Now generally available for enterprises in Hong Kong with Cathay & MTR as the first wave of Copilot adopters
December 4, 2023, Hong Kong – Following the general availability launch of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in November, Microsoft is pleased to announce the product’s general availability for enterprise customers in Hong Kong.
Microsoft is uniquely positioned to deliver enterprise-ready AI with the Copilot system. As an industry-leading processing and orchestration engine, Copilot for Microsoft 365 combines the power of large language models (LLM) such as GPT-4 with proprietary data in Microsoft Graph, Microsoft 365 applications and the web, work alongside productivity applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Teams, Loop, Microsoft 365 Chat, and more.
Tasks that Copilot assists users with include email composition, document summary and presentation generation. From our latest Work Trend Index research, using a combination of surveys and experiments, shows the productivity gains are real:
- 70% of Copilot users said they were more productive and 68% said it improved the quality of their work; 68% say it helped jumpstart the creative process.
- Overall, users were 29% faster at specific tasks (searching, writing and summarizing).
- Users caught up on a missed meeting nearly 4x faster.
- 64% of users said Copilot helps them spend less time processing email.
- 87% of users said Copilot makes it easier to get started on a first draft.
- 75% of users said Copilot “saves me time by finding whatever I need in my files.”
- 77% of users said once they use Copilot, they don’t want to give it up.
It currently supports English (US and UK) and Simplified Chinese. Microsoft plans to add Traditional Chinese language in the first half of 2024.
Alleviating pressure and enabling growth
Microsoft conducted a study with International Data Corporation (IDC) to examine how organizations in Hong Kong are using AI to unlock opportunities and drive economic impact. The findings included:
- 71% of companies are already reportedly using AI
- 86% of AI deployments are completed within 12 months
- Organizations are seeing return on AI investments within 12 months
- Every US$1 invested in AI yields an average return of US$3.20
- 45% of organizations think the biggest barrier to implementing and scaling AI is a specialist skills shortage
*Results are based on 122 business leaders and decision makers in Hong Kong who are responsible for bringing AI transformation to life within their organizations.
Microsoft has registered high demand from Hong Kong enterprise customers. The city’s largest transportation entities, Cathay and MTR, have both adopted the technology and are among the first enterprises in the market to apply it to advance their operations.
“We’re excited to be one of the first enterprises in Hong Kong to bring this cutting-edge technology to our colleagues. At Cathay, our vision is to become a digital leader and one of the world’s greatest service brands with our customers and people at the heart of everything we do. By bringing Copilot for Microsoft 365 to our colleagues, we’re providing them with the right digital tools that will enhance productivity and efficiency which ultimately helps them better support our customers. From streamlining workflows to improving communications and collaboration, the Copilot adoption is a true testament to our commitment to providing outstanding employee and customer experiences through the power of technology,” said Aldric Chau, General Manager Digital, Cathay.
“As one of the world’s leading railway operators, MTR Corporation is committed to leveraging new technologies to uplift services. As part of our digital transformation journey, our eagerness to adopt innovative technology is not only limited to enhancing service performance and creating personalized experiences for passengers, but also to assist our employees in their daily work to enhance overall operational efficiency,” said Leo Ng, Chief Digital Officer of MTR Corporation. “We are excited to be among the first to experience Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Hong Kong. With a variety of AI-enabled solutions, Copilot enables us to harness the power of Generative AI to streamline workflows, reduce time-consuming administrative tasks, and facilitate colleagues to handle duties more efficiently. MTR will continue to actively apply innovation and technology to enhance operations, customer service as well as our internal workflows.”
(*the quotes’ sequence is based on alphabetical order)
In all cases of adoption, staff across all different functions and levels will be able to readily use Copilot for Microsoft 365 to strengthen their daily productivity, accessibility and collaboration in a secure environment. For instance,
- Executives are usually occupied by many meetings and sometimes clashed with overlapped meetings. With Copilot in Microsoft Outlook, the executives do not have to worry about missed meetings. As the meeting ends, Copilot can generate a comprehensive meeting recap, highlighting key points, decisions made, and follow-up actions that are addressed to different employees. In this way, even when meetings are missed, the executive stays informed and on track.
- When considering the promoting a staff member, Human Resources can effectively utilize Copilot for Microsoft 365 to streamline the process and enhance productivity. Firstly, the HR team can use Microsoft 365 Chat to compare the responsibilities, KPIs, and work experience required for both roles from the job description documents. Then, Microsoft 365 Chat can formulate suggested interview questions that align with the new role’s requirements. These questions will help evaluate whether the candidate is ready for the promotion. Finally, after the interview, HR can leverage Microsoft 365 Chat to draft a justification email to senior management, that highlight how the candidate fulfils the necessary requirements for the promotion, providing a solid justification for the decision. In this way, Copilot becomes an invaluable tool for HR, simplifying complex processes and boosting productivity.
- Marketers can leverage Copilot in Microsoft Word to craft engaging social media posts that resonate with their target audience. Next, marketers can also use Copilot in Microsoft PowerPoint to create a comprehensive presentation deck to brief stakeholders about the campaign and can make further editing by giving it an easy prompt, allowing for quick and seamless adjustments and refinements to the slides.
Microsoft’s commitment to our customers to use Copilot Services with confidence
Our customers want to harness the power of generative AI technologies, and we want them to work and innovate with confidence.
Microsoft is offering Customer Copyright Commitment to defend customers from certain third-party IP infringement claims arising from the customer’s use and distribution of the output content generated by Microsoft’s Copilot services and even Azure OpenAI service. Specifically, should a third party sue a commercial customer for copyright infringement for the output they generate, we will defend the customer and pay the amount of any adverse judgements or settlements that result from the lawsuit, as long as the customer used the guardrails and content filters we have built into our products.
Support for seamless adoption
Microsoft offers workshops to ensure the smooth onboarding of Copilot. Every organization can start taking steps to learn how Copilot works, understand licensing and technical requirements, familiarize staff with new capabilities and prepare for deployment.
“Copilot is an invaluable tool for tackling and simplifying the tasks that arise every day at work,” said Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau. “By synthesizing information and providing intelligent suggestions in everything from writing emails to formulating presentations, it enables busy people to focus on the content of their actions and on adding value to their organizations. More than an automated assistant, it represents a new level of quality and productivity for enterprises throughout Hong Kong. We are more than delighted in embarking on the transformation journey with the two transportation giants and empowering them to do more with less and enhance overall operations efficiency.”
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About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
