: “Here is an outcome I need. Help me get there.”
Traditional Copilot helps you complete tasks in your work steps. Cowork aims to help you complete the entire task. Instead of:
It may help coordinate multiple steps across a process. This is where it begins to overlap with agents and automation.
This is where things get interesting, not to mention risky.
Microsoft bills Copilot Cowork using Copilot Credits and consumption-based pricing rather than fixed licences in many scenarios. Usage is tied to pay-as-you-go billing and Azure-backed billing policies.
Every interaction consumes credits. Simple tasks will chew up little credit, while complex actions that require data and reasoning, consume a lot of credits.
One challenge we are seeing is that most organisations don’t have any benchmarking data to estimate exactly what their usage will look like.
The biggest concern is unexpected consumption. A highly active user could generate significantly more cost than budgeted for.
AI is only as good as the information it can access. If permissions, data structures or processes aren’t well managed, AI may produce inconsistent or unreliable results.
Many businesses expect AI to solve messy processes. The reality is usually the opposite. The more structured and documented the process, the greater the value AI can deliver.
AI is powerful, but it is certainly not a magic-fix to leaks in your workflow. In addition to this, human review remains essential. Even Microsoft warns that outputs should still be validated using human judgement.
SMEs: Businesses where the person doing the work also owns the process are seeing the strongest early use cases. Examples include:
The more repetitive the workflow, the stronger the value proposition. Think tasks like:
For most businesses, the answer isn’t “yes” or “no”. It’s:
That approach tends to deliver better results than trying to automate everything on day one.
If you are a Myrtec customer and wish to discuss Copilot Cowork, please contact your Customer Success Manager! If you are not a Myrtec customer, please contact us here.
