The Intelligence Age

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In this episode, Edine Olijve-Watkinson explores practical ways Microsoft 365 Copilot, Loop, Planner and emerging AI agents improve daily productivity, collaboration and decision making. It highlights real use cases, evolving tools and the shift toward AI supported workflows across organisations. 

🎙️ Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/796

👉 What you’ll learn      

• How Microsoft 365 Copilot supports personal efficiency
• How AI agents extend productivity across meetings and workflows
• How Loop, Copilot pages and notebooks support flexible collaboration
• How metadata and information architecture improve Copilot performance
• How professionals can upskill across Copilot Studio, agents and Azure AI Foundry
 
✅ Highlights      

• “My area of specialty is Microsoft 365 and then especially the collaboration and the productivity side of things.” 
• “We see a lot of shifts towards agents.” 
• “Using Microsoft 365 Copilot for personal efficiency, just as your little personal intern.” 
• “The facilitator agent… joins your meeting and keeps track and then takes your meeting notes for you.” 
• “The knowledge agent is also very good at adding metadata columns to your SharePoint sites.”
• “I completely started to learn where Loop stores something, how you can retain it, how you can save it.” 
• “I use Loop in your daily work, and not just Loop, but also Copilot pages and Copilot notebooks.” 
• “You can make some really nice infographics with it.” 
• “Everything you create gets created in your company’s style.” 
• “I definitely want to learn how to use agents more in my workflow.” 
• “I also want to dive deeper into Azure AI Foundry.” 
• “It was completely new to me… I never really touched Azure in any way.”

🧰 Mentioned       

• Microsoft 365 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365   
• SharePoint - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration 
• Microsoft Copilot - https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
• Microsoft Copilot Studio - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio/ 
• Azure AI Foundry - https://ai.azure.com/ 
• Microsoft Loop - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-loop
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords     
microsoft 365, copilot, agents, loop, planner, sharepoint, metadata, productivity, azure ai foundry, collaboration, meetings, workflows 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
A focused conversation on why AI agents will define 2026, how governance must evolve, and the practical skills business and tech professionals need to stay relevant. The episode explores the shift from Power Platform governance to AI‑first governance, the rise of agent orchestration, and the critical importance of data security, testing, and prompt engineering. Listeners gain clear guidance on adapting their roles, scaling responsibly, and preparing for an agent‑driven future. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/795

🎙️ What you’ll learn   

• How AI agents are reshaping governance expectations across organisations 
• Practical steps to evolve your skills for an AI‑centred workflow 
• How to balance innovation with safe, secure agent deployment 
• Why data security and red‑team style testing matter more than ever 
• How to identify when to use Copilot Studio versus Foundry 

✅ Highlights  

• “2026 feels like when people actually start doubling down and taking it seriously.” 
• “AI will not take your job. AI will just change your job.” 
• “How do I become an agent boss?”  
• “Governance does not have to slow innovation.”  
• “You can’t ignore this big thing called AI because you’re going to lose competitive advantage.” 
• “Testing an agent is completely different.”  
• “Prompt engineering is a big one.”  
• “There are now more moving parts… you can’t just get away with building an app anymore.”  
• “My mindset needs to shift from doing things manually to validating what AI gives me.”  
• “Next year is going to be doubling down a lot of that… it’s here, let’s embrace it.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Microsoft Power Platform: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform 
• Copilot Studio: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-copilot-studio/ [microsoft.com] 
• Foundry: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/ai-foundry/ 
• Microsoft Entra: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/fundamentals/what-is-entra 
• Microsoft Purview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/purview 

✅Keywords   
ai agents, governance, power platform, copilot studio, foundry, data security, prompt engineering, red teaming, power automate, power fx, entra, microsoft purview 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

This episode explores how AI can transform leadership by analysing real conversational behaviour, reducing bias and giving leaders immediate insight into their communication style. The discussion covers how leadership differs from management, why early‑career support is often missing, and how continuous feedback can shorten the development gap for new leaders. Listeners gain a practical view of how leadership intelligence works and what it means for team clarity, alignment and growth.

