Training course · Microsoft 365 Copilot · SMEs & Mid-Sized Businesses

Microsoft 365 Copilot for SMEs

Use Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams productively, securely and in line with permissions.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects Microsoft 365 Copilot with the everyday processes of SMEs & Mid-Sized Businesses. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

Microsoft 365 Copilot brings AI right into the applications where your daily work happens: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. What sets it apart from publicly available chatbots is its grounding in your organisation's data via Microsoft Graph – Copilot can draw on the emails, meetings, chats and documents you already have access to. In this practical day you learn to use that connection deliberately: drafting content from existing files, summarising inboxes and long threads, following up on meetings and generating presentations from Word documents.

You also learn how the licensed Copilot differs from Copilot Chat, when web-grounded and when work-grounded answers make sense, and how to use both prebuilt and your own agents. A central topic is the permission model: Copilot only surfaces what you are allowed to see, so sharing settings in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams directly determine the quality and security of results. You leave with tested prompts for every Office application and a clear understanding of responsible use within your tenant.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the economy – and are hit especially hard by skills shortages and growing administrative burdens. Generative AI offers mid-sized businesses big opportunities precisely because it can be used without an IT department or major investment. Owners and staff use AI assistants to write quotes and customer correspondence, review tenders and contracts, draft job adverts, capture the know-how of experienced employees and create marketing content. Simple automations and AI agents connect email, spreadsheets and industry software. The key is a pragmatic start with clear rules that delivers noticeable benefits quickly and brings the whole team along.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Owners and managing directors of SMEs
  • Sales, purchasing and administration staff
  • HR managers in small and mid-sized companies
  • Digitalisation and operations leads
  • Trades businesses and family-owned companies

Typical challenges we address

  • Skills shortages and heavy workloads in small teams
  • Growing administrative and documentation requirements
  • No dedicated IT or digital transformation department
  • Uncertainty about data protection, costs and the right way to start with AI

What you will be able to do

  • You use Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams for your recurring tasks.
  • You write prompts that draw on existing files, emails and meetings as context.
  • You distinguish between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat and choose the right mode.
  • You use prebuilt agents and create a simple agent of your own for your team.
  • Apply AI pragmatically in sales, administration, HR and marketing in your company.
  • Define clear, privacy-compliant rules for AI use in your team.
  • Identify processes that can be improved with AI and automation without an in-house IT department.

Course outline

Module 1 Copilot fundamentals and Microsoft Graph
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat: capabilities and licensing
  • Grounding in organisational data through Microsoft Graph
  • Switching between web and work context and referencing specific files
  • Prompt structure with goal, context, source and expectations
Module 2 Word and PowerPoint
  • Drafting from existing documents, notes and emails
  • Rewriting, shortening, adjusting tone and summarising text
  • Generating presentations from Word documents or outlines
  • Refining slides, adding speaker notes and sharpening key messages
Module 3 Excel and data analysis
  • Querying tables, spotting trends and highlighting outliers
  • Getting suggestions for formulas, calculated columns and conditional formatting
  • Creating charts and pivot analyses from natural language
  • Sanity-checking results and ensuring data quality
Module 4 Outlook, Teams and agents
  • Summarising long email threads and drafting replies
  • Summarising Teams meetings and extracting action items and open questions
  • Using Copilot Pages and Notebooks for collaborative work
  • Using prebuilt agents and creating your own with Agent Builder
Module 5 Permissions, data protection and governance
  • The permission model: Copilot only shows what you can access
  • Identifying oversharing in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams
  • Sensitivity labels, data boundaries and GDPR considerations
  • Usage policies, team adoption and measuring impact
Module 6 Practice lab: SMEs & Mid-Sized Businesses
  • Quotes and customer correspondence
  • Reviewing tenders and contracts
  • Recruitment
  • Preserving know-how
  • Marketing without an agency
  • Automating workflows
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • SMEs must also comply with the GDPR when using AI, for example through data processing agreements and clear rules on which customer and employee data may be entered. The EU AI Act requires businesses to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff, and trade secrets and customer data belong only in approved tools.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Quotes and customer correspondence

AI drafts quote text, service descriptions, follow-up emails and replies to customer enquiries based on your templates and price lists – you review and send.

Reviewing tenders and contracts

Tender documents, suppliers' terms and framework agreements are summarised for requirements, deadlines, liability and special conditions so you can decide faster. Key exclusion criteria are highlighted clearly.

Recruitment

Job adverts, careers page copy, interview guides and onboarding plans are written for the target audience to stand out in the competition for skilled staff.

Preserving know-how

The experience of long-serving employees is captured in interviews and structured with AI into work instructions, FAQs and onboarding material before it is lost to retirement.

Marketing without an agency

Website copy, newsletters, social posts, case studies and trade fair materials are created with AI and adapted to the language of your customers. Your company gains visibility without a marketing department.

Automating workflows

Recurring processes such as sorting incoming invoices, routing enquiries or producing reports from spreadsheets are connected using no-code tools and AI agents. This noticeably relieves small teams and reduces errors.

Prerequisites

Confident everyday use of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams; no prior AI knowledge is required. Working in a small or medium-sized business; no technical background required.

Technical requirements

A laptop with access to Microsoft 365 via your work account; a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is ideal for all exercises, while Copilot Chat covers part of the content.

Data protection & compliance

SMEs must also comply with the GDPR when using AI, for example through data processing agreements and clear rules on which customer and employee data may be entered. The EU AI Act requires businesses to ensure adequate AI literacy among staff, and trade secrets and customer data belong only in approved tools.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Fri, 11 December 2026 Stuttgart Request
  • Thu, 7 January 2027 Hanover Request
  • Tue, 19 January 2027 Online Request
  • Wed, 3 February 2027 Berlin Request
  • Tue, 16 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat?

Copilot Chat is available to many work accounts without an additional licence and answers mainly from web content and uploaded files. The licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot also reaches your emails, meetings and documents through Microsoft Graph and is built directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

Can Copilot see my colleagues' confidential files?

Copilot respects existing permissions and only surfaces content you can already access yourself. Problems arise when files are shared too broadly – with the entire organisation, for instance. In the course you learn how to spot such oversharing and how to fix it properly together with your IT team.

Do I need prompting experience for this course?

No. We start with the fundamentals of good prompts and practise them directly in the Office applications. What matters is that you are comfortable using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams day to day. Everything else – from referencing files to working with agents – we build up step by step through realistic tasks.

How should a small business get started with AI?

Start with two or three concrete, time-consuming tasks such as quotes, correspondence or job adverts. Choose a privacy-compliant tool, set simple rules and let the team practise together. In the course you develop exactly this kind of starter plan for your company.

Do we need our own IT department?

No. Common AI assistants and no-code automations can be used without programming skills. What matters is deliberate tool selection, data processing agreements and clear responsibilities. For integrations with industry software, occasional external support may help, but getting started is something you can do yourselves.

How much does “Microsoft 365 Copilot for SMEs” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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