The News: Microsoft has introduced Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service, which will bring next-generation artificial intelligence to frontline workers. Frontline workers are faced with needing to interact with a multitude of fragmented tools, as well as often repetitive and mundane tasks. The use of Copilot will bring streamlined workflows and efficiencies to better support this large population of critical workers. For more information on this new launch, see this Microsoft blog post that outlines Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service as well as this blog post focused on how frontline employee are being supported in the areas of operations, communications, and trusted experiences.
Microsoft Brings Next-Generation AI To Frontline Workers
Analyst Take: Microsoft announced new tools and integrations focused on supporting frontline workers, who make up the largest share of the workforce. Field service workers face many obstacles in their day-to-day tasks, including juggling a variety of tools that do not connect well to each other, spending too much time on manual tasks, and having difficulties finding the right information in the timeframe needed.
Microsoft has introduced Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service, a solution that will help to alleviate many of these roadblocks by using AI, supporting a better employee experience for workers and in turn, improved customer experience.
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service Focuses on Service Delivery, Technician Productivity, and Work Order Management
The preview of this new solution focuses on three areas:
- Accelerating service delivery. The receipt and management of service requests can be unwieldy. Using Copilot will save time by prepopulating the most relevant data that could include customer escalation summaries into draft work orders. A manager can then look at the orders right in their flow of work and then they can be synced to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service. Microsoft is planning further updates this fall focused on scheduling, which is always a particular pain point for frontline workers.
- Boosting technician productivity. A mobile experience for Dynamics 365 Field service was also introduced, allowing service technicians access to information quickly and on the go. Again, streamlining is supported with easy-to-use navigation, gestures, and controls for activities such as accessing driving directions, changing booking status, and looking at tasks. Extra support can be given with access to step-by-step instructions, pictures, and videos if a technician needs a bit more help with a task. The Dynamics 365 Field Service app is also in Teams, allowing workers to see upcoming work orders as a task in Microsoft Viva Connections. This set of features connects well with the experience mantra of “meet your customers/employees where they are.”
- Streamlining work order management. Microsoft has made some improvements to the work order management experience for field service workers, which is now available for early access. These include bringing the most important information to the forefront of the web experience, saving time via fewer web clicks. Information is presented in a more succinct manner, with relevant next steps provided based on booking statuses. Intelligent recaps will also be able to be created by Copilot, saving time for managers.
The Bigger Picture of Creating an End-to-End Experience for the Frontline
In an analyst briefing with the Microsoft team bringing these solutions to market, the group emphasized the company’s commitment to not only creating tools that will greatly scale up efficiencies and productivity, providing a strong case for return on investment (ROI) and improved CX, but to also better support this workforce sector who often struggle with burnout. Microsoft is focusing on not just supporting, but in transforming the frontline experience and focusing on these three pillars to accomplish this:
- Intelligent operations. This pillar basically involves using AI to reduce the tasks that are causing frontline workers to feel overloaded. Such features could include those mentioned in the Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service announcement like scheduling assistance, easier access to data, and recommendations. Microsoft indicated there are many other AI-driven enhancements in the works.
- Effortless communication. Communication with frontline workers has often been a challenge and it is so critical to building that feeling of belonging and connection that will result in increased employee engagement and reduction in costly employee churn. Integrating with Teams and having access to Viva tools such as Announcements in Microsoft Viva Connections and Targeted Campaigns in Microsoft Viva Engage can help accomplish this for frontline workers. Enhancements are also coming to the Walkie Talkie push-to-talk feature.
- Trusted experiences. With shift workers, there are compliance and privacy issues when a device is transitioned to another worker at the end of a shift. The previous worker’s data may still be active and it takes time and effort to sign in and out of applications. Windows 365 Frontline provides Cloud PCs to solve this issue, allowing workers to have a personalized and secure experience.
Microsoft already has solid footing in the frontline worker space. In a series of blog posts supporting these introductions, Microsoft revealed that over 60% of Fortune 500 companies are using Microsoft tools to support their frontline workers. Over 800 customers support more than 10,000 frontline workers each with Microsoft 365.
It’s encouraging to see attention being paid to this segment that accounts for the majority of the workforce, but yet can be somewhat neglected when it comes to technology transformation. Microsoft is only scratching the surface of its capabilities to support frontline workers with its broad range of solutions, and with the introduction of Copilot, we can expect to see a lot more innovation in this area.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
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Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
