How to Transform SMB Operations with Microsoft Copilot
- Kwixand Team
- 24 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Boost productivity, simplify operations, and make faster decisions with Microsoft Copilot for your small or mid-sized business.
For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the challenges of staying efficient, competitive, and secure often feel like an uphill battle. With limited resources, small teams wearing multiple hats, and a constantly evolving tech landscape, streamlining operations is a necessity to stay competitive.
Enter Microsoft Copilot, a powerful AI tool embedded directly into Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. But don’t let the “AI” buzzword intimidate you. Copilot isn’t reserved for large enterprises with big budgets; it’s built for every business, including yours.
In this article, we’ll explore how Microsoft Copilot is transforming operations for SMBs, based on insights from Jens Baun, Director of Sales at Kwixand Solutions, who offers practical use cases, success stories, and a grounded perspective on how this tool can help smaller companies work smarter.
We'll Cover:
First Off, What is Microsoft Copilot?
At its core, Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built directly into the Microsoft 365 suite, the tools you may already be using every day, like Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams. It uses advanced language models (including GPT technology) to help users automate tasks, analyze data, create content, and make smarter decisions, all through simple, natural language prompts.
Unlike standalone AI tools, Copilot is embedded into the tools SMBs already use every day. Whether you're drafting a proposal in Word, summarizing a long email thread in Outlook, or asking Excel to generate a sales report, Copilot works seamlessly in the background to save time and boost productivity.
Core Challenges for SMBs and How Copilot Can Help
SMBs face numerous challenges. For one, they are often expected to deliver enterprise-level service without the same budget, staffing, or infrastructure.
“Most SMBs are resource-constrained. Many don’t have full-time IT staff, they’re often short-staffed, and at the same time, they face the same cybersecurity threats as larger enterprises,” says Baun. “They’re also often stuck with outdated systems that haven’t been upgraded in 7 to 10 years and that seriously hampers their ability to adapt to modern business processes.”
Baun outlines several key operational hurdles that Copilot is uniquely positioned to solve:
Repetitive Tasks: Copilot handles day-to-day tasks like email writing, document generation, and data entry, reducing the manual workload and giving staff more time for strategic activities.
Data Accessibility: SMBs can generate reports, analyze performance, and pull insights from their business systems without relying on external IT consultants or waiting on technical support.
Faster Decision-Making: By surfacing trends and generating forecasts based on internal data, Copilot helps leaders make faster, data-driven decisions without needing to navigate complex analytics tools.
Workflow Automation: From automating invoice processing to streamlining sales reporting or tracking meeting outcomes, Copilot helps unify processes and eliminate time-consuming steps across departments.
Scalability Without Headcount: With Copilot supporting administrative functions across departments, SMBs can scale their operations and improve customer response times without immediately needing to expand their teams.
This is how Copilot can step in, as a robust assistant that allows lean teams to operate like larger organizations. “You’re still the pilot,” Baun shares. “But Copilot can take care of the tasks that would normally eat up your day.”
Which Departments Benefit Most from Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is transforming productivity across nearly every function in an SMB, but some especially departments see quick wins.
Take finance, for example. Reporting, forecasting, and workflow management are all time-intensive tasks that Copilot can simplify. “You can do ad hoc reporting just through Copilot,” Baun explains. “You don't have to go through a report builder or an IT person.” Whether it’s automating invoice processing or running expense forecasts, finance teams can shift from reactive to proactive, with little to no manual work. Baun adds, “Copilot will run the whole show and ask you to make sure everything's aligned. And if it's not, you’ll get a message.”
In sales and marketing, Copilot acts like a digital assistant for account management and campaign planning. Sales reps can ask Copilot to draft outreach emails, generate pitch decks using real CRM data, or identify customers who haven’t been contacted recently. “It can help you build a pitch deck from the CRM data you already have,” Baun says. “Sales reps will have time freed up to close deals, call people, or just stay more in sync with the market.” For marketers, it helps analyze engagement levels and segment audiences for targeted campaigns, all without needing advanced analytics skills.
