{"id":17919,"date":"2025-01-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=17919"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:29:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:29:37","slug":"staying-ahead-of-the-ai-curve-with-microsoft-365-copilot-how-a-champion-does-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/staying-ahead-of-the-ai-curve-with-microsoft-365-copilot-how-a-champion-does-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying ahead of the AI curve with Microsoft 365 Copilot: How a champion does it"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\"Microsoft<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Brian Shaw has been a Microsoft 365 Copilot enthusiast since the company first launched the generative AI solution in February 2023. But with AI tools evolving rapidly, he knew it would be a challenge to keep up with the latest changes and feature releases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The most effective way he found to do that? Share his knowledge with other employees.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u201cOne of the best ways to learn something is to train others,\u201d says Shaw, a 17-year Microsoft veteran who currently works as a principal customer success account manager on the Retail and Consumer Goods team. \u201cEvery time I\u2019ve trained a group on Power BI, I\u2019ve learned something. It\u2019s the same with Copilot. Someone asks a question\u2014I have to figure out the answer. It keeps my skillset sharp and allows me to keep my technical focus.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That passion for training and enthusiasm for the ways that Copilot can make everyone\u2019s job easier explains why Shaw stepped up to be one of the first Copilot Champs at Microsoft\u2014and why he remains one of the most dedicated evangelists for the technology solution at the company.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI\u2019m always finding new ways that Copilot can save you time,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the great thing about that is that you can redirect that time to have more impact, whether that\u2019s with a customer, in another aspect of your work, or with your community. It really helps magnify what you can accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Customer Zero focus<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Shaw\r\n
Brian Shaw is an enthusiastic Copilot Champ at Microsoft and a principal customer success account manager on the Retail and Consumer Goods team.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Microsoft Digital, the company\u2019s IT organization, puts a strong emphasis on Customer Zero: the idea that our employees\u2014early adopters and consistent users of the latest Microsoft software tools and processes\u2014should share their experiences with others, including our customers. It\u2019s an idea that Shaw embraces wholeheartedly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u201cIf we as employees aren\u2019t successful using Copilot, no one’s going to be successful,\u201d Shaw says. \u201cI’ve always heard that if Copilot helps you save 20 minutes a week for six straight weeks, you’ll be hooked. I want everyone to see those benefits, so that\u2019s why I\u2019m always encouraging people to get in the habit of using Copilot every day.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One example Shaw cites is the way he uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to help him reduce his work email burden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI get up to 200 emails a day just from customer support cases, which can be difficult to keep up with,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, I ask people to @mention me in the email. Then I can ask Copilot to go through all the emails where I’ve been @mentioned and tell me the subject line, who sent it, the date and time, and what task I need to complete. This allows me to get caught up very quickly and understand what my next actions are.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On the leading edge<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Shaw\u2019s excitement in sharing his knowledge of Microsoft 365 Copilot comes directly from his passion for technology, according to those who work with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u201cBrian is an early adopter and a technologist at heart,\u201d says Rod Combs, a leader in the Customer Success unit for Microsoft\u2019s Eastern U.S. region. \u201cHe loves to learn and to be one of the first to master something. So, when Copilot first came along, Brian was in there messing around with it, trying to understand its capabilities and get the most out of it. From there, he\u2019s continued to lead and drive engagement with Copilot across Microsoft.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One of Shaw\u2019s key principles when approaching any training session is to strive to explain technical points as simply as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI try to demystify Copilot for people,\u201d he says. \u201cFor example, people often ask me, \u2018Why are there so many Copilots?\u2019 and I explain that there are basically three types of Copilot: a tools-based Copilot, an application-specific Copilot\u2014like in Word or Outlook\u2014and Copilot Chat<\/a>, like the one you see at copilot.microsoft.com.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Jody Ryan, director of Copilot Sales and Compete in Customer Health and Growth at Microsoft, agrees that Shaw\u2019s ability to simplify things sets him apart.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cHe really makes Copilot accessible for everyone to understand, just by the way he presents it,\u201d she says. \u201cBrian has a way of explaining things in a non-technical way so that everyone can grasp it, across all skill levels. I think that\u2019s a key strength.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

