Accenture to Give Microsoft 365 Copilot to 743,000 Employees

Accenture will make Microsoft 365 Copilot available to its entire workforce of 743,000 employees in 120 countries after trials that began in 2023. The company plans to extend access to the majority of staff in the coming months.

The rollout began with a few hundred select employees and senior leaders in 2023 and expanded to about 20,000 users while Accenture developed data strategy, governance and access controls and monitored how staff used the tool. By the end of last year roughly 200,000 employees had access, and the company focused on change management and scaled adoption using Viva Engage, the social app in Microsoft 365.

Internal surveys and usage data informed the decision to expand access. In a company survey, 97% of employees said they completed routine tasks up to 15 times faster when using Copilot, and 53% reported significant improvements in productivity and efficiency. One set of 200,000 licenses recorded an 89% monthly usage rate, and 84% of staff in a related survey indicated they would “deeply miss” the tool if it were removed.

Accenture emphasized governance and practical controls while broadening access, focusing on data handling, user permissions and clear guidance on day-to-day use. Training and communications were adjusted by role and function to show where Copilot could be used and to encourage leaders to model the tool for their teams.

Tony Leraris, Accenture’s chief information officer, described the rollout as an iterative process: “We were fine-tuning our adoption strategy and developing a blueprint for how it would be used in daily work.” Leraris added that the company had to demonstrate specific value to leaders before wider adoption.

Microsoft counts the Accenture agreement among its largest to date and has continued adding capabilities to the Copilot product line, including integrating other large language models and offering a product that combines external AI agents with its conversational assistant.

Academic and policy studies have reported mixed results on AI’s effect on enterprise productivity. Accenture’s Generating Impact report noted a widening gap in how organizations convert AI adoption into broader performance changes, with many workers using the technology mainly for routine tasks.