Introduction
If you're using Dynamics 365, you're likely familiar with Microsoft's consistent release of new features and functionality throughout the year.
These updates span all Dynamics 365 apps—Sales, Field Service, Finance, Business Central, and more—and are typically grouped into two major release waves, each rolling out over a six-month period.
The latest release, Dynamics 365 2024 Release Wave 2, runs from October 2024 through March 2025.
With so many changes across various Dynamics apps, it can be overwhelming to keep track of everything.
To make it easier, we’ve created this two-part blog series focused solely on the new functionality and enhancements for Sales.
Part 1 of this series covers Microsoft's flagship Sales app, Dynamics 365 Sales.
Part 2 (this blog) will spotlight Microsoft’s newer sales tool, Copilot for Sales.
Microsoft’s objective with this release wave is clear: to streamline operations, improve decision-making, and help sales teams close deals faster.
This blog will provide an overview of Copilot for Sales features and go into detail on the new Application experiences and Outlook features introduced in Release Wave 2.
Let’s jump in.
Overview: Microsoft Copilot for Sales
Microsoft released Copilot for Sales on February 1, 2024.
Copilot for Sales is an AI assistant that seamlessly integrates with either Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales or Salesforce.com.
It integrates with your standard Microsoft 365 applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Word.
It is designed to help sellers maximize productivity and begin chipping away at the daily mundane tasks that take sellers away from working and closing deals.
Enhanced Teams app: The existing Sales Copilot Teams app and Outlook add-in have been upgraded to a single enhanced Teams app.
Better together experience: Copilot for Sales combines the power of your CRM application with Microsoft 365 Copilot. It provides an AI-optimized, out –of-the-box experience enriched with role specific insights and recommendations.
Copilot for Sales is a powerful AI-driven tool designed to enhance sales productivity by integrating intelligent assistance into your day-to-day tasks.
From automating routine activities to providing valuable insights, Copilot for Sales aims to empower sales teams to work smarter and more efficiently.
Are all Sales Copilots the Same?
The term "Copilot" can cause confusion since Microsoft uses it across multiple products.
It's important to understand that Copilot for Sales is a distinct product and is not the same as the Copilot functionality found within Dynamics 365 Sales.
In Dynamics 365 Sales, Copilot refers to the AI assistant embedded within the model-driven sales app, as shown below:
This AI-powered tool uses generative AI to help summarize opportunities, leads, and meeting notes.
It also provides natural language experiences that allow you to ask questions about your sales records and receive quick, time-saving responses such as:
Summarizing account, opportunity, or lead records
Listing changes to recently updated sales records
Recommending content from SharePoint
Assisting with preparation for upcoming meetings
Helping compose professional, polished emails
Copilot for Sales takes these capabilities a step further. It's designed as a seller experience that integrates directly into your standard Microsoft 365 productivity apps, such as Teams, Outlook, and Word. This means you can capture, access, and update CRM data directly from these apps without needing to switch between different platforms.
Copilot for Sales can be configured to work with your Sales data either in Dynamics 365 Sales or Salesforce.com.
Microsoft Copilot for Sales: Licensing
Now that we’ve distinguished Copilot for Sales from the embedded AI features in Dynamics 365 Sales, let’s address another common point of confusion - licensing.
Navigating Microsoft’s licensing structure can be tricky, and Copilot for Sales is no exception.
First, it's important to note that Dynamics 365 Sales (Enterprise or Premium) customers do get some teaser features of Copilot for Sales - such as AI assistance with email replies - as part of their Dynamics 365 license.
However, these limited capabilities are just a glimpse of what the full Copilot for Sales product can do.
For full access, the Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales license is priced at $50 per user/month, which includes both Microsoft 365 Copilot and the Copilot Sales Agent.
If you’ve already purchased Microsoft 365 Copilot, you can add on the Copilot Sales Agent for an additional $20 per user/month.
For those using Dynamics 365 Sales Premium, you will still need to purchase a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot license, which costs $30 per user/month.
For a more detailed comparison of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales licenses, check out our blog post: Compare Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Licenses
Note: Copilot for Sales is not available for the on-premise version of Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement.
Microsoft Copilot for Sales: What’s new in Wave 2:
In Microsoft Dynamics 365’s 2024 release wave 2, Copilot for Sales introduces AI-powered tools to improve sales workflows, foster better customer relationships, and drive higher productivity.
The image below shows the Microsoft Copilot for Sales experience inside Microsoft Teams.
These updates focus on empowering sales managers with pipeline insights, assisting sellers in lead generation, and integrating Copilot for Sales into both Microsoft Outlook and Teams for seamless task management.
With the help of natural language capabilities, sellers can ask data-related questions in CRM, making it easier to stay focused on important tasks without switching between applications.
Application Experiences
Copilot for Sales integrates with multiple Microsoft 365 productivity applications to streamline sales workflows. The focus for Wave 2 will be improvements to Teams and Outlook, including:
SalesChat: (GA Feb 2025) An AI assistant in your Teams chat experience that helps sellers navigate emails, transcripts, and CRM data to ask natural language questions and receive insights.
Create Opportunities from Meeting Summaries: (GA Nov 2024) Allows sellers to capture and generate opportunities directly from meeting summaries in Teams, ensuring data accuracy.
Update CRM Directly from Post-Meeting Insights: (GA Mar 2025) Sellers can save meeting notes, create records, and update CRM directly from teams.
Leverage Manager Dashboards to Coach Sellers: (GA Oct 2024) Sales managers gain access to detailed insights into seller behaviors and customer interactions through the manager dashboard, helping them coach their teams more effectively.
Managers can view key metrics such as customer sentiment, conversation patterns that close deals, and seller performance over time.
The dashboard offers filters like call time, conversation length, and campaign data to help managers assess and adjust sales strategies to improve overall performance.
Microsoft Outlook Experience
Copilot for Sales will expand functionality into Outlook for Mobile (GA Mar 2025) and provide personalized insights, helping sellers stay connected and productive in the field, including:
AI-assisted drafting of emails and meeting summaries.
Summarize customer interactions and generate follow-up actions.
Tracking Outlook activities to CRM
Creating and editing CRM Contact
These enhancements ensure that sellers can focus on their key priorities, whether through integrated workflows across applications or smart AI assistance that improves efficiency in communication and customer engagement.
Copilot for Sales is set to become an indispensable tool for driving sales success in the upcoming year.
Summary
In this blog, we’ve explored the new features and enhancements introduced in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales as part of the 2024 Release Wave 2. This release aims to improve productivity and boost sales outcomes with AI-powered enhancements in Teams and Outlook.
We also discussed how licensing works for Copilot for Sales and the differences between the standard Dynamics 365 Sales Copilot and this more advanced tool.
As a sales leader, are you ready to embrace these technological advancements? With AI playing an increasingly important role in sales, can your team afford to lag behind competitors who are leveraging these tools to close deals faster and more efficiently?
To help you navigate these changes, consider our Optrua Care Plan. Our expert strategic and technical services can help you get the most from your investment in Dynamics 365 - improve productivity, streamline Sales, and close more deals.
Let us help you unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales and stay ahead in today’s fast-paced sales environment.
About the Author
Ryan Redmond is the founder of Optrua, specializing in CRM and business process optimization. Ryan channeled his passion for efficiency from lessons learned in the Navy to his work today.
He helps businesses streamline technology to improve employee and customer experiences and empower teams to work smarter, not harder, without unnecessary overhead.
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn.
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