3 key ways to interact with Copilot<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"\"\r\n
Breaking down the three main ways that users interact with Microsoft 365 Copilot is just one of the ways that Brian Shaw helps demystify Microsoft 365 Copilot for fellow employees and customers.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A customer-centric mentality<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Anderson,\r\n
Yen Anderson (left to right), Cadie Kneip, Jody Ryan, and Rod Combs share their thoughts on working with Shaw as he helps fellow Microsoft employees get the most out of Microsoft 365 Copilot.\u00a0<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Another reason Shaw is so successful at helping fellow employees get the most out of Microsoft 365 Copilot is his \u201cday job\u201d as a customer success account manager (CSAM), which relies on some of the same strengths. It\u2019s a parallel that Cadie Kneip has observed in her role as a leader of the Copilot Champs community.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something unique about the combination of skills that CSAMs have, of being very technical but able to deliver technical trainings in a way that lands a customer,\u201d says Kneip, a readiness business program manager in Microsoft Digital tasked with finding creative ways to get more Microsoft employees using Copilot in their day-to-day work. \u201cIt tends to be very friendly and personable. I see that with Brian, who is very generous with his time to demo Copilot to so many fellow employees. I don\u2019t know the exact number, but he\u2019s completed more than 500 activities to help his peers learn Copilot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Yen Anderson, a fellow CSAM at Microsoft and another enthusiastic Copilot Champ<\/a>, recognizes the skills and passion that Shaw brings to his Copilot advocacy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cBrian really has knack for instructional training and is masterful at walking people through a tool\u2019s features and functionality,\u201d she says. \u201cHe goes out of his way to amplify his impact and upskill the learning community at scale.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Going global with Camp Copilot<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Observing Shaw\u2019s enthusiasm for Copilot trainings, Kneip invited Shaw to be part of Camp Copilot<\/a>. The internal Microsoft event, held over three weeks in the summer of 2024, attracted 25,000 participants from around the world, all interested in learning more about how Microsoft 365 Copilot can enhance their work and magnify their impact.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI ended up being one of main presenters in Camp Copilot,\u201d Shaw says. \u201cOver my four sessions, we had more than 5,800 people attending and listening in. It was a lot of fun. And of course, I had a lot of people follow up with me and ask me to do a presentation to their team or group, sometimes for multiple sessions. I would never have had that opportunity if it wasn\u2019t for Camp Copilot.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Looking to what\u2019s next<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Always looking to the future, Shaw can\u2019t wait to be a part of the next wave of features that Microsoft 365 Copilot releases.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI like to say that the Copilot you’re using today is the dumbest Copilot you’ll ever use, because it’s constantly getting upgrades, getting smarter,\u201d he says. \u201cAs it starts learning more about you and the things you work on every day, it\u2019s going to give you better and better information.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

He cites the progression of Copilot in Excel as one example.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cWhen Excel Copilot first came out, it did maybe three things and I don\u2019t think people were very excited,\u201d he says. \u201cBut now that they’ve integrated Python into it, it can write code, create custom visuals, link multiple files and tables together, and more. It\u2019s turned into a real tool that people who use Excel everyday are just going to absolutely love, because it will save them a ton of time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Shaw\u2019s also looking forward to the imminent introduction of automated agents with Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility<\/a>, which will bring even greater productivity enhancements.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cSoon, we\u2019ll have agents where you can say, ‘Hey, create a Help Desk ticket on this issue’ and it just goes out and does it, and returns with, ‘Your ticket\u2019s been opened, and here’s the link to it,\u2019\u201d Shaw says. \u201cHaving Copilot agents do that kind of thing is going to save people a significant amount of time and effort.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In the meantime, Shaw will continue to keep teaching others about Copilot, which will help him stay ahead of the curve with a technology that he believes is changing the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI\u2019m always working to keep up with the roadmap, which is a large ask, but it\u2019s also fun,\u201d he says. \u201cWith Copilot, we\u2019ll eventually have one central tool that can do everything\u2014<\/strong>the future is going to be incredible. I can’t wait to see what the journey holds.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\"Key<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here are Shaw’s top tips and insights for using Microsoft 365 Copilot:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n