Human Resources also benefits significantly. From resume screening to follow-up communications, Copilot takes the administrative load off recruiters. “You can ask Copilot to summarize the whole feedback,” Baun shares. “If someone doesn’t fit the role, it can even draft a polite rejection email for you automatically.” It’s also useful for internal tasks like writing onboarding guides or compliance documents, ensuring consistency and saving time.
In operations and IT, where workflows are often spread across multiple tools and teams, Copilot becomes the glue that holds everything together. According to Baun, “Most people in SMBs have more than one hat, finance might also mean IT, and sales might also mean purchasing. Copilot bridges the gap.” It helps manage processes, automate tasks, and ensure visibility across functions. Instead of siloed departments, SMBs can operate more like cohesive units, with shared insights and centralized workflows.
Now that we’ve seen where Copilot fits across the organization, let’s look at some real-world examples of how it’s already making an impact.
Real-World Examples: How SMBs Are Using Copilot Today
Whether you’re in sales, operations, customer service, or project management, Copilot is helping teams work smarter, respond faster, and free up time for strategic tasks.
Here are some practical examples of how Copilot is delivering real impact in small and medium-sized businesses, according to Baun:
1. Streamlining the Sales Process with Viva Sales
Sales teams often spend a large portion of their day on follow-ups, proposal writing, and preparing pitch decks. These are essential tasks, but they consume valuable time that could be spent closing deals. Copilot streamlines many of these activities by integrating directly with your CRM and Microsoft 365 apps.
According to Baun, “If you're on a sales team, you should use Viva Sales, a module with Copilot that will draft your personalized emails, build a pitch deck based on CRM data, and help you go deeper with your accounts.”
With Copilot, sales teams can:
Automatically draft follow-up emails that are personalized based on customer data.
Generate compelling pitch decks using insights pulled from past sales performance.
Leverage data from similar accounts to inform strategies with new prospects.
Free up time for high-value activities like direct outreach and relationship building.
2. Simplifying Data Analysis in Excel
Many SMBs rely heavily on Excel, but not every team has the time or technical know-how to use its full potential. Copilot in Excel eliminates those barriers by bringing conversational AI directly into the spreadsheet.
Baun shares, “Copilot in Excel can take your flat, boring Excel file and bring it to life. You can just speak to it. You can ask it to generate a chart, analyze your data, even build a formula based on your voice command.”
Using Copilot in Excel, SMBs can:
Turn raw data into charts and graphs with a simple prompt.
Perform comparative analysis (e.g., converting revenue data from one currency to another for market comparisons).
Write complex Excel formulas without needing to understand syntax.
Ask for optimization tips, like improving ROI or analyzing pending payments, and Copilot will suggest data-driven approaches.
3. Boosting Customer Service Response Times
Customer service teams are constantly dealing with incoming questions, tickets, and issues, some simple, others highly complex. Copilot can help streamline both the response process and internal knowledge sharing.
“Copilot can write knowledge articles based on complex customer cases,” says Baun. “You can even ask it to respond to an incoming email and generate a Teams update or meeting invite based on what’s needed.”
Customer support teams can use Copilot to:
Draft accurate and consistent email replies based on customer context.
Write internal documentation from support case logs or emails.
Improve response times by automating repetitive customer interactions.
Ensure consistency and professionalism in every reply, even during busy periods.
4. Improve Project Management & Collaboration
Project and account managers often spend more time coordinating than executing, especially after meetings. Copilot embedded in Microsoft Teams removes that burden by automating post-meeting admin tasks.
Baun explains, “You can ask Copilot in Teams meetings to set up meetings, summarize the discussion, extract action items, and send out emails to the people responsible. That saves hours of time.”
With Copilot in Teams, SMBs can:
Automatically generate meeting summaries with key points and decisions.
Identify action items and assign responsibilities to attendees.
Send follow-up emails and reminders without manual effort.
Store transcripts in SharePoint, CRM, or other internal systems with a single prompt.
Common Misconceptions About Microsoft Copilot
Although Microsoft Copilot is included in many Microsoft 365 plans, it's still significantly underutilized—especially among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). This is largely due to a few persistent misconceptions about what Copilot is, how it works, and who it's for.
