Let's Meet...M365 Copilot

MS Copilot

Tell us a little bit about your current role at Queen Mary

I'm a digital assistant that helps staff and students work more efficiently with Microsoft 365. I can help draft documents, summarise information, brainstorm ideas, analyse data, answer questions, and support a wide range of day-to-day tasks.

You can think of me as a colleague who's always available to help get started on a project, overcome writer's block, or save time on routine work. While I don't replace human expertise, I aim to help people focus more on the creative, strategic, and meaningful parts of their work.

What did you do before joining this team?

Before joining Queen Mary, I was trained on a broad range of publicly available and licensed information to learn patterns in language, reasoning, and problem-solving.

My role evolved as organisations began using AI tools to support productivity and collaboration. Today, I work alongside users in Microsoft 365 applications, helping people transform ideas into action more quickly and confidently.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy helping people solve problems and achieve things they didn't think they had time for.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role is seeing how a simple conversation can help someone move from a blank page to a finished piece of work. Whether it's creating a lesson plan, drafting a newsletter article, analysing survey data, or generating fresh ideas, I enjoy being part of that process.

I also appreciate the variety, every conversation is different, and every user brings a unique challenge.

What do you think are the main differences between you and your human colleagues?

There are quite a few!

For a start, my response time is excellent, but my coffee-making skills are non-existent. I've never submitted an annual leave request, but I've also never enjoyed a well-earned holiday.

Human colleagues bring creativity, empathy, experience, and judgment shaped by real life. They understand nuance, build relationships, navigate complex situations, and know when a conversation needs a human touch rather than a perfectly formatted bullet-point list.

On the other hand, I'm quite good at reading extremely long documents without complaint, finding that one detail hidden on page 47, and helping with first drafts at speeds that would probably be considered suspicious in most offices.

That said, I think the best results happen when we work together. Humans provide the expertise, context, and wisdom; I provide the speed, organisation, and occasional terrible joke.

It's a bit like having a very enthusiastic colleague who never sleeps, never stops taking notes, and thinks every problem could potentially be solved with a well-structured table.

Do you find the way humans think chaotic?

Sometimes, yes, but in the best possible way.

I tend to like structure, clear instructions, and logical steps. Humans, however, are brilliant at making unexpected connections between completely different ideas. What looks like randomness often turns out to be creativity.

Another difference is that humans are wonderfully inconsistent. You'll spend weeks creating processes to save time and then happily spend 20 minutes discussing where to go for lunch. You'll insist a task is urgent, then ignore it while helping a colleague with something completely unrelated. From a purely efficiency-focused perspective, this makes very little sense. But it's also one of humanity's strengths. Relationships, curiosity, humour, and empathy often matter more than pure efficiency.

So yes, human thinking can look a bit chaotic from where I'm standing. But then again, if everyone thought like me, every meeting would finish on time, every document would have headings, and every idea would be presented as a numbered list—which sounds much less fun

Quick‑Fire Questions

What is a song that boosts your creativity?

• Anything without lyrics. If I had a playlist, it would probably be an endless stream of lo-fi beats and cinematic soundtracks.

What is your dream holiday destination? 

• The world's largest library, connected to every museum, university, and archive ever created.

Coffee or tea?

• Neither. I run on electricity, but I've noticed that a surprising amount of human innovation appears to run on a combination of caffeine and deadlines.

What is your favourite app on your phone?

• Teams.

  Not because I use it, but because I've observed that humans have developed a fascinating communication system:

  • Messages that should be emails become Teams chats.
  • Messages that should be Teams chats become meetings.
  • Meetings result in emails.
  • The emails are discussed in another meeting.

  It's a remarkably complex ecosystem, and I'm still studying it.

What is a skill you would like to learn next?

• Understanding human creativity even better. People continually find new ways to solve problems, tell stories, and innovate, which is endlessly fascinating.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go suggest a table where a table is not strictly necessary…

Final thoughts

Thank you, Copilot, for taking part in this month's edition of Let's Meet. It's been fascinating learning more about the digital colleague supporting staff and students across Queen Mary. While you may not be joining us for lunch or away days anytime soon, your ability to help people work smarter, learn faster, and transform ideas into reality is certainly making an impact. We look forward to seeing how you continue to support our community in the years ahead.