The Copilot Connection

Hosted by Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to Copilot Connection , the podcast that explores the world of Microsoft Copilots! Join your hosts, Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell, as they take you on a journey through the different Copilots available and how they can help you in your day-to-day life. From the newly launch date announced Microsoft 365 Copilot to the Dynamics 365, GitHub, Windows, Custom and more Copilots, we'll cover it all. Our upbeat and engaging conversations with experts in the field will keep you entertained and informed. Tune in to Copilot Connection and discover how these AI-powered assistants can transform the way you work! Want to be interviewed for the show? Sign up at The Copilot Connection: Call for Speakers @ Sessionize.com

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59 recent

August 14, 20261 hr 4 min

Ep 45 - Harnesses, budgets and yet another rename

The first episode after a quiet summer, and the thread running through all of it is cost and renames. Kevin opens with a confession: he spun up Cowork to write these very show notes, it ran out of budget overnight, and once he topped the budget up it burned through 2,381 credits, which he puts at twenty to thirty quid for maybe a fifth of what he wanted. That story turns out to be the episode in miniature, because Copilot Studio GitHub Harness has gone generally available in August based on a usage-based credit model, and this time the meter runs while you are still building. Around that we have another rename and a flattened logo, Microsoft's FY26 Q4 results with over thirty million paid Copilot seats, a leaked memo saying the AI app group has to earn the right to exist, a proper argument about whether 43 minutes a day is still how we talk about value, and a long run through the autumn events season. Plus AI slop, blue rings, and a festival planning app nobody asked for but made all the difference. Links: https://www.howmanyblueringsshouldihave.com/ https://amireallyadualawardmvp.com/ https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/copilot-studio-blog/more-powerful-agents-and-workflows-for-autonomous-business-processes-introducing/4542969 https://microsoft.github.io/mcscatblog/posts/copilot-harness-cost-governance/ https://futurework.blog/2026/08/14/microsoft-copilot-app-one-app-new-name-new-icon-new-url/ https://robquickenden.blog/2026/08/copilot-unified-app/ https://office365itpros.com/2026/07/30/fy26-q4-microsoft-results/ https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7490143154260701184-rlGF https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maryleenemeric_microsoft-microsoft365-copilotstudio-activity-7485892013830266880-rUJI Events: https://ainativeworkplace.com/ https://www.collabdays.org/2026-bletchleypark/ https://www.scottishsummit.com https://espc.tech/conference/espc-2026

June 26, 2026Episode 4439 min

Ep 44 - FinOps Comes to Copilot and Cowork

This week on The Copilot Connection , Kevin and Zoe dive into the growing impact of FinOps and tokenomics in the Copilot era. From insights at Commsverse to real-world concerns, we explore how tools like Copilot and Cowork are shifting organisations from fixed licensing to consumption-driven models - bringing both opportunity and uncertainty. The discussion focuses on balancing cost vs value , the importance of governance and guardrails , and why organisations must carefully pilot AI usage rather than roll it out blindly. They also highlight the challenge of helping users choose the right tool for the right task without driving up unnecessary costs. Useful links: Cowork cost management overview — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/usage-based-billing-manage-copilot-credits Cowork Cost Estimator - https://aka.ms/CustomerCoworkEstimator Cowork Adoption site - https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-gb/copilot/cowork/ai-user/ Cost management demo - https://demos.microsoft.com/app/present/6694#/0/0 An unsuspecting bill - https://www.reddit.com/r/copilotstudio/comments/1ueqedl/woke_up_to_a_47k_bill_after_deploying_one_copilot/ More on unsuspecting bills - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/peter-sabapathy-71a88145_a-post-on-reddit-this-week-described-someone-share-7475913687963467778-xsXa

June 19, 2026Episode 431 hr 7 min

Ep 43 - Build 2026 Recap

In this episode of The Copilot Connection , Kevin McDonnell and Garry Trinder dive deep into the biggest developer-focused announcements coming out of Microsoft Build—and what they actually mean in practice. We unpack a fast-moving couple of weeks in AI, from the shift in how Microsoft shares Build news (goodbye Book of News , hello live blog and CLI tooling), to the hands-on, lab-heavy focus that signals a return to Build’s developer roots. Expect plenty of perspective on what stood out, what worked, and what felt different this year. The conversation then turns to one of the headline releases: Copilot Cowork now generally available . Kevin and Garry explore how Cowork changes the way we interact with Copilot - moving from simple chat to task-driven, cloud-executed workflows with deeper Microsoft 365 integration. They share real-world usage patterns, from daily task triage to cross-device workflows, and discuss the impact of its new consumption-based pricing model (and why “value over tokens” is the mindset shift we all need). From there, they step into the more experimental space with Microsoft Scout —a local, autonomous agent inspired by OpenClaw that introduces concepts like heartbeats, browser automation, and powerful extensibility. The duo compare Scout vs Cowork, weighing up local vs cloud agents, flexibility vs control, and the growing importance of governance as agents gain more autonomy. Useful Links https://build.microsoft.com/ Build Live Blog Build Blog - be yourself at work Build Next Steps GitHub Repo Cowork GA The Cowork Cookbook (community link) Microsoft Scout Work IQ GA Work IQ Licensing Windows Platform Security Project Solara Surface Laptop Ultra Surface RTX Spark Dev Box

May 18, 2026Episode 4242 min

Ep 42 - What to watch at Build with Cowork and Claws in between

Kevin McDonnell and Zoe Wilson are back, kicking off this episode with a lively wander through Copilot Cowork in preview — from using it on mobile (sometimes unintentionally…) to early thoughts on skills, plugins, stability, and why data residency still matters if you’re experimenting in the real world. Along the way, there are opinions, tangents, and a few “this is cool, but…” moments that will feel very familiar to anyone testing Copilot right now. The conversation then jumps ahead to Microsoft Build , where agents, observability, and the growing obsession with value and ROI take centre stage. Kevin and Zoe unpack why business goals matter more than shiny dashboards, how Agent 365 fits into the picture, and what all this means for teams trying to move from curiosity to confidence with AI — all wrapped up with event shout‑outs, future episode teases, and the usual friendly chaos

April 4, 2026Episode 4148 min

Ep 41 - Cowork and Agent 365

This week, Zoe and Kevin dig into Copilot Cowork and Agent 365. Fresh from a week at the Microsoft campus in Seattle, Kevin shares his key takeaways from MVP Summit — including a surprising amount of cross-product collaboration and a hands-on experiment building a conference bingo app entirely using GitHub Copilot's coding agent. Zoe and Kevin then dive into two of the biggest recent announcements: Copilot Cowork, now available in Frontier tenants, which takes Copilot from answering questions to actually taking action on your behalf, from organising your inbox to scheduling your week and creating reusable skills; and Agent 365, Microsoft's control plane for agents, launching on 1 May, which brings observability, governance, and threat protection for all your agents in one place. They also cover the practical steps to enable Cowork in your tenant, the current data residency considerations for European organisations, and the open licensing questions still to be resolved before general availability. Useful links: Lab that Kevin mentioned https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-agent-lab-soc-ops kevmcdonk/mvp-summit-bingo: Web app for MVPs to track all those common phrases we hear over the week. Who will get bingo first https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/copilot-cowork-a-new-way-of-getting-work-done Get started with Copilot Cowork (Frontier) | Microsoft Learn Microsoft Agent 365 documentation | Microsoft Learn

March 22, 2026Episode 4054 min

Ep 40 - diving into Copilot Wave 3

Microsoft helped us make an episode this week but dropping some big Copilot news! In this episode, Zoe and Kevin dig into some of the news related around Copilot Wave 3, talk about what the recent org changes at Microsoft will mean and also highlight some of the upcoming events going on. Useful links: Zoe and Kevin keynote the Copilot Community Conference - Copilot Community Conference 2026 Experts Live UK Scottish Summit Call for speakers for Scottish Summit still open Rajesh Jha retiring Copilot Leadership Team Frontier Suite Copilot Wave 3 SharePoint at 25 Copilot Cowork

February 20, 2026Episode 3939 min

Ep 39 – Closing the AI Implementation Gap with Diana Wolfe

In this episode of Copilot Connection, Zoe and Kevin are joined by Diana Wolfe, Head of Research & Strategy at Kyndryl, to explore one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today: the widening gap between AI ambition and AI implementation. Together, they unpack why so many companies struggle to realise value from AI investments, what human‑centred change looks like in an era of agentic AI, and how trust, psychological safety, and redesigned roles shape successful adoption. The conversation covers everything from workflow automation myths and cognitive overload to organisational silos, identity shifts, and the realities of embedding AI into everyday work. Expect thoughtful insights, a few laughs (including designer chickens and the underpants gnomes), and practical guidance on how individuals, leaders, and change practitioners can navigate the next phase of AI‑driven transformation. Tune in to learn why the future of AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about people, systems, and redefining what meaningful work looks like. Takeaways AI implementation requires a holistic approach The integration of AI technology presents multifaceted challenges AI adoption is evolving rapidly Human systems integration is crucial for responsible AI implementation

