I’m a Microsoft Copilot Champion.
Here is the Playbook I Wish I Had on Day 1.
I recently joined the inaugural class of the Microsoft Frontier Firm initiative. It’s a fancy title, but it really just means one thing: our organization has committed to not just buying AI, but rebuilding our business around it.
As a “Copilot Champion,” my job isn’t to sell you software. It’s to help you survive the implementation.
If you are a CIO or a Physician Leader, you are probably staring at a Microsoft invoice and wondering what you actually bought. The naming conventions are confusing. The slide decks are dense. And the pressure to “innovate” is higher than ever.
I want to simplify the entire Microsoft AI stack into three plain-English buckets. This is the mental model I use every day to explain to my board why we bet our healthcare business on this ecosystem.
The “Frontier” Mindset
Before we talk tools, we have to talk goals. Microsoft defines a “Frontier Firm” as an organization that moves from Command and Control to Team of Teams—where humans and AI agents work side-by-side.
For us in healthcare, that means security is our north star. We chose Microsoft because of the Enterprise Data Protection promise. Your data never leaves your tenant. It never trains the public models. That safety allows us to be aggressive with adoption.
Here is how the three pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Level 1: M365 Copilot
The “Consume” Layer
Think of this as Oxygen. It is everywhere, and it keeps the lights on.
What it is: The AI built into the apps you already use (Teams, Word, Excel, Outlook).
Who it is for: 98% of your organization. Doctors, nurses, admins, and project managers.
The “Ah-Ha” Moment: It’s not about generating new text; it’s about synthesizing old text. It’s the ability to join a Teams meeting 15 minutes late and ask, “What did I miss?” or to turn a messy email chain into a clean bulleted list.
My Advice: Don’t overthink this rollout. Turn it on, teach your team the basics of prompting, and watch the daily friction disappear.
Level 2: Copilot Studio
The “Compose” Layer
Think of this as Legos. It is user-friendly, modular, and lets you build custom solutions without needing a degree in computer science.
What it is: A low-code/no-code platform where you can build custom “Agents.”
Who it is for: Your “Power Users.” The Business Analysts, the HR Directors, the Clinical Operations Managers.
The “Ah-Ha” Moment: This is where you solve specific department headaches.
HR Problem: “I answer the same question about benefits 50 times a day.”
Studio Solution: Build a “Benefits Bot” in 20 minutes that answers those questions for you.
My Advice: This is your highest ROI layer. Identify the top 5 repetitive questions in every department and challenge your team to build an Agent to answer them.
Level 3: Microsoft Foundry
The “Customize” Layer
Think of this as The Machine Shop. It is powerful, loud, and requires protective eyewear.
What it is: The pro-code developer platform (formerly Azure AI Studio/Foundry). This is where the heavy lifting happens.
Who it is for: Your Engineers, Data Scientists, and Architects.
The “Ah-Ha” Moment: This is for when “out of the box” isn’t enough.
Clinical Problem: “We need to analyze patient MRI data against a proprietary research database and output a risk score to our custom EMR.”
Foundry Solution: Your engineers use Foundry to build a secure, complex application that connects bespoke data sources with custom-tuned models.
My Advice: Most of you won’t need this on Day 1. But knowing it’s there gives you the confidence that you won’t “outgrow” the platform.
Your Monday Morning Playbook
If you want to lead like a Frontier Firm, don’t try to do everything at once. Start here:
Secure the Base: Ensure your M365 Copilot rollout is focused on time-saving (meeting summaries, email drafts).
Empower the Builders: identify three “Champions” in your business units and give them access to Copilot Studio. Tell them to kill one annoying process by Friday.
Ignore the Noise: You don’t need to build custom apps in Foundry yet. Master the basics first.
We are all learning this together. If you’re stuck, reach out. That’s what Champions are for.