One of the biggest benefits of generative artificial intelligence could be its ability to help workers spend less time in meetings, according to Microsoft research. The findings are based on a survey of 1,300 people who use the company’s generative AI assistant, Copilot.
In a previous survey from Atlassian, nearly three-quarters of respondents said an overload of meetings made it hard for them to get any work done. However, nearly 40% of people who had used Copilot for 10 or more weeks shared that it allowed them to attend fewer meetings because AI-generated summaries allowed them to catch up on the highlights of the meeting without having to watch a replay or be filled in by a coworker.
“Tell your people not to worry about taking notes or listening to the recording, and instead ask AI to recap the key points,” Microsoft wrote in a blog post. “Executives can use it to summarize long documents or drawn-out email chains.”
Overall, the research found that the average user saved 14 minutes a day by using Copilot—equal to five hours a month or 1.5 workweeks in the year. The company called it an “easy win” for businesses hoping to boost productivity through the use of AI.
