Microsoft has taken the unified communication and collaboration market by storm in recent years. The tech giant’s suite of tools enhances everything from cross-functional collaboration, to meeting room management. Microsoft Places, one of the most recent additions to the company’s portfolio, now offers a new way to coordinate the hybrid workplace.

With Microsoft Places (available with Microsoft Teams Premium), promises to bridge the gaps between distributed employees, strengthen connections, and improve resource allocation.

The application already makes it easier for organizations to coordinate coworkers and spaces in an office, plan schedules, and keep teams aligned. However, using Microsoft Copilot, the company’s leading generative AI solution within Places, takes the app’s functionality to the next level.

James Hammond, Symity’s Principal Microsoft AV Consultant, explains: “The integration of Places data into Microsoft Copilot will make coordination even easier. In the second half of 2024, you will be able to use Copilot to understand which days are best to come into the office and Copilot will even share reasons why certain days are best to come in, highlighting things like in-person meetings, your manager’s planned attendance, or if most of your colleagues are planning to be in the office.

You will be able to ask Copilot to adjust your schedule based on this information. It will simply make co-ordinating where you want to be so much easier.”

Here’s how you can use Copilot with Microsoft Places to enhance flexible work.

Using Copilot with Microsoft Places

Microsoft Copilot, the generative AI solution designed by Microsoft, is embedded into virtually every solution in the company’s portfolio. You can already use Copilot in Microsoft Teams to summarize and transcribe meetings, search for data, and create content, for instance.

As a component of the Microsoft Teams Premium add-on license, Copilot in Microsoft Places will still give you access to a host of AI features across different tools. However, there are also three specific ways you can use Copilot with Microsoft Places to improve workplace coordination, booking processes, and resource allocation.

Use Copilot in Places for Workplace Coordination

Microsoft Places is designed to make it easier for team members to plan their schedules, coordinate with colleagues, and make the most of their office space. In Places, users can leverage location plans to set and share their location schedules with users and view which team members and amenities will be available in any space. Copilot in MS Places enhances this functionality.

Using Copilot Booking Features to Boost Collaboration

Aside from using Copilot to identify the best days to attend the office, based on other team members that might be available, employees can also access intelligent booking features. Copilot in Places can search through available spaces looking for specific details, based on your needs. Symity’s Hammond notes that, “End-to-end booking will be enhanced further with Copilot by building on booking suggestions, Copilot managed booking will find and book the right space for the needs of your meeting for recurring meetings where one room might not be available week-to-week.”

It can identify which meeting rooms to book, based on the number of in-person or remote participants, or what kind of technology is available. In Outlook Calendar, Copilot can notify you when you haven’t booked rooms or desks for a specific day. Users can then click on a location pin within the calendar to browse through AI-powered booking suggestions.

Copilot can even automatically book rooms and spaces for you for recurring meetings and adjust your bookings when certain spaces aren’t available. Plus, it can give hybrid workers tips on when they should leave their home to reach the office on time, with commuting insights. There are even built-in intelligent wayfinding components in the app to help you find your space.

Transforming Workplace Design with Copilot in Places

Designing the perfect hybrid office environment is complicated, particularly as work environments continue to evolve. To make the most of real estate and resources, business leaders and admins need the right insights. In Microsoft Places, Copilot gives leaders powerful information they can use to transform the office space.

The Copilot app can combine intent and actual occupancy pattern data in Places, giving administrators a comprehensive view of how spaces are being used. The generative AI bot can then provide additional suggestions on how to manage and adjust spaces. For instance, it can suggest ways to consolidate floors on days with lower occupancy or add more huddle rooms to a space.

Administrators can also run additional analysis processes on the workplace data they’ve collected. They can combine data from MS Places with other Copilot-connected tools and the Microsoft Graph, for a comprehensive view of resource optimization opportunities. This can help businesses rapidly adapt their environments to the changing needs of employees.

Making the Most of Copilot in Microsoft Places

Embedding Copilot into Microsoft Places gives companies a powerful way to transform the way they manage hybrid working environments. However, it’s important to ensure you’re taking the right approach to optimize your return on investment.

Here are our top tips for making the most of Copilot in MS Places:

  • Upgrade your data hygiene strategy: Review the data in your Microsoft ecosystem. How well you manage your data has a direct impact on how effectively Copilot will be able to guide teams in places and assist you with resource allocation.
  • Remember security and compliance: While Microsoft implements strict controls to limit how Copilot and other tools can access your data, governance is crucial. Companies like Symity can work with you to identify security and governance concerns and ensure you have the right strategies in place to minimize risk.
  • Train your team members: Although tools like Copilot and MS Places are relatively easy to use, effective training is crucial to rapid adoption. Consider working with an expert to train your team members on best practices and keep them up to date on new features.
  • Monitor the results: Take advantage of the analytical data available in Microsoft Places and other MS apps to track the impact Copilot has on your organization. Monitor everything from room and space usage rates, to adherence to schedule requirements, and productivity.

Transform Your Workplace with Copilot and MS Places

Microsoft Places and Copilot work together seamlessly to help employees optimize their schedules and businesses make the most of their available resources. The key to success is ensuring you follow the right strategy for Copilot and MS Places integration.

Microsoft partner Symity can work with you throughout your Copilot journey. The firm can help you identify opportunities for Copilot in your workplace, address security concerns, and create plans for extending the power of AI across your organization.



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