copilot
What It Means
A copilot is an AI assistant that works alongside employees to help them complete tasks more efficiently within their existing software tools. Think of it as a smart helper that can draft emails, summarize documents, write code, or answer questions by understanding natural language requests and providing relevant suggestions or content.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
Copilots represent a significant shift in how AI is deployed - embedded directly into daily workflows rather than as standalone applications. This creates new data governance challenges since these tools process sensitive business information in real-time, and requires careful consideration of which tasks to automate versus keep human-controlled to maintain quality and accountability.
Real-World Example
Microsoft Copilot in Word helps sales teams quickly generate proposal drafts by analyzing customer requirements and company templates, then suggesting relevant content and formatting - allowing a salesperson to create a 20-page proposal in minutes instead of hours while maintaining brand consistency and including all necessary legal language.
Common Confusion
People often think copilots will replace human workers entirely, but they're designed to augment human capabilities rather than substitute for human judgment and decision-making. The term 'copilot' specifically implies collaboration, not automation.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare, AI copilots integrate with electronic health records (EHRs) and clinical workflows to assist providers wi...
Finance: In finance, copilots integrate with core financial systems like ERP platforms, trading terminals, and reporting tools to...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"An artificial intelligence powered software program designed to assist users with various tasks and automate features within compatible applications using advanced language models, machine-learning algorithms, and conversational interfaces to understand user requests and provide suggestions, summaries, and content generation in response."Source:
"A product or service that provides assistance using, incorporating and/or based on artificial intelligence software and artificial intelligence software services"Source:
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