Using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot could save UK civil servants weeks every year

• Microsoft Copilot study claims major timesaving and productivity gains across UK government
• 20,000 civil servants gained access to Copilot, with striking results
• Timesaving amounted to around two weeks per person per year

Using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot could help civil servants save weeks of work over the course of a year, new government research has claimed.

The UK government had 20,000 civil servants across 12 different organizations use Microsoft Copilot over the course of several months, using the service to draft documents, take meeting notes, search internal information, and even personalize recommendations to unemployed job seeker benefits claimants.

The study claimed to find major productivity and efficiency boosts from using Copilot, with the workers saving on average between 19 and 24 minutes per day — amounting to around two weeks per person per year.

Copilot timesaving

The study, which took place over September 30 to December 31 ...