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I Spent a Month Testing Microsoft 365 Copilot's Automation Features – Here's What Actually Happened

I'll be honest – I was skeptical when I first heard about Microsoft 365 Copilot's automation features. Another AI tool promising to revolutionize my workflow? Yeah, right. But after spending the last month actually using it (not just playing around for five minutes), I've got some thoughts.

Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. It's not perfect. There were definitely moments where I wanted to throw my laptop out the window. But there were also times when I sat back and thought, "okay, that was actually pretty cool." So let me break down what it's really like to use Microsoft's latest attempt at making our work lives easier.

The thing is, I'm already pretty deep in the Microsoft ecosystem. We use Teams, SharePoint, the whole nine yards at my company. So when Copilot started showing up in our apps around October 2024, I figured I might as well give it a proper test run instead of just ignoring it like I do with most new features.

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot Automation Features?

Basically, Microsoft took their Copilot AI and sprinkled it throughout their entire productivity suite, but with a focus on automating the boring stuff we all hate doing. Think of it as having a somewhat intelligent assistant that can create workflows, fix broken automations, and handle repetitive tasks across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the rest of the Microsoft family.

The automation piece specifically lives in Power Automate, which honestly used to be a pain to work with if you weren't a developer. Now you can supposedly just tell Copilot what you want in plain English, and it'll build the automation for you. At least, that's the theory. The reality is... well, we'll get to that.

My Real Experience

Let me start with something that actually worked well. On January 8th, I needed to set up an automation that would take data from our weekly sales reports in Excel and automatically create summary slides in PowerPoint. Normally, this would've taken me probably 2 hours of fumbling around in Power Automate, watching YouTube tutorials, and questioning my life choices.

Instead, I just told Copilot: "Take the sales data from this Excel file and create a PowerPoint slide with the top 5 performers each week." And you know what? It actually worked. Took about 15 minutes to set up, including some back-and-forth to get the formatting right. Not bad.

But then I tried to get fancy. I wanted it to also send a Teams message to the sales team with the results. This is where things got... interesting. The first attempt sent a message that just said "undefined" to everyone. Professional. The second try sent the entire Excel spreadsheet as a text dump in the chat. My colleagues were thrilled.

It took three more attempts and some manual tweaking to get it working properly. So yeah, when it works, it's great. When it doesn't, you're gonna spend some time troubleshooting.

The desktop flow analysis feature is actually pretty neat though. I had this old automation that kept breaking every few weeks, and I could never figure out why. Copilot analyzed it and found that it was trying to click on a button that sometimes moved depending on the screen resolution. Fixed it in about 10 minutes. That alone probably saved me hours of future headaches.

Key Features That Actually Matter

Natural Language Flow Creation

This is the big one. Instead of dragging and dropping boxes and trying to figure out which connector does what, you can just describe what you want. It works about 70% of the time on the first try, which is honestly better than I expected. The other 30% of the time, you'll need to refine your request or fix things manually.

Desktop Flow Analysis and Repair

This feature is actually pretty solid. If you've got existing automations that are acting up, Copilot can usually spot the problem and suggest fixes. It caught issues I never would've found on my own. Sometimes the suggestions are obvious in hindsight, but hey, I didn't think of them.

Cross-App Integration

Since it's built into the Microsoft ecosystem, it plays nice with all your existing apps. I can create an automation in Excel that triggers actions in Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook without having to mess around with API keys or authentication headaches. That's genuinely convenient.

Copilot Chat Integration

Having the chat available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote is handy for quick automation questions. Though sometimes it feels like talking to a very polite robot that doesn't quite understand what you're asking. "I'm sorry, could you clarify your request?" becomes a familiar phrase.

AI-Powered Task Suggestions

Copilot will actually suggest automations based on your usage patterns. Some suggestions are spot-on, others are hilariously off-base. It once suggested I automate sending birthday cards to Excel spreadsheets. I'm still not sure what that was about.

Pricing (The Part Nobody Likes Talking About)

Here's where it gets expensive. The basic Copilot Chat is free if you've already got a Microsoft 365 subscription with Entra ID. That's nice, I guess, but the really useful automation features require the full Microsoft 365 Copilot license at $30 per user per month.

Thirty bucks. Per user. Per month. On top of your existing Microsoft 365 costs. For a team of 10, that's $3,600 a year just for AI features. Ouch.

