One of the first questions businesses ask when they start looking at Microsoft 365 Copilot is usually: “Should we just give it to everyone?” It’s a fair question and we totally understand why people often think this. Afterall, if Copilot can help people save time, work more efficiently, and take some of the stress out of everyday tasks, why wouldn’t you want everyone to have access to it?
However, buying licences for the whole business straight away isn’t always the best way to get value from Copilot. It can actually make it harder to understand how much impact it’s having and whether people are using it in the right ways. The businesses that get the most out of Copilot usually don’t start with a full company-wide rollout. Instead, they begin with the people who are most likely to use it regularly, benefit from it, and help show their colleagues what’s possible.
Why you shouldn’t give Copilot to everyone straight away
One of the biggest reasons businesses struggle with Copilot rollouts is that they try to run before they can walk. Giving every employee a licence might sound like a great idea to get the whole company using it ASAP, but it can create challenges that are difficult to untangle later.
The most obvious issue is cost. Copilot is a worthwhile investment when it’s being used effectively, but that doesn’t mean every licence automatically delivers value. Buying licences for people who rarely use Microsoft 365, spend little time writing emails, or don’t regularly work with documents can quickly become an expensive exercise.
There is also the challenge of adoption. Not everyone is going to embrace a new tool at the same pace. Some employees will immediately start experimenting with prompts, trying shortcuts, and finding ways to save time. Others may need more support to get the hang of it or simply prefer sticking with their existing way of working. That isn’t a criticism, it’s just how most businesses work.
Perhaps most importantly, rolling Copilot out to everyone makes it harder to see how successful it is. If every department receives licences at the same time, it becomes difficult to identify which teams are seeing the biggest benefits and where the strongest use cases exist. Without that visibility, deciding what to do next becomes a bit of a guessing game.
So, who should get Copilot first?
If you’re trying to decide where to start, focus on the people who are most likely to use Copilot regularly and gain clear benefits from it. These might include:
Directors and senior decision makers
Directors, managers, and senior leaders are often excellent candidates for Copilot because so much of their time is spent reviewing information, making decisions, and communicating with others.
A typical week might involve reading reports, reviewing documents, sitting through meetings, catching up on emails, and making decisions based on a lot of different information. Copilot can help take some of that workload away by summarising lengthy documents, pulling out key points, helping prepare updates, and making it easier to find information quickly.
Admin and operations teams
These roles usually involve a lot of repetitive tasks like managing emails, arranging meetings, writing documents, taking notes, preparing updates, and keeping information organised.
Copilot can help with many of these everyday jobs. It can create first drafts, summarise conversations, help prepare documents, and reduce the amount of time spent starting from a blank page. And we all know the blank page dread!
Heavy Microsoft 365 users
Another good place to start is with people who already spend most of their day in Microsoft 365. If someone lives in Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, they are naturally going to have more opportunities to use Copilot.
This could include project managers, sales teams, finance teams, HR, or department leads. The job title matters less than how someone actually works. Someone who spends hours every day creating documents, managing emails, or attending meetings is likely to get far more value from Copilot than someone who rarely uses those tools.
People who enjoy trying new technology
Every business has a few people who are naturally curious about new tools – you know who you are! They’re usually the first to test new features, find creative ways to use technology, and share what they’ve learned with colleagues. These employees can be super valuable during a Copilot rollout.
Not only are they more likely to adopt the tool quickly, but they can also help encourage wider adoption across the business. When colleagues see someone using Copilot successfully and sharing ways it made their role easier or faster, they’re often more willing to give it a try themselves.
Who might not need a licence straight away?
This isn’t about deciding who is important and who isn’t, as every role in a business matters. It’s simply about making sure your first investment goes where it will have the biggest impact.
For example, someone who spends very little time using emails, documents, or Microsoft 365 applications may not see much benefit from Copilot immediately. Similarly, someone who is uncomfortable with new technology may need more support before they are ready to get real value from it. That doesn’t mean these people should never have Copilot. It just means they may not be the best starting point.
TL; DR
A successful Copilot rollout doesn’t have to start with hundreds of licences. It might start with 10 or 20 people who use it regularly, find useful ways to apply it, and help others understand the benefits.
Over time, you build a clearer picture of where Copilot fits, where it saves time, and where further investment makes sense. That’s a much stronger position to be in than buying licences left, right and centre, and just keeping your fingers crossed that people find a use for them.
If you are thinking about introducing Copilot and want to make sure you approach it in the right way, then book a free, no obligation chat with Mark to talk about how we could work together!
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to give Microsoft 365 Copilot licences to everyone in the business?
No, in fact, starting with everyone is often not the best approach. The businesses that get the most value from Copilot usually begin with a smaller group of users who are most likely to benefit from it, then expand based on what they learn. A phased rollout helps you understand where Copilot is genuinely saving time before investing in more licences.
How do we decide who should get a Copilot licence first?
Start by looking at how people actually work, rather than their job title. The best first users are usually people who spend a lot of time in Microsoft 365, regularly handle emails, documents, meetings, or data, and are open to trying new ways of working.
How quickly can we expect to see value from Microsoft 365 Copilot?
It depends on the user and how they work, but many businesses start seeing benefits quite quickly when licences are given to the right people. The biggest early wins usually come from everyday tasks such as summarising meetings, drafting emails, creating documents, and finding information faster.
Should we run training before giving people Copilot licences?
Copilot is designed to be easy to use, but people still need to understand what it can do and how to get the best results from it. A few practical examples based around real tasks in your business can often be more useful than lengthy training sessions.
How many Microsoft 365 Copilot licences should we start with?
There is no magic number because every business is different. For some organisations, a small pilot group may be the right starting point. For others, it may make sense to begin with a specific department where the benefits are likely to be most obvious. The important thing is not the number of licences you start with. It is whether those users have clear reasons to use Copilot and whether you have a way to measure the impact.