What happened
The Government Digital Service ran a cross-government experiment with Microsoft 365 Copilot from 30 September to 31 December 2024. Twelve organizations took part, among them the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs, the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Welsh Government and Companies House. Each committed to at least 1,000 licenses, and 20,000 employees received one. GDS collected adoption data for 14,500 users, a survey with 7,115 responses, feedback forms and five focus groups, and it published its findings in June 2025. About 80% of license holders used the tool. Users reported saving an average of 26 minutes a day, which GDS calculated from the midpoints of time bands with the largest band set at 60 minutes. Only 17% noticed no saving and more than a third saved over half an hour. Drafting documents saved 24 minutes and scheduling meetings 9 minutes. The report says that the savings are self-reported, that there was no comparison group and that it could not tell how the saved time was used.
Sources
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Evaluation report, by the organization that used it.
Government Digital Service, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Microsoft 365 Copilot Experiment: Cross-Government Findings Report. June 2025, published on GOV.UK 2 June 2025.
Trial participants saved an average of 26 minutes a day when using M365 Copilot.
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Evaluation report, by the organization that used it.
Arzilli, F., Lynch, C. S. and Page, L., Department for Work and Pensions. An Evaluation of DWP's Microsoft 365 Copilot Trial. Research and analysis, GOV.UK, 29 January 2026.
This large-scale study found that Copilot users saved an average of 26 minutes per day, with over 70% reporting reduced time spent on routine tasks and increased focus on strategic work.
Details
AI system
- Workflow
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Each organization committed to at least 1,000 licenses, and 20,000 employees held one from 30 September to 31 December 2024. Most organizations switched off Copilot's internet access so that it drew only on internal data. About 80% of license holders actively used the tool, with Teams and Outlook the most used applications.
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Users need training and change management, as time saved correlated with confidence and familiarity with AI. Human oversight is needed at all times, as the tool struggled with complex, nuanced or data-heavy work. The 26-minute figure is self-reported, and the report does not say how the saved time was used.
Entry details
- Sector
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Public administration.
- Purpose
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Microsoft built Microsoft 365 Copilot on large language models to assist users inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, with context-aware suggestions and a chat application for queries and search.
31 more questions not yet checked
model, release, provider, role, configuration, inputs and outputs, autonomy, human oversight, AI contribution, beneficiaries, reach, distribution and access, duration, every measurement question, every money question, ownership and control, dependencies, cross-border connections, geopolitical implications, replication attempts, availability, institutional decision, grounds, action and result, success criterion, every evidence question, observed or intended, alternative assessments, related entries, other identifiers, category mappings.
Cite this benefit
Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Microsoft 365 Copilot saves UK civil servants 26 minutes a day (AIBD-1196). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 2 November 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-1196.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 9.0)