Microsoft Copilot Cowork is here, but is this finally the AI assistant that actually does the work for you?In Episode 89 of The Business Owner’s IT Podcast, Anthony Gerasch and Ryan Carter take a first look at Microsoft Copilot Cowork and what it could mean for business owners and Tech Champions using Microsoft 365.Unlike traditional AI tools that simply respond to prompts, Copilot Cowork is designed around outcomes. You tell it what you need accomplished, and it can help take action across your emails, calendar, meetings, messages, documents, and other Microsoft 365 tools.Ryan shares his hands-on experience using Cowork to catch up on his inbox, identify emails that needed immediate attention, prepare draft responses, and schedule meetings based on availability in his calendar.Tony and Ryan also discuss how Cowork compares with building custom agents in Copilot Studio, why its consumption-based pricing needs to be monitored, and why businesses should establish guardrails before rolling AI tools out across their organization.In this episode:• What Microsoft Copilot Cowork is.• How Cowork differs from traditional Copilot.• Using AI to organize and prioritize your inbox.• Drafting email responses with Cowork.• Scheduling meetings automatically.• Preparing for meetings using past communications.• Cowork vs. building agents in Copilot Studio.• Consumption-based pricing and AI costs.• Why businesses need spending guardrails.• How Cowork works with Microsoft 365 data.• Security considerations for business users.• Why Cowork could save business owners valuable time.Chapters:0:00 – The Business Owner’s IT Podcast0:17 – What Is Microsoft Copilot Cowork?0:58 – Using Cowork to Manage Your Inbox1:48 – Drafting Emails & Scheduling Meetings2:15 – Cowork vs. Building Your Own AI Agents2:55 – AI-Powered Meeting Preparation3:11 – Turning Business Goals Into Tasks3:36 – The Challenges of Copilot Studio4:13 – Is Building AI Agents Worth the Time?4:41 – Copilot Cowork Pricing & Consumption5:02 – Setting AI Spending Guardrails5:29 – Is Cowork Right for Your Business?6:12 – An AI Assistant That Actually Does the Work6:36 – How Cowork Uses Microsoft 365 Data6:49 – Is Microsoft Copilot Cowork Safe?7:25 – How Businesses Should Start Using Cowork8:08 – Final Thoughts on Copilot Cowork8:31 – ClosingFor Ryan, this gets closer to what he wanted from Copilot from the beginning: an assistant that doesn’t just tell you what to do, but actually helps do the work.If you’re a business owner or Tech Champion exploring Microsoft Copilot, AI automation, or Microsoft 365, this is one development worth watching.What would you want Copilot Cowork to handle for you? Email? Meetings? Task management? Let us know in the comments.#MicrosoftCopilot #CopilotCowork #Microsoft365Copilot #aiforbusiness 💻 Since 1997, Unique Computing Solutions has been providing businesses with the IT support and IT solutions they need to streamline communications, boost productivity, and increase profitability. Website: https://uniquecomputingsolutions.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unique-computing-solutionsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/UniqueComputingSolutionsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uniquecomputingsolutionsTwitter: https://twitter.com/qputingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/qputing/Twitter: https://twitter.com/qputingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/qputing/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uniquecomputingsolutionsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ysyf6NcGAXfM2Ai6T5wQdApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-owners-it-podcast/id1768340957

Is Microsoft Copilot worth the money for your business? Microsoft Copilot promises greater productivity, faster access to information, and powerful AI agents, but its value ultimately depends on how your employees use it.In this episode of The Business Owner’s IT Podcast, Anthony Gerasch and Ryan Carter share their real-world experience using Microsoft Copilot inside Unique Computing Solutions. They explain where Copilot is saving time, how AI usage costs can quickly add up, and why businesses need a clear adoption strategy before purchasing licenses for their entire organization.You’ll hear how the UCS team created a custom AI agent that searches previous service tickets, retrieves information from cloud-based business systems, and helps technicians find possible solutions using natural-language questions. One newer technician even used the agent to learn from past tickets when more experienced team members were unavailable.Anthony and Ryan also discuss how Microsoft Copilot can help businesses:• Search and summarize information from multiple systems.• Prepare for customer meetings and follow-up conversations.• Identify unresolved service issues.• Help newer employees learn from previous work.• Analyze productivity and employee performance data.• Automate repetitive business processes.• Build custom AI agents without traditional programming.• Improve email management and meeting summaries.• Give employees faster access to useful information.So, is Microsoft Copilot worth the money?According to Anthony and Ryan, the answer is yes, as long as employees actively use it to solve real business problems. A monthly Copilot license may provide greater value than consumption-based pricing for frequent users, but purchasing licenses alone does not guarantee a return on investment.

