Corporate Communications Blog articles

AI for Communicators: What Copilot Adoption Actually Looks Like

LaurelD — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:30:28 GMT

Next month, we’re looking at what Copilot adoption success means and how communicators can lead, not just support it. Join Sarah Lundy (Microsoft Viva Engage) and Alex Snyder (Foot Locker) for a practical, communicator‑focused look at Copilot adoption in the real world, on Thursday April 2^nd at 8 am PT. Drawing from the journeys at Foot Locker and Microsoft, this session explores how human‑led change, communities, and peer learning helped drive adoption.

If you missed the session, catch up on the recording, view the slides and Foot Locker's adoption playbook below:

Alex and Sarah will explore real‑world examples like Copilot Adoption Communities, campaigns, events, and frontline‑aware scenarios. You’ll learn how communications teams can elevate their role in the AI transformation—connecting people, technology, and purpose in meaningful ways.

Get a peek behind the curtains and learn how to drive successful Copilot adoption whether you’re a communicator, change manager or IT practitioner.

Sarah Lundy, is currently a Sr Customer Experience Program Manager for Viva Engage has also worked within Microsoft’s own IT communications team to drive adoption of Copilot across Microsoft.

Alex Snyder is a Product Manager for Microsoft 365 Suite, specializing in Copilot adoption and enterprise AI. She leads Copilot rollouts, from planning and governance to training, making AI practical and accessible. Alex shapes digital workplace strategy across SharePoint, Teams, and Microsoft 365, focusing on intranet design and internal communications. As an advocate for human-centered AI, she frequently presents on Copilot adoption, M365 experiences, and the future of work, helping organizations embrace AI confidently.

Foot Locker adoption playbook: aka.ms/FootLockerCopilotAdoption

AI for Communicators celebrates SharePoint’s 25th

LaurelD — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:29:42 GMT

We’re excited to bring a very special First Fridays on March 6th from 8-9 PT. SharePoint is celebrating its 25^th anniversary and we are bringing some of the latest announcements for communicators. In March we’ll be joined by Sarah Mathurin, principal product manager and Nancy Handa sr. product manager in SharePoint engineering.

Check out the recording here and the session slides at the bottom of this blog.

Join us for a forward‑looking conversation on how communications work is evolving, and how SharePoint is helping teams navigate what’s next.

This session is for communicators, marketers, and internal comms teams who are thinking about scale, clarity, and impact as work grows more complex and fast‑moving.

If you’re eager to hear the latest on announcement day, be sure to tune in on March 2nd for the SharePoint at 25 birthday event- and get a first look of what's next-aka.ms/SPat25

Empowering Global Communicators: AI, Alignment, and Learning in the GEEC Community

LaurelD — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 04:06:22 GMT

We’re kicking off 2026 with First Fridays on Friday, February 6^th at 8 am PT. Joining us this session are John Cirone, Sr Director Communications and Priscilla Samadi, Communications Manager at Microsoft.

How do you turn a global comms community into a force‑multiplier for alignment, learning, and faster execution? In this session, we’ll walk through how we run and resource the Global Employee & Executive Communications community, build global alignment through shared guidance, and invest in learning and skilling to help communicators become frontier-ready. You’ll also see how consistent programming, curated resources, and AI-enabled tools empower communicators to work faster, stay aligned, and scale impact across organizations.

AI‑Enabled Community Operating Model
Learn how establishing a clear operating cadence keeps the community aligned and moving together.
Guidance and Resources that Scale Global Comms
With the help of AI agents, timely, aligned guidance and resources deliver consistent, high‑quality employee comms at speed globally.
Learning & Skilling for Frontier Communicators
Ongoing development, peer sharing, and AI‑powered tools help community members build skills, work smarter, and stay ready for what’s next.

Join us for an exciting session as we dig into the practical resources, skills and a way to scale global communications.

Executive Voice Agent Playbook—Empowering Leadership Communications with Microsoft 365 Copilot

LaurelDzneladze — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:08:21 GMT

In today’s fast-moving digital workplace, authentic executive communication is more important than ever. That’s why we created this Executive Voice Agent Playbook, which is designed to help communicators build scalable agents that capture and amplify their leadership’s unique voice—delivering consistent, impactful messaging across every channel.

By embedding an executive’s authentic voice into Microsoft 365 Copilot agents, organizations can:

Scale communications: Draft blogs, keynote scripts, social posts, and Q&A responses quickly, while maintaining consistency and quality.
Enhance engagement: Make every customer and employee touchpoint more meaningful and personalized.

What’s Inside the Playbook

The playbook provides a step-by-step guide to building your own executive voice agent using Microsoft Agent Builder or Copilot Studio:

Low-code setup: Understand how to build conversational flows, integrate enterprise data, and automate tasks without complex coding.
Tone & style guidelines: Include your organization’s standards for voice, perspective, and clarity to keep messages consistent and authentic.
Security & compliance: Advice on how to work with your IT department to create secure connectors, set data loss prevention policies, and routinely test your agent for privacy and reliability.
Knowledge sources: Learn about the type of knowledge to include, how to connect to curated folders of executive content and how to maintain these content sources for informed, relevant responses.
Actions & workflows: Go deeper and set up workflows in Copilot Studio with Power Automate, Outlook, Teams, and APIs to automate publishing and routine tasks

Best Practices & Real-World Scenarios

The playbook is packed with practical examples and prompts, from drafting LinkedIn posts to preparing keynote introductions. It encourages starting simple, implementing feedback loops, and continuously updating content to keep communications fresh and relevant.

Who Should Use This Playbook?

Communications and IT leaders looking to modernize executive messaging.
Corporate marketing teams aiming to scale content creation with authenticity.
Anyone interested in leveraging Copilot Studio for persona-based agents and workflow automation.

Get Started

Ready to elevate your leadership communications? Download the Executive Voice Agent Playbook and explore the resources below:

Copilot Studio Licensing & Setup
Agent Instructions Best Practices
Voice Agent Configuration
See it in action, examples from Microsoft:
- AI, agents and how communicators can lead the way with Jon Bates
- Becoming a Frontier communicator with Lindsay Powers Tiernan

Meet the Maker: The Communicator’s Guide to AI – Live with Elaine Q. Chang

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:31:37 GMT

Join us for the next edition of "AI for Communicators," a special First Fridays session featuring Elaine Q. Chang—Technical Advisor to Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer and co-creator of the LinkedIn Learning course, The Communicator’s Guide to AI: Tools and Mindsets for Modern PR and Media. Elaine brings nearly two decades of experience spanning engineering, communications, and business strategy, making this an unmissable event for anyone navigating the evolving landscape of AI in communications.

As this is an interactive session you are welcome to submit your questions ahead of time for Elaine to answer > First Fridays: Meet the Maker - Question Submission.

What to Expect

Interactive “Meet the Maker” Format: Elaine will unpack the ACT (Aspire, Choose, Tune) strategy and show how it translates into real-world comms workflows, including the making of this LinkedIn Learning Course
Live Q&A: Bring your questions and examples from the course—Elaine will address your specific challenges, audiences, and constraints
Shape What’s Next: Share your wish list for future content, including prompt kits, exercises, and templates, or any resources you’ll find valuable. Your feedback will help shape upcoming tools and resources for communicators.

Who Should Attend?

Communications and adjacent roles across PR, media relations, social/digital, internal comms, leadership comms, and measurement/insights—whether you’re AI-curious or AI-anxious, this session is designed for you.

How to Join & Additional Resources:

December 5, 2025, register: aka.ms/FirstFridaysDec
Explore: The Communicator’s Guide