The launch of Copilot Cowork inside Microsoft 365 shows how quickly AI is moving deeper into the tools where marketing resides. When AI can assemble research or prepare launch materials directly inside documents and spreadsheets, a lot of the operational work around campaign planning becomes compressed.

“The more interesting implication is what happens when those systems try to pull everything together in organisations where processes are undocumented or systems don’t connect properly. Tools like Cowork rely on signals across emails, files and internal data to understand context and assemble answers. If those foundations aren’t in place, the AI simply brings those issues to the surface.

“Copilot is also incorporating Claude, multiplying capabilities across platforms, but it can equally leave organisations with overlapping systems and very little visibility of what their total AI spend actually looks like.

“The problem is that AI, when it’s this deeply embedded in everyday tools, might not actually speed things up at all. In many organisations, Cowork could end up being a major reality check if it exposes how messy the underlying marketing operations actually are. 

“If they are going to slow you down it would be unwise to jump on new tools for sake of new and shiny. Instead, get those foundations in order first, then introduce them in a controlled way in order to unlock the time savings they promise.”