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/794    

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• How AI analyses everyday conversations to reveal leadership patterns 
• How to identify gaps between perceived and actual leadership behaviour 
• How real‑time feedback improves clarity, alignment and team dynamics 
• How to shorten the long development gap for early‑career leaders 
• How psycholinguistics and trend data support better leadership decisions 

✅ Highlights 

• “We explore real‑world AI applications, share practical insights, and discuss how businesses are implementing responsible, ethical, and trustworthy AI.” 
• “Parafoil analyses how you lead in the work.” 
• “By measuring pronouns and prepositions you can work out all sorts of things.” 
• “It gives you an analysis of how each conversation’s gone after the fact.” 
• “You don’t have to recount what happened to a chatbot.” 
• “A problem never gets better with time.” 
• “Leadership can only really be learned through the doing of the do.” 
• “Most managers consider themselves to be accidental.” 
• “How do we help people earlier in their career and not have a ten year delta” 
• “His communication style really shifted over the course of the next two to three weeks.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Parafoil - https://parafoil.co/  
• Microsoft AI - https://microsoft.ai/  
• Google – www.google.com  

✅Keywords 
ai, leadership, management, psycholinguistics, feedback, teams, communication, alignment, leadership development, leadership intelligence, product, coaching 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

This episode with Michael Plettner explores how organisations move from AI curiosity to practical, business focused implementation. You will learn why user adoption and leadership support matter, how teams shift from generic Copilot use to targeted process improvement, and how the EU AI Act is pushing companies toward more mature and responsible AI practices.

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/793

🎙️What you’ll learn      

• How to evaluate AI opportunities based on real business value 
• How to move from Copilot centric thinking to case driven AI strategy 
• How leadership buy in affects adoption and trust 
• How to align AI projects with the EU AI Act 
• How agents and agent communication can streamline work 

✅ Highlights 

• “User adoption is not training.” 
• “There is often a lack of trust in the business.” 
• “Get off the AI hype and talk about what is really good for the business.” 
• “Sometimes an expectation from customers where they think they understood which tool is the best.” 
• “If someone is not convinced then it is not working.” 
• “We have some railguards to protect how we want to use AI for better good.” 
• “Now we have a more mature thinking about AI.” 
• “Agents are the future from my point of view.” 
• “They can really solve some steps in your daily work.” 
• “The technology in this area is on light speed.” 

🧰 Mentioned      

• Microsoft 365: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365 
• Microsoft Teams: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app 
• SharePoint: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/sharepoint/collaboration 
• Power Platform: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords       
ai, copilot, user adoption, business processes, microsoft 365, teams, sharepoint, power platform, dynamics, eu ai act, agents, change management 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 

John Rood shares how organisations can unlock real value from AI by balancing innovation, governance, and compliance. Learn why robust frameworks, practical training, and a bottom-up approach are key to sustainable AI adoption and risk management. 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/792 

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• How to implement effective AI governance without stifling innovation 
• Practical steps for building an AI management system 
• The role of ISO 42001 and the EU AI Act in compliance 
• Strategies to drive AI adoption and avoid shadow AI 
• How to design ongoing AI literacy programmes for all staff 

 ✅ Highlights 

• “A poorly designed policy, I think, does stifle innovation. I think a well-conceived policy manages that trade-off.” 
• “Shadow AI happens because organisations go buy an AI product and then lock it down.” 
• “Our first recommendation… is that you’ve got to have someone to champion AI initiatives.” 
• “Most organisations will start either from ISO 42001, or… the NIST AI risk management framework.” 
• “The idea is we’re not just trying to put together a set of policies… What we’re trying to create is a living process.” 
• “A great AI management system defines who has to get trained in what, and then make sure that actually happens on a regular basis.” 
• “If your customers knew how you treat their data, they might not be your customers anymore.” 
• “The top-down programmes tend to go poorly, whereas the… bottom-up programmes tend to do much better.” 
• “When we are able to empower more people… we start to build the organisation’s muscle.” 
• “The first step… is always regulatory.” 
• “EU AI Act is written… to be extraordinarily broad.” 
• “At the top of the pyramid, there’s a certain set of fairly robust training or literacy requirements that should be for whoever’s actually making the AI.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• ISO 42001: https://www.iso.org/standard/42001  
• EU AI Act: https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/the-act/  
• NIST AI risk management framework: https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework  
• GDPR: https://gdpr.eu/ 

✅Keywords 
ai governance, iso 42001, eu ai act, compliance, shadow ai, risk management, ai management system, ai literacy, bottom-up adoption, regulatory, data privacy, nist framework 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
This episode explores practical ways to drive Copilot adoption across an organisation. Heather Severino shares clear guidance on identifying early champions, building cross functional readiness, reducing resistance, and designing effective training. She explains how tools such as Loop, Teams, Clipchamp and Copilot features support collaboration, productivity and engagement. The conversation provides a grounded look at how to help teams build confidence with AI and create sustained, secure and well supported usage.

🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/791

👉 What you’ll learn       

• How to identify early adopters who accelerate Copilot uptake 
• How to design training that builds confidence and practical skills 
• How to prepare IT and support teams for Copilot readiness 
• How to use questioning techniques to uncover high value use cases 
• How to support teams with tools like Loop, Teams and Clipchamp 

✅ Highlights      

• “You want to find the people that are curious about it.” 
• “Success to me is that they’re using it, looking at those reports.” 
• “We want to come up with a policy for usage and have some of those guardrails in place.” 
• “They wanted to have everything in place before they did it.” 
• “Find the people that are curious about anything that is cutting edge.” 
• “Those are usually the people that are going to want to dig in and learn.” 
• “I am getting more questions about agents recently.” 
• “The facilitator agent is also great about keeping you on track.” 
• “There is some confusion about OneNote and Loop.” 
• “I would love to see more crossover and uniformity.” 
• “Create was one of those aha moments.” 
• “Clipchamp has a lot of the AI capabilities built into it.” 

🧰 Mentioned       

• Microsoft 365 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365 
• Copilot - https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
• LinkedIn Learning - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/ 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords     
copilot, adoption, microsoft 365, loop, onenote, teams, clipchamp, training, ai skills, power platform, productivity, change management 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Discover practical strategies with Dan Barber for overcoming imposter syndrome, building resilient tech teams, and leveraging AI as an ally. Learn how consulting skills, clear goals, and supportive cultures drive success in technology and AI-driven environments.

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/790

🎙️ What you’ll learn   

• Apply actionable tools to overcome imposter syndrome 
• Build and retain high-performing technology teams 
• Use AI to boost confidence and productivity 
• Strengthen consulting skills for business impact 
• Foster cultures of trust, feedback, and continuous improvement 

✅ Highlights 

• “AI can help you with a blank canvas and turn a blank canvas into a starter for 10th, and get you moving, get you motivating, break that blank page sort of fear and anxiety that gets built up.”  
• “Brag list is something I do myself and I also encourage others to do.” 
• “You develop this network where you don’t have to be the font of all knowledge.” 
• “Having that sensible conversation, I think we are losing that.” 
• “You’re not just a developer. You are a consultant.” 
• “If you don’t feel, if you feel like you’re just being managed, again, that just becomes you being a number again.”  
• “Build the right culture, you have that mentality from everyone.” 
• “If you have them all, it’s not going to make you motivated. It’s just going to bring you to break even, if you like.”  
• “You’ve got to look at some of these other variables and they are, they’re so important, you know, and yes, they take time.”  
• “Let’s rebuild your vision. Let’s realign to your vision.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Microsoft Power Platform: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform  
• Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us  
• Dynamics: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us  
• Business Central: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/products/business-central  
• Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/  

✅Keywords   
ai, imposter syndrome, consulting skills, tech teams, power platform, business central, azure, dynamics, copilot, culture, feedback, continuous improvement 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Explore how Andy Sitison uses AI-powered storytelling to uncover hidden patterns, build trust, and drive meaningful engagement. Learn why human connection, agility, and intent are essential for businesses navigating rapid technological change. Gain practical insights from Andy on leveraging AI as a creative tool and fostering a culture of trust and adaptability. 
 

👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/789  

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• Identify actionable ways to use AI for analysing customer stories 
• Build trust and engagement through authentic storytelling 
• Apply agility and intent to stay ahead in tech-driven markets 
• Develop internal AI skills and centres of excellence 
• Move beyond traditional advertising to foster genuine community connection 

✅ Highlights 

• “We explore real-world AI applications, share practical insights, and discuss how businesses are implementing responsible, ethical, and trustworthy AI.” 
• “We help them find the signal in the noise… AI allows us to find those unique patterns.” 
• “Giving them the voice itself is important.” 
• “Stories are more primitive… there’s a natural imprinting on us that does that.” 
• “Telling a human, bringing a story to the table is going to naturally connect with humans.” 
• “Tech is one of those things we need to ride like a surfboard.” 
• “Companies should consider… planet, society, economy.” 
• “Trust is a heck of a sales tool. If you can find a way to help people trust you and your brand, genuinely trust it, it’s gold.” 
• “First thing for companies to do to tell a better story of their customers is look internal with these technologies to make their team better.” 
• “People are tired of ads. Your ads don’t work.” 

