Microsoft Copilot users worked with more colleagues, not fewer, workplace study finds

Researchers at Bocconi University posted a study to arXiv using Microsoft Viva Insights activity logs from a large multinational consumer products company, covering 12,040 employees and focused on one business unit observed from September 2024 to September 2025 as Microsoft Copilot rolled out in stages. In the first three months after adopting Copilot, workers spent about 1.4 more hours a month on meetings, calls, emails and chats they initiated, though the authors’ average over the full period was not statistically significant; adopters interacted with about 2.2 more distinct colleagues, which the authors attribute to workers seeking others to interpret and verify AI output. Their networks became less clustered and they leaned more on colleagues they already had strong ties with; the authors caution that the data come from one business unit of one company.