Copilot in 30: how to make the most of your first month

Most organisations are past the "is AI important?" stage. What they're actually wrestling with is far more practical: where will it help us? Will it save time in the inbox? Make meetings easier to follow? Get documents and decks off the ground faster? Turn scattered notes and data into something useful?

Copilot in 30 is built to answer exactly those questions.

Launching from 1 August, it's open to new and existing Business Basic, Standard and Premium customers - giving eligible organisations 25 users on Microsoft 365 Copilot Business for 30 days. Not a one-off demo or a theory-heavy workshop, but a proper hands-on run across the tools your teams already use every day.

Why Copilot in 30 matters

AI adoption can feel like a big commitment. There are licences to weigh up, users to support, data and security to review, and the hardest part of all — getting people to actually change how they work.

Copilot in 30 shrinks that first step. It lets you start small, focus on real use cases, and build a clear picture of where Copilot adds value before committing to a wider rollout. The question stops being "should we buy Copilot?" and becomes "where did it help, who benefited, and what do we do next?" That's a far more useful conversation to be having.

What the 30 days look like

The trial runs on four simple weekly themes, so users always have a reason to come back:

Nobody's expected to transform everything overnight. The goal is simpler: try Copilot in the work you're already doing, and notice the moments it makes life easier.

Where the value shows up

The best Copilot use cases are usually the everyday ones. A long email thread becomes a quick summary, a meeting you missed becomes a clear recap with actions, a blank document becomes a first draft, a deck starts building itself from notes you already had, or a messy spreadsheet suddenly makes sense.

On their own, these moments feel small. Across 25 users and 30 days, they add up into a real picture of where time is being saved, where confidence is growing, and where Copilot could help a much wider group. That's the whole point: moving from curiosity to evidence.

Getting the trial right

A good trial needs a bit of groundwork. Before day one, it's worth:

• choosing the right trial users
• agreeing timing and preparing launch comms
• setting up a Teams channel for prompts, questions and wins
• assigning licences before users start
• reviewing key Copilot settings
• checking security, access and permissions - MFA, Conditional Access, SharePoint oversharing, access controls and sensitivity labels

The aim is straightforward: give users a strong first experience while keeping the right controls in place.

Measuring success

A trial shouldn't run on gut feel. Track a few simple signals through the month:

• active users and prompt volume
• usage across the Microsoft 365 apps
• week-by-week engagement
• user feedback and examples of time saved
• workflows that improved, and where users need more support

These are what turn a trial into a business decision rather than a product test.

What happens next

The final week is where the trial becomes a plan. Review what worked, gather feedback, pin down the strongest use cases, and decide whether to expand Copilot to more users, teams or departments.

One thing worth flagging early: the trial converts to a paid subscription by default unless you make changes before the 30 days are up. Seat numbers, term, billing and rollout should all be agreed before it ends — so there are no surprises, just a clear next step.

How Softcat helps

Copilot in 30 gives you a simple way to test Microsoft 365 Copilot. We make sure that test is focused, secure and genuinely useful:

• Licensing guidance — eligibility, trial setup, and the route from trial to paid adoption.
• Readiness support — reviewing security, access, permissions and configuration before users start.
• Adoption planning — the right users, scenarios, comms and success measures.
• User enablement — practical prompts and real-world use cases to build confidence.
• Next-step planning — turning feedback, usage and early wins into a clear rollout plan.

Copilot in 30 puts AI where it matters most: in real work. Start with 25 users, focus on everyday scenarios, measure what counts — then decide how to scale with confidence.

Speak to your Softcat account manager to check whether your organisation is eligible and get started.

If you want to learn how to make the most of this business trail register for this webinar here.