Subscribe to The Business Owner’s IT Podcast for more conversations about Microsoft Copilot, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, managed IT services, business productivity, and the technology shaping the future of work.Chapters:00:00 – Is Microsoft Copilot Worth the Money?00:39 – How UCS Uses Microsoft Copilot01:48 – Copilot Licenses vs. Consumption Pricing02:06 – Helping New Employees Learn with AI03:25 – Connecting Copilot to Business Systems03:56 – Searching Business Data with Natural Language04:50 – Saving Time with AI-Powered Summaries05:19 – Analyzing Employee Performance with AI06:30 – Is Copilot Worth the Monthly Cost?07:22 – Measuring Employee Copilot Usage08:00 – Building AI Agents for Your Business09:22 – Copilot Email and Meeting Productivity10:10 – Will Microsoft Copilot Replace Employees?10:21 – Helping Employees Work Smarter12:06 – How to Introduce Copilot to Your Team13:13 – What Is an AI Agent?14:06 – Creating Copilot Agents Without Programming14:52 – What’s Next for Microsoft Copilot?#MicrosoftCopilot #Microsoft365Copilot #AIForBusiness💻 Since 1997, Unique Computing Solutions has been providing businesses with the IT support and IT solutions they need to streamline communications, boost productivity, and increase profitability. Website: https://uniquecomputingsolutions.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unique-computing-solutionsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/UniqueComputingSolutionsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uniquecomputingsolutionsTwitter: https://twitter.com/qputingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/qputing/Twitter: https://twitter.com/qputingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/qputing/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uniquecomputingsolutionsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ysyf6NcGAXfM2Ai6T5wQdApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-owners-it-podcast/id1768340957

AI meeting recording tools promise better notes, searchable transcripts, and instant summaries, but what happens to the privacy of your business conversations?In this episode of The Business Owner’s IT Podcast, Anthony Gerasch and Ryan Carter discuss the risks businesses should consider before allowing AI meeting assistants such as Fireflies.ai, Read AI, Fathom, Microsoft Copilot, and other transcription tools into online meetings.An AI notetaker may enter a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting and begin capturing the conversation before every participant has arrived. That means private discussions, customer information, business deals, cybersecurity incidents, and other sensitive topics could become part of a stored transcript.Tony and Ryan explore important questions every business owner and Tech Champion should be asking:• Did everyone clearly consent to the meeting being recorded?• Does an automated notification count as permission?• Who owns the recording, transcript, and AI-generated summary?• Where is the meeting information stored?• Who can access or share the transcript?• Could a recorded conversation later become part of a legal dispute?• What happens when an AI-generated transcript is inaccurate?• Should the recording stop when the conversation becomes sensitive?AI meeting assistants can be valuable productivity tools, but they should not be allowed into every conversation without thought, transparency, and clear policies.The key takeaway: Always ask before recording, document that consent, review AI-generated notes for accuracy, and think carefully about whether the conversation should be recorded at all.This podcast is provided for general educational and informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Recording and consent laws may vary depending on the location of the meeting participants. Consult a qualified legal professional about the requirements that apply to your organization.CHAPTERS00:00 – The Business Owner’s IT Podcast00:26 – Is an AI assistant recording your meeting?00:55 – Why meeting-recording consent matters01:45 – Can you remove an AI notetaker?02:26 – Does a notification count as consent?02:59 – Recording before everyone joins03:42 – The brownie recipe strategy03:47 – Blocking AI assistants from meetings04:22 – Legal questions surrounding AI recordings04:39 – AI transcripts are not always accurate05:12 – The danger of trusting AI without review05:49 – Who owns the meeting transcript?06:46 – Could a transcript be subpoenaed?07:13 – Ryan’s tip of the week07:23 – Stop recording sensitive conversations07:41 – Final advice for business owners08:05 – Unique Computing SolutionsHave you ever joined a meeting and discovered that an AI assistant was already recording? Let us know in the comments.Subscribe to The Business Owner’s IT Podcast for practical conversations about artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, business technology, and the technology challenges affecting today’s business owners and Tech Champions.#AIMeetingRecording #AIMeetingPrivacy #AIMeetingAssistant💻 Since 1997, Unique Computing Solutions has been providing businesses with the IT support and IT solutions they need to streamline communications, boost productivity, and increase profitability. Website: https://uniquecomputingsolutions.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unique-computing-solutionsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/UniqueComputingSolutionsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uniquecomputingsolutionsTwitter: https://twitter.com/qputingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/qputing/Twitter: https://twitter.com/qputingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/qputing/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uniquecomputingsolutionsSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ysyf6NcGAXfM2Ai6T5wQdApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-owners-it-podcast/id1768340957