6 May 2026
Our Digital Strategy commits to giving staff modern digital tools that reduce administrative burden and improve productivity. One of these tools is Microsoft 365 Copilot.
What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot works inside the tools many staff already use, including:
- Outlook
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Teams
- OneDrive
- SharePoint
Copilot can help people:
- Draft and improve documents and emails
- Summarise documents, meetings and conversations
- Analyse information and highlight key points
- Find information more quickly
Copilot works within a secure and controlled Microsoft environment, which helps keep council data safe.
Testing Copilot at Cardiff Council
We introduced Copilot at Cardiff Council in September 2024 as part of a planned trial.
The trial ran for 12 months and involved 343 colleagues. Participants came from a wide range of roles, including:
- administrative teams,
- social workers, and
- senior leaders.
At the end of the trial, users were invited to share feedback. 272 colleagues responded.
What colleagues told us
Colleagues said Copilot helped them in many practical ways, including:
- Saving time on everyday tasks
- Reducing repetitive and administrative work
- Improving accuracy in written work
- Increasing confidence, especially for meetings and communication
- Supporting creativity and developing ideas
- Improving wellbeing, with many feeling less overloaded or stressed
33 people who identified as neurodivergent said Copilot helped them feel more comfortable and confident at work.
What next?
Following the trial, we adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot as the Council’s main AI productivity tool and made it available to employees across the organisation.
A premium version has also been added to the Council’s software catalogue for teams with more advanced needs.
This approach helps us to:
- Support staff in similar ways across teams
- Reduce unnecessary administration
- Use AI safely and responsibly
- Build confidence in digital tools
By embedding Copilot into everyday work tools, we are taking a practical approach to AI that supports our workforce and helps improve the services we deliver to residents.
We’ll continue to share updates on how digital tools like Copilot are being used across the Council.