Copilot for Sales vs Dynamics 365 Sales: Choosing Sides

Navigating Microsoft’s suite of AI tools can feel like deciphering a complex family tree — especially surrounding two cousins on that tree: Microsoft Copilot for Sales vs Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales. While their names and functionalities suggest a shared lineage, these are distinct applications designed for different purposes. In this post, we’re cutting through the similarities to highlight the unique features, integration points, and use cases, clarifying how and why your sales team might choose one. 

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales 

With its advanced AI assistant integrated directly within Dynamics 365 Sales, this Copilot tool is ideal for busy sales professionals looking to optimize their daily tasks. Here’s a closer look at what Copilot for Dynamics 365 Sales brings. 

Key Capabilities  

1. Record Summarization
   Copilot provides quick summaries of opportunity and lead records, pulling information from predefined fields customizable by administrators. Your sales teams gain immediate access to the most relevant information tailored to their specific business needs.

2. Tracking Recent Changes
   Stay updated with any leads, opportunities, and account record modifications. Copilot’s ability to summarize recent changes from the audit history helps sales teams stay out in front.

3. Meeting Preparation
   Sales reps can ask Copilot to summarize pertinent details from related opportunity or lead records, so they walk (or conference) into meetings well-informed and ready to engage.

4. Email Assistance
   Copilot extends its functionality to email, assisting in composing professional emails, summarizing email threads for customer notes, and reminding users to follow up on pending communications.

5. News Updates
   Keeping current with the latest news about accounts is crucial for meaningful customer interactions. Copilot fetches the latest relevant news articles, providing valuable insights into the dynamics of customers’ organizations.

6. Optional Extended Integration

Copilot is also available as an add-in in Outlook and an integrated app in Teams. The add-in and Teams app have generative AI capabilities such as record summarization and email content generation. Just to confuse things, this extended integration is provided by Microsoft Copilot for Sales. More about that below.  

Copilot for Sales 

Copilot for Sales is a smart choice for organizations looking for broad AI capabilities throughout their CRM and Microsoft 365 applications. (Note: Copilot for Sales is the new name for Sales Copilot, not a new branch of the family tree.) Here, we highlight its key features and discuss why it might be the go-to choice for organizations looking for a comprehensive, AI-enhanced sales support system. Read more about the benefits of Copilot for Sales here.   

Key Capabilities  

1. Record Summarization and Updates
   The tool summarizes opportunities and leads concisely, pulling information from your CRM systems to deliver quick insights within Outlook and Teams. It also tracks and summarizes recent changes to these records, keeping sales teams informed of any updates.

2. Content Creation for Sales
   Copilot for Sales facilitates the generation of sales meeting preparation briefs in Microsoft Word, utilizing CRM and Microsoft Graph data to create personalized content for each engagement.

3. Real-Time Sales Call Insights
   Within Teams, the assistant offers real-time insights during sales calls, including summaries of past interactions, CRM information, sales tips, and competitor insights designed to enhance the quality of sales discussions.

4. Email Interaction Enhancement
   Copilot for Sales improves email communications by generating summaries and drafts with CRM insights, including BANT assessments. The drafts include relevant product and opportunity information to streamline follow-up processes.

5. Meeting Summaries and Task Creation
   Use Copilot for Sales to analyze meetings and provide summaries that include keywords, conversation analysis, mentions of competitors, and KPIs. It can suggest actionable tasks based on these summaries, which can be directly integrated into CRM tasks, enhancing post-meeting follow-ups and strategy adjustments.

6. Customization and Data Integration
   Copilot for Sales allows for extensive customization to align with organizational needs, including selecting and ordering CRM fields displayed in Outlook and Teams. Its capabilities extend through Power Platform connectors, including internal and external data sources, to inform sales insights and actions.

How to Choose Between the Two 

How should your organization decide which one of these tools is the right fit? While the two tools share many features and functionality, there are distinct differences that will guide your decision.  

Choosing Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales over other solutions boils down to its deep integration with the Dynamics 365 ecosystem and its specialized capabilities tailored for sales productivity. For organizations already leveraging Dynamics 365, Copilot offers a frictionless experience, with AI capabilities designed to complement and enhance the existing CRM environment.  

For organizations that operate beyond the Dynamics 365 environment or use a mix of CRM and sales tools, Copilot for Sales is an ideal solution. Its strength lies in its flexibility and the breadth of its AI capabilities, making it a versatile assistant that adapts to a wide range of sales processes and systems. Copilot for Sales is tool-agnostic, so sales teams can benefit from AI assistance regardless of the specific technologies they rely on. 

Get rid of repetitive task, create creative content, and make data-driven decisions. Copilot is poised to deliver on the promise of technology. Understand Copilot’s capabilities and how they can best fit in your company’s workflow and goals. Contact us to learn more.