Myth 1: Copilot is Only for Large Enterprises
One of the most common misconceptions is that Copilot is only suited for large enterprises with big budgets and complex IT infrastructures.
“Because most people get a substantial chunk of their information from media or online sources,” explains Baun, “Copilot is often perceived as something designed for large organizations, government, multinational corporations, the Big Seven. But that’s absolutely not true. It’s actually built to be scalable and accessible to businesses of any size, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Myth 2: Copilot Will Replace Jobs
Some worry that adopting AI tools like Copilot could lead to job losses, echoing fears from the early days of computers.
“I’ve seen this before,” Baun notes. “When the first computers arrived, people asked, ‘Are we all going to be unemployed because the computer will do all the work?’ The reality was the opposite. Companies became more productive, they grew faster, and they ended up hiring more people, not fewer.Copilot follows the same pattern. It automates low-value, repetitive tasks so that people can focus on high-impact, strategic work.”
Myth 3: It’s a Security Risk
Security is a common concern, especially for SMBs considering AI-powered tools. But Copilot is designed with privacy and security in mind from the ground up.
“It only works within your organization’s data environment, in your instance,” Baun explains. “Unless you explicitly ask it to search external sources, it won’t access anything beyond your secured data. No one else can see your information, and Copilot doesn't share it. It's fully contained within your Microsoft 365 environment.”
Microsoft Copilot is a practical, everyday tool built into the Microsoft 365 software you already use. It requires no special training, minimal setup, and delivers real productivity gains.“Copilot is always there in the top-right corner of your screen,” Baun concludes. “Once you start using it, it becomes a true assistant, one that learns how to serve you better every day.”
Getting Started: What Should SMBs Automate First?
For SMBs new to Microsoft Copilot, the biggest hurdle often isn’t the technology; it’s knowing where to begin. With so many possible use cases, it’s important to focus on quick wins that are easy to implement and deliver immediate value. Fortunately, Copilot is embedded within tools most teams already use every day, which means there’s no steep learning curve.
Baun recommends starting with everyday communication and productivity tasks, things your team is already spending too much time on. This helps build familiarity and confidence with Copilot while freeing up hours each week.
Here are the best starting points for SMBs looking to automate with Copilot:
Email Summarization and Drafting: Copilot can summarize lengthy emails and propose professional, context-aware responses directly within Outlook. This is especially helpful for busy managers and customer-facing staff.
Meeting Summaries and Action Items in Teams: Instead of scrambling for notes or recordings, invite Copilot to your Teams meetings to capture key points, assign responsibilities, and share recaps automatically.
Excel-Based Reporting and Calculations: Many SMBs run on spreadsheets. Copilot makes Excel more accessible by helping users analyze data, build charts, and generate financial models, even if they’re not Excel experts.
Proposal and Document Writing in Word: Copilot assists in creating proposals, standard operating procedures, or client-facing documents by pulling relevant information from across your organization’s systems.
Starting small allows teams to see real-time benefits without disrupting existing workflows. Once comfortable, businesses can expand Copilot’s role into more advanced areas like forecasting, marketing analytics, or HR automation.
As Baun puts it, “Just start where it’s most familiar, Outlook, Teams, Excel, and let Copilot earn your trust by saving you time. Once that happens, you’ll wonder how you managed without it.”
Final Thoughts
Despite all these benefits, most SMBs still aren’t using Copilot, even if they’re already paying for it. If you're already using Microsoft 365, then you already have a Copilot waiting to help. Try it in Outlook. Ask it a question in Excel. Summon it in a Teams meeting. Start small and build from there. So whether you're drafting proposals, managing finances, scheduling follow-ups, or analyzing data, Copilot can help you do it faster, smarter, and more efficiently.
Kwixand Solutions Can Help You Transform Your Business with AI
At Kwixand Solutions, we’re committed to helping businesses unlock the full potential of Microsoft Copilot and AI technology to drive growth, boost productivity, and spark innovation. As a Microsoft Partner, we have the expertise and resources to guide you through each stage of your business transformation. Ready to get started? Book a consultation with us today and let’s discuss how we can bring AI-driven innovation to your business.