If you want to get into the really advanced stuff with custom agents and complex workflows, you'll need Copilot Studio, which uses consumption-based pricing tied to your Azure subscription. Translation: it's complicated, and you'll probably spend more than you expect.

Check out the current pricing details at Microsoft 365 Copilot because these numbers seem to change every few months.

Pros

• It actually works most of the time. When you get it right, the automations run reliably. I've had flows running for weeks without issues.

• No need to learn Power Automate syntax. Seriously, this alone is worth something. I can describe what I want instead of trying to figure out which of the 500 connectors I need.

• Decent error explanations. When something breaks, Copilot usually gives you a helpful explanation of what went wrong, not just "Error 500: Something bad happened."

• Plays nice with existing Microsoft stuff. If you're already using Teams, SharePoint, and the rest, integration is pretty smooth.

• Time savings on repetitive tasks. Once you get an automation working, it really does save time. I've got one that handles our weekly report distribution, and I don't even think about it anymore.

Cons

• The learning curve is still there. Yeah, it's easier than before, but you still need to understand how automations work conceptually. It's not magic.

• Expensive. Did I mention the $30 per user per month? Because that adds up fast.

• Sometimes it just doesn't understand what you want. I spent 20 minutes trying to explain a simple data transformation, and Copilot kept suggesting increasingly complex solutions that missed the point entirely.

• Limited to Microsoft's ecosystem. If you use Google Workspace, Slack, or other non-Microsoft tools heavily, you're gonna run into integration headaches.

• Performance can be inconsistent. Some days it responds instantly, other days there's a noticeable lag. Probably depends on server load, but it's annoying when you're trying to get work done.

• The suggestions aren't always helpful. Sometimes Copilot suggests automating things that take 30 seconds to do manually. Thanks, but I'll just click the button myself.

Who Should Use It?

Honestly? This is really for organizations that are already married to the Microsoft ecosystem and have budget to burn. If you're using Microsoft 365 for everything and you've got repetitive workflows that eat up hours each week, it's probably worth the investment.

It's also good for teams that want to automate stuff but don't have dedicated developers. The natural language interface makes it accessible to non-technical folks, though you'll still need someone who understands business processes to set things up properly.

Who shouldn't use it? Small teams on tight budgets, organizations using mixed ecosystems (Microsoft + Google + whatever), or anyone expecting it to read their mind and automate everything perfectly on the first try. Also, if you're the type who gets frustrated when technology doesn't work exactly as advertised, maybe skip this one.

Alternatives

Let's be real – if you're not locked into Microsoft's world, there are other options. Zapier is probably the most obvious alternative, and honestly, it's more flexible for connecting different services. The interface isn't as conversational, but it's reliable and has way more integrations.

Google Workspace AI is coming along, but it's not quite there yet for automation features. If you're in the Google ecosystem, you might want to wait and see how that develops.

For more complex automation needs, tools like UiPath or Automation Anywhere are still the gold standard, but they're overkill for most office workflows. Plus, they require actual training to use effectively.

The thing about Microsoft 365 Copilot is that it's convenient if you're already using their stuff. The integration is smooth, and you don't have to worry about connecting different services or managing multiple subscriptions.

Final Verdict

Look, I'm not gonna pretend this is perfect. There were definitely moments of frustration, and the price tag is steep. But after a month of actually using it for real work, not just demos, I can see the value.

The natural language interface genuinely makes automation more accessible. I've set up workflows that I never would've bothered with before because the barrier to entry was too high. And when it works, it really does save time.

But here's the thing – it's not magic. You still need to think through your processes, understand what you're trying to automate, and be prepared to iterate when things don't work the first time. If you're expecting to just say "make my job easier" and have it figure everything out, you're gonna be disappointed.

For teams that are already deep in the Microsoft ecosystem and have the budget for it, it's a solid investment. The time savings add up, and the ability to create automations without learning a programming language is genuinely valuable.

Rating: 4/5 stars

It loses a star for the price and the occasional frustrating interaction, but it delivers on its core promise of making automation more accessible.

Bottom line: If you're already using Microsoft 365 extensively and you've got repetitive workflows eating up your time, give Microsoft 365 Copilot Automation Features a try. Just be prepared for a learning curve and some trial and error. And maybe start with a small pilot group before rolling it out to your entire organization.

The free chat features are worth exploring even if you don't want to pay for the full automation capabilities. You might find it more useful than you expect. Or you might decide it's overhyped AI nonsense. Either way, at least you'll know.