You're not alone. It's one of the most common questions we get asked in our workshops and it's one of the most important ones too. Because here's the thing: seeing apps in Copilot and Copilot actually using them are two very different things.

It's a bit like walking into a well-stocked kitchen. Just because the ingredients are on the shelf doesn't mean dinner is being made. Someone still needs to know what to do with them and that's exactly where the gap sits for many teams using Copilot today.

A Simple Way to Understand How Copilot Works

We break it down into three simple ideas that help people go from confused to confident:

1. Visibility

When you open Copilot Chat, you'll notice an apps icon on the left-hand side. It shows which apps are available, e.g. SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and more. But here's what catches most people out: just because you can see them doesn't mean Copilot is actively doing anything with them. It's a bit like seeing the Wi-Fi symbol on your laptop, it shows the network is there, but you still need to connect before you can use it.

2. Connection

This is the next step. Copilot connects to your work environment, your SharePoint sites, Teams conversations, OneDrive files, and more so it can actually reach your content. This is where it starts to get interesting, because its tapping into the places where your team already works, so it can understand what's happening across your organisation.

3. Intelligence

This is where the magic truly happens. With a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, the tool goes beyond just connecting. It can pull information from your files, understand the context behind them, and help you create content in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. It's not just seeing your data or reaching it  it's thinking with it.

We've put together a short video that walks through the visibility, connection, and intelligence model step by step. If you've been wondering what those app icons actually do — or if your team has Copilot but you're not sure you're getting the most out of it — this is a great place to start.

Watch the video here

If you'd like to take it further, that's exactly what our Be Future Ready Copilot Workshop is designed for.

Frequently Asked Questions: Be Future Ready Copilot Workshop

What is the Be Future Ready Workshop?

It's a 3-hour, hands-on workshop designed to empower your team and spark inspiration by uncovering the real possibilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Through a blend of practical exercises and collaborative exploration, attendees gain the confidence to champion new ways of working across their teams. It's interactive, conversational, and designed for real people, not just tech enthusiasts.

The workshop is ideal for Leadership Teams and Copilot champions, and anyone in your organisation who needs to understand how Copilot can support better decision-making and productivity. It's perfect for groups of up to 10 people and works well across all industries; we've delivered it for organisations in sectors including legal, finance, healthcare, construction, and more.

Do attendees need a Copilot license?

The workshop is still hugely valuable for teams in the early stages of their Copilot journey, even if licenses haven't been rolled out yet.

"The courses were very practical and all hands-on, so engagement was high. People who've never used AI before were seeing practical uses not just for work but in their home lives too. It was just brilliant to see all the lightbulbs going off in every session."  James Curtis, CLM Law 

How do we get started?

Simply get in touch with us at [email protected] or visit 365traininghub.co.nz. We'll have a chat about what your team needs and find a date that works.