🧰 Mentioned 

• Machine learning - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/create-machine-learn-models/  
• Generative AI - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/playbook/technology-guidance/generative-ai/  
• Center of excellence model - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/guidance/coe/overview  

✅Keywords 
ai, storytelling, business, technology, trust, agility, customer engagement, centre of excellence, community, human connection, brand, creative tool 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
Discover how organisations are building practical AI capability with Microsoft Copilot, Zero Trust, and robust data security. Learn actionable strategies for readiness, compliance, and continuous professional development in a rapidly evolving tech landscape featuring insights from Sam Brazier-Hollins.

🎙️ Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/788

👉 What you’ll learn     

• Assess Copilot readiness and secure sensitive data before deployment 
• Apply Zero Trust principles and simplify data labelling for real-world use 
• Use Copilot to streamline meetings, notes, and executive summaries 
• Identify and address over-shared information risks in M365 
• Build a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing in tech teams 

✅ Highlights     

• “We call it a M365 Copilot readiness assessment, where we go and look at your data.” 
• “Zero Trust is a great one. It spikes up every sort of year.” 
• “Data labelling is really key. Keep it simple so users don’t overthink.” 
• “Copilot is so powerful at finding information that’s been lost somewhere.” 
• “Mandatory labelling: before you can hit save, you have to enforce it there.” 
• “Meeting recordings and Teams notes - Copilot can summarise, give action items, and minutes.” 
• “The value of having this licence is we’ve saved 2 man hours of this consultant.” 
• “Security Copilot is really good at certain use cases. Some predefined ones work exactly as they say on the tin.” 
• “Continuous professional development - can’t just rely on what you knew last month or last year.” 
• “The best person in the team isn’t the person who’s got the most information. It’s the person who’s best at sharing.” 
• “Microsoft’s changing those things, they’re now disabling basic authentication, great.” 
• “It’s constantly changing and there’s a bit of that sort of almost gamification of it.” 

 🧰 Mentioned     

• Microsoft 365 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365 
• Microsoft Copilot - https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
• Purview - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/microsoft-purview 
• Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 

✅ Keywords      
copilot, zero trust, data labelling, security, microsoft 365, purview, compliance, teams, sharepoint online, professional development, knowledge sharing, australian government 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

A practical discussion with Mary Pantelopoulou on quantifying and realising business value from AI and low code, using the Business Value Assessment to tie Power Platform, M365 Copilot, and autonomous agents to top‑line growth, cost reduction, risk mitigation, and redesigned processes that free people to focus on higher‑value work.

👉️ Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/787

🎙️ What you’ll learn  

• Frame AI investments with a clear business value model tied to strategic objectives 
• Identify and quantify use cases using benchmarks and customer scenarios 
• Move beyond time savings to decisions on how freed time is used 
• Rethink processes for AI, not just automate existing steps 
• Apply autonomous agents to transform CRM/ERP into intelligent platforms 

 ✅ Highlights  

• “It feels like when the internet was introduced… a big disruptive thing.” 
• “Our focus is business applications, Power Platform, and recently M365 Copilot.” 
• “We help customers quantify: if I’m spending $1, how much am I getting in return?” 
• “We use our own technology—customer zero—to benchmark and quantify value.” 
• “What do you actually do with this time… that’s the most interesting.” 
• “Think about your processes, but rethink them.” 
• “AI is becoming the backbone of our modern business applications.” 
• “We’ve brought modern work and business applications together in a team called ABS.” 
• “Pre‑built autonomous agents in sales, service, finance, supply chain, and customer insights.” 
• “Traditional CRM and ERP are transformed into intelligent platforms.” 

 🧰 Mentioned 

• Business Value Assessment (BVA) tool - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/guidance/coe/business-value-toolkit 
• Power Platform - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform 
• M365 Copilot - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot 
• Agents / autonomous agents - https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/10/21/new-autonomous-agents-scale-your-team-like-never-before/ 
• Customer zero - https://www.microsoft.com/insidetrack/blog/inside-microsoft-being-customer-zero-in-an-ai-powered-world/ 
• Contact center productivity - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/products/contact-center 

✅Keywords 
ai, power platform, business value assessment, m365 copilot, autonomous agents, crm, erp, productivity, one microsoft, finance, contact center, low‑code 

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith