How the Paperclip Company Built Their AI Foundation with Microsoft 365 Copilot
Learn practical Copilot adoption techniques with business use cases through our story-based series.
At Paperclip Co., the team has come a long way since their first sessions with Alex. Emma, Liam, and Sophie have each built confidence using Microsoft 365 Copilot to handle the routine
parts of their day; summarising emails, drafting content, and managing follow-ups.
Now it’s time to go further. Level 2 is about using that foundation to do something more powerful: understanding customers better, communicating with them more personally, and responding to their needs faster. Alex is back – and this time, the bar is higher.
Where the Team is Now
Emma, the Office Manager
Emma took to Copilot faster than anyone expected in Level 1. She’s saving time on emails and her calendar is finally under control. But when Alex told her Level 2 would involve spotting patterns in data, she wasn’t so sure. “I manage the diary,” she said. “I’m not an analyst.”
Liam, the Marketing Manager
Liam went from sceptic to convert. He’s using the “Remember:” technique regularly and his content output has noticeably improved. He’s ready to go deeper and excited to learn how Copilot can help him tailor his messaging to different audiences.
Sophie, the Sales Assistant
Sophie found Level 1 immediately practical. Her follow-ups are faster and more consistent. Now she wants to know how Copilot can help her team handle customer issues more efficiently, especially when things get busy.
Alex’s Introduction
“Welcome back, everyone. I’m really proud of what you’ve each achieved since Level one. You’ve proven that AI doesn’t have to be complicated, it just needs to start somewhere useful.
But saving time is just the beginning. Copilot becomes even more powerful when you start using it to make smarter decisions, connect with customers more personally, and respond faster when it matters. That’s what Level 2 is all about. We’re moving from working more efficiently to working more intelligently.
Our three themes today are:
Analyse customer behaviour How to use AI to spot patterns and surface insights you’d never have time to find manually.
Personalise communication at scale Going beyond one-size-fits-all messaging to reach the right people with the right words.
Accelerate case resolution Resolve customer issues faster without sacrificing quality.
One thing I’ll say upfront: this level might feel like a stretch for some of you. That’s fine. That’s the point. Let’s get started.”
Level 2: Accelerate Engagement
Emma the office manager’s lesson
Alex: Emma, you’ve been brilliant at using Copilot for emails and scheduling. How’s it going day to day?
Emma: Honestly, really well. I’ve saved so much time on my inbox. But you mentioned we’d be looking at data today and I have to be honest, that sounds like it’s above my pay
grade. I manage the office, I don’t do analysis.
Alex: I completely understand that feeling. But here’s what I want to show you: you don’t need to be an analyst. You just need to ask the right questions. Copilot can do the heavy lifting.
Emma: What kind of questions?
Alex: Think about your week. Are there certain times when the meeting rooms are always double-booked? Certain team members who seem overwhelmed while others have quiet patches?
Emma: Oh, all the time. Friday afternoons are chaos. And I’ve noticed a couple of people always seem to be in back-to-back meetings while others have huge gaps
Alex: Exactly. That’s data, and Copilot can help you surface it. Try typing: “Summarise meeting patterns from the last four weeks. Identify any recurring conflicts or overloaded time slots.”
Emma: Okay… oh, that’s actually really interesting. It’s flagging Friday afternoons and showing me which team members have the most back-to-back sessions.
Alex: Now you’re not just managing the diary, you’re understanding it. Try this next: “Which team members have had more than five consecutive meeting hours in a single day this month?”
Emma: It’s listing three names. I had a feeling, but I didn’t have the proof before.
Alex: Now you do. You can use that insight to discuss with the managers.
Emma: I hadn’t thought of it that way. I suppose I was thinking analysis meant spreadsheets and formulas.
Alex: Copilot handles all of that. You just ask the question in plain English. One more, try: “Are there any recurring meeting series that have low attendance? Summarise which ones and how often.”
Emma: This is going to save so many unnecessary meetings. I can see three recurring calls where half the invitees never show up.
Liam the marketing manager’s lesson
Alex: Liam, you’ve been getting great mileage from the “Remember:” technique. How’s it going?
Liam: Much better. I’m producing more and it sounds on brand. But I’ve been wondering we send the same newsletter to everyone. Not everyone wants the same content.
Alex: That’s exactly what Level 2 is about. Copilot can help you move from one message for everyone to the right message for the right person.
Liam: That sounds like it could take forever to do manually.
Alex: It used to. But with Copilot, you can segment and tailor at scale without writing everything from scratch. Let’s start in Word. Now let’s say you have two customer segments: eco-conscious buyers who specifically chose you for sustainability reasons, and price-sensitive small businesses who just want reliable, affordable clips. Try this: “Write two versions of our monthly newsletter introduction. Version one is for environmentally motivated customers, emphasising our sustainability credentials. Version two is for cost-focused small businesses,
emphasising value and reliability.”
Liam: Wow, they’re genuinely different. Same news, completely different angle. This would have taken me a couple of hours before.
Alex: And that’s just the introduction. You can do the same for subject lines, calls to action, even the sign-off. Now try this: ask Copilot to analyse which topics might resonate most with each group: “Based on what we know about eco-conscious customers, suggest five content ideas that would engage
them specifically.”
Liam: These are actually good. Sustainability certifications, behind-the-scenes of our manufacturing process, carbon offset updates… These aren’t things I’d have thought to prioritise.
Alex: And for the other segment?
Liam: “Suggest five content ideas for price-sensitive small business customers.” Bulk order tips, a cost comparison guide, a loyalty reward spotlight… yes, that’s very different territory.
Alex: Now you’re not just creating content quickly, you’re creating content strategically. But remember –
Liam: Always check what it generates. I know, I know.
Sophie the sales assistant’s lesson
Sophie: Hi Alex. Thanks for your last lesson. The follow-up drafts alone have saved me so much back and forth. But we’re getting more customer queries than ever and sometimes it feels like we’re always one step behind.
Alex: That’s where Level 2 really shines. Rather than just responding faster, Copilot can help you resolve issues better by pulling together the full context of a customer’s situation before
you even start typing.
Sophie: How do you mean?
Alex: When a customer contacts you with a problem, how long does it take to get up to speed on their history?
Sophie: Honestly, sometimes ten or fifteen minutes. Digging through emails, checking notes, trying to remember where we left off last time.
Alex: Let’s fix that. Open Teams, pull up a customer thread and open the Copilot pane. Try: “Summarise this customer’s recent issues, any unresolved queries, and our last response.”
Sophie: That’s… everything I need, right there. It’s even flagged that we promised to follow up on a delivery query three weeks ago and never did.
Alex: Exactly. Now you’re responding with full context. Next, let’s say the customer is unhappy about a delayed order. Rather than starting from scratch, try: “Draft a response to a customer who is frustrated about a late delivery. Acknowledge the delay, apologise sincerely, and offer a clear next step.”
Sophie: That’s a solid draft. I just need to add the specific order details and it’s ready.
Alex: And it took you about thirty seconds. Now let’s think bigger, when the same type of issue keeps coming up, Copilot can help you spot the pattern. Try: “Looking at recent customer communications, are there any recurring complaints or themes I should flag to the team?”
Sophie: It’s pulling up three separate mentions of packaging damage this month. I hadn’t connected those as a pattern, I just dealt with each one individually.
Alex: And now you are helping prevent cases!
What the team learned & what’s next
The Paperclip Co. team has taken a significant step forward. With Alex’s guidance, Emma, Liam, and Sophie have moved beyond saving time on admin and into using Copilot to make genuinely smarter decisions.
Here’s a recap of what they learned:
Emma (Office Manager) used Copilot to analyse meeting patterns, identify overloaded team members, and surface low-attendance recurring calls, turning her diary management role into a source of operational insight.
Liam (Marketing Manager) used Copilot to create segmented content for different customer audiences, tailoring newsletters, subject lines, and content ideas to resonate with each group, without doubling his workload.
Sophie (Sales Assistant) used Copilot to get instant full-context summaries of customer histories, draft faster and more empathetic responses, and identify recurring complaint patterns to bring to the wider team.
In summary, Level 2 is about shifting from efficiency to intelligence. Each of these three found a moment of doubt before the session and a moment of surprise by the end. That’s exactly how AI adoption should feel.