Microsoft Copilot: Game Changer or Just Another Clippy?

Over the past year, I’ve had a chance to work with Microsoft Copilot across the 365 ecosystem. As someone deep in tech, I was genuinely curious to see what all the buzz was about. After spending real time with it—across Teams, Word, Outlook, Power Automate, and more—I can honestly say: it’s… okay. But the buzz? I’m not quite feeling it.

Let me explain.

🧩 It’s All About the Role You’re In

The success of Copilot really depends on the type of work you do. If your day-to-day involves a lot of writing, summarizing, or bouncing between documents, you might see more value. But for someone like me—working more in infrastructure, networking, and systems management—the practical use cases just aren’t there in a meaningful way yet.

One standout feature I do appreciate is Copilot’s ability to summarize documents and meeting notes. That’s slick. But is it something I rely on every day? Not really. It feels like a nice-to-have, not a must-have.

💸 The Price Tag Doesn’t Help

At over $30/user/month, Copilot isn’t cheap. And for that price, I expected something that truly changes how I work. So far, it hasn’t delivered. For organizations—especially nonprofits—this cost is a serious factor. You really have to ask: Is this going to bring enough value to justify the investment?

🤖 Is This Just Clippy in a Fancier Suit?

At times, Copilot reminds me of that infamous Office Assistant from the late ‘90s—Clippy. It pops up with suggestions, tries to help, but often falls a little short. Nostalgic? Maybe. Groundbreaking? Not yet.

🔧 Power Automate & Copilot: Help or Hype?

I had high hopes for Copilot in Power Automate. I thought it would help me build workflows faster and more efficiently. While it does assist, I found the code suggestions to be error-prone and incomplete. I still had to go in, debug, and fix things myself. In the end, it felt like it slowed me down more than sped me up.

🧠 It’s Stuck in the Microsoft Bubble

Another limitation: Copilot seems entirely focused within the Microsoft ecosystem. That’s not necessarily bad, but compared to something like ChatGPT—which can pull from a broader knowledge base—it feels a bit limited. It’s more of a productivity enhancer than an intelligent assistant.

🤷‍♂️ My Take (So Far)

To be fair, I haven’t tested every feature or integration. Maybe there’s a use case I haven’t tapped into yet. Maybe it is making a big difference for other roles and teams. But from where I sit, after a year of experimenting: I’m not impressed. Actually, I’m a little disappointed.

Still, I’m open to being proved wrong. I’d love to hear from others who are getting real value from it—especially in IT, network operations, or infrastructure work. What am I missing?

💬 What’s your take on Microsoft Copilot? Is it changing how you work—or just another layer of AI hype?