According to Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index, about 60% of employees’ time is allocated to communication and coordination tasks, leaving only 40% for creative activities, deep reflection, and effective collaboration. Both regionally (62% in Latin America) and in Colombia (61%), employees express a lack of time and energy to fulfill their work tasks.
In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a catalyst to improve performance and effectiveness at work, and work teams are aware of this. The report reveals that 70% of employees would be willing to delegate as much work as possible to artificial intelligence to alleviate their workloads. 76% of respondents expressed their willingness to use AI for administrative tasks, while 79% and 73% would do the same for analytical and creative tasks, respectively.
Tools like Microsoft Copilot have redefined the way professionals perform their daily tasks. Copilot for Microsoft 365, powered by artificial intelligence, integrates with everyday applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams to provide real-time assistance, allowing users to enhance their creativity and focus on the most important tasks. The influence of this technology has been so significant that among those who have used it, 70% reported increases in their productivity, 68% highlighted an improvement in the quality of their work, another 68% stated that Copilot helped initiate creative processes, and the majority claimed to have caught up with missed meetings four times faster.
This technological revolution has driven companies to seek artificial intelligence solutions like Copilot to be their key strategic ally for competitiveness. A notable case is that of Cenit, a subsidiary company of Grupo Ecopetrol dedicated to the transportation and logistics of hydrocarbons, one of the first Colombian companies to adopt AI-based assistants to enhance productivity and efficiency at work.
The early adoption program of Copilot was a test to use AI in Cenit, to which the first users responded with curiosity. After a few days, the surprising experiences increased in all areas of the operation where it was tested. From the summary of non-priority emails, automatic meeting minutes, and task flows to be completed, to generating ideas to start presentation drafts, AI adapted to the needs of each user who adopted it.
“Artificial intelligence is a tool that offers endless possibilities for organizational transformation. With it, we have perceived great advances in productivity, in the structuring of strategic decisions, in the development of human talent, and in the ability to explore future scenarios and multiply the generation of ideas to transform business models,” says Héctor Manosalva Rojas, President of Cenit.
For Julio Ricardo Corredor, Compliance Manager at Cenit, this tool allowed him to save hours of preparation for a presentation. “I recently had to present a lecture, and Copilot helped me optimize the entire preparation phase, which is usually quite extensive and heavy. The tool identified the key themes and generated two pages of quite accurate suggestions for the presentation, so that I was able to obtain the final product in less time than expected. I reviewed the document, included some points, and adapted it to my style. I was very surprised. Since then, it has helped me group and synthesize emails and have faster and more assertive responses on platforms like Teams.”
Using this tool offers a secure and closed environment for the implementation of AI: corporate data is protected with the highest global security standards, the information is exclusively from Cenit, it is not visible to the manufacturer, nor is it used to train other models. This difference ensures that users can interact with artificial intelligence with the certainty that the information entered into the language model will remain within the company’s work ecosystem.
The experience for Adriana Mayorga, Senior Digital Leader at Cenit, has also been transformative. “This solution has been a true revolution in my way of working. Tasks that used to take hours are now resolved in a matter of minutes. It’s like having a collaborator who understands my work and adapts to my style and language. With Copilot, I have taken the development of presentations to another level, taking existing documents and keeping those important notes intact that are often lost. But what has really impacted me is how, by summarizing emails by subject, I can quickly access crucial information.”
In addition to its impact on administrative and commercial areas, Copilot has proven to be an invaluable resource for critical teams such as purchasing and contracting. Wilson Panqueva, Sourcing Expert at Cenit, has observed firsthand how this tool has advantages for streamlining workflow and transforming his team’s processes. “The ability to summarize information is wonderful. On several occasions, I have received approval requests with a history of 10 or more previous emails that could take me up to 40 minutes to read and understand. Now, with just a request, it generates an executive summary in seconds that reliably captures the essence and timeline of multiple interactions that allow me to save a lot of valuable time in decision-making processes,” he said.
For his part, Eduardo Pachón, Digital Vice President of Cenit, maintains that “in the company we are aware of the importance of being competitive and meeting the demands of our users and customers. For this, technology is fundamental to facilitate teamwork, protect information, and create innovative solutions. Therefore, we have set out to keep up with the advantages of generative artificial intelligence and increase the collaboration of our work team based on Copilot for Microsoft 365.”
There are already more than 173 Cenit users who have access to their AI-powered assistant, and plans to expand this user base have been fueled by the stories of those who are finding creative uses and efficiency benefits from using this tool.
“We are seeing a rapid adoption of Copilot for Microsoft365 at Cenit, an organization that has innovation in its DNA and has empowered its employees with artificial intelligence to be more creative, productive, and collaborative. We are proud to offer the intelligent assistant that is developed with the privacy, security, and ethics needed for a critical operation like the one Cenit performs in Colombia,” said Daniel Vesrwyvel, General Manager of Microsoft in Colombia.
By leading the implementation of this advanced technology, Cenit consolidates itself as a leader in process optimization, highlighting that trust in tools based on artificial intelligence fosters new ways of working, and more dynamics focused on the strategic value of the knowledge of its human talent. Cenit stands out for being a pioneering company in the use of the artificial intelligence of Copilot for Microsoft365 in Colombia, and is clear about the importance of the combination of security and innovation, as a strategic ally in the continuous search for operational excellence.
