Working with Copilots
For analysts, managers, and individual contributors already issued M365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, or ChatGPT Enterprise. Seven chapters: the three-layer mental model (chat / grounded / agentic); the time-to-decent-draft test for when to use Copilot at all; the four Office workflows (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams) plus the wrong-file trap; GitHub Copilot for non-developers (spreadsheets, regex, scripts); the three things ChatGPT Enterprise does that M365 Copilot can't (deep research, Operator agents, Canvas); security and data-exposure boundaries with Microsoft's own quotes on Restricted SharePoint Search and the EU Data Boundary gotcha; and the close — your one-page operating manual with 5 always-use tasks, 3 nevers, and the Friday review.
7
Chapters
~50 min
Duration
Intermediate
Level
No
Certification
Course Content
The Copilot mental model
Copilot isn't one thing — it's three. Chat-only, grounded, and agentic. The trick to using them well is knowing which layer you're talking to.
When to use Copilot vs. do it yourself
The one-sentence test — time-to-decent-draft. Three patterns that always lose. Honest counter-data from the Australian government Copilot trials.
Office Copilot workflows
One workflow per app — Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams. Plus the recurring trap: Copilot grabs the wrong file because of permission/path defaults.
GitHub Copilot for non-developers
Copilot Spaces + Agent Mode broke GitHub Copilot out of code-only. Spreadsheets, regex, weekly automation — three use cases a non-dev can ship.
ChatGPT Enterprise edge cases
Three things ChatGPT Enterprise does that M365 Copilot doesn't — deep research with citations, Operator-style web agents, Canvas co-editing.
Security and data-exposure boundaries
Microsoft's own words: "Restricted SharePoint Search isn't a security boundary." The EU Data Boundary Anthropic gotcha. EU AI Act, NIST RMF, India DPDP.
Making it stick: your Copilot operating manual
Five always-use tasks. Three nevers. The Friday review. Fill in the operating-manual builder, download the markdown, print it, pin it where you can see it.