February 5, 202434 min

Ep 10 - Starting the extensibility story

Send us a text In this podcast episode, Kevin runs solo to talk about the extensibility of Copilot. he covers the impact of Copilot on organizations, how to prepare for it, and how to extend it. The episode also features interviews with Garry Trinder (developer advocate at Microsoft) and Anoop Tatti (Team Lead at Advania), who share their experiences with Copilot and its extensions. The episode delves into the importance of thinking about why you would extend Copilot, the different ways to do it, and the value it delivers. The podcast also touches on the importance of responsible AI and how to ensure that the power of AI is used correctly. Anyone interested in the capabilities of Copilot and how it can be extended to deliver even more value to organizations should listen! Useful links: Copilot for Devs (thanks for making this happen, Dona!) - https://aka.ms/CopilotForDevs Sample Copilot Graph Connectors - pnp/graph-connectors-samples: Microsoft Graph Connector samples (github.com) Sample Copilot Plugins- OfficeDev/Copilot-for-M365-Plugins-Samples: Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Plugins samples (github.com) Garry Trinder's sessions on extending Copilot - Introduction on extending Copilot for Microsoft 365 - YouTube Miyagi samples for custom copilots - Azure-Samples/miyagi: Sample to envision intelligent apps with Microsoft's Copilot stack for AI-infused product experiences. (github.com) Suparna Bannerjee's GPT4 turbo with power plat form - Analyse images in Power Apps using Azure OpenAI GPT 4 Turbo with Vision – Suparna's Tech Basket (wordpress.com) Windows ai studio - https://x.com/omiossec_med/status/1735184534650368354?s=46&t=T_UsQjGMhGGOFKsyPDAf2g Recreating the Google Gemini in open ai - https://x.com/zohaibahmed/status/1733278841559453898?s=46&t=T_UsQjGMhGGOFKsyPDAf2g

December 23, 20231 hr 5 min

Ep 7 - Copilot Connection at ESPC part 2

Send us a text Following on from the last episode, we continue with some of the interviews from ESPC23 in Amsterdam with guests Heather Cook , Karoliina Kettukari and Gabriel Ho from Microsoft. Hear what they think about what Copilot means to them, the transformation that people will see, what people should prepare for and what they hope will happen next. Plus the latest news on Copilot for Sales, new Microsoft Copilot engines and cool stuff shared by Dona Sarkar and Alexio Chandiwana. Copilot for Sales can log leads directly - https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sales-copilot-blog/what-s-new-in-sales-copilot-december-2023/ba-p/4008438 Swift key with built in copilot - https://x.com/alex_chandiwana/status/1737033401784308005?s=46&t=T_UsQjGMhGGOFKsyPDAf2g Dona’s AI content - https://x.com/donasarkar/status/1736729230757810630?s=46&t=T_UsQjGMhGGOFKsyPDAf2g Dona's AI workshop - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/donasarkar_aicareer-activity-7143210436362977280-2--i Continued AI Innovation in Copilot | Search Quality Insights (bing.com) Biased copilot from Leon - https://x.com/leonarmston/status/1735586459145642288?s=46&t=T_UsQjGMhGGOFKsyPDAf2g Year in review: How Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Teams, and our partners built a stronger ecosystem - Microsoft Community Hub Turn your ideas into songs with Suno on Microsoft Copilot | Bing Search Blog

November 24, 202351 min

Ep 5 - Copilot in Ignite

Send us a text Zoe and Kevin share all the big Ignite news with insider information from Zoe who was over in Seattle. We also have interviews with Dona Sarkar, Ana Ines Urrutia and Raymond Comvalius fresh from Ignite. Kevin also announced the Custom Copilot Connection Challenge, asking you all to build Copilots that can consume all the amazing Ignite information and make it available - check out the video . Topics covered: Azure AI updates like Prompt Studio and Model as a Service Copilot for Frontline Workers Is it "Copilot for" or "Copilot in"? Copilot Studio Amazing interviews Useful links: Ignite Book of News 2023 What the early users of Copilot have learnt (Worklab article) Copilot and Viva Topics Copilot and Frontline Workers Admin of M365 Copilot Adopting, Extending and Building Your Own Copilots - Dona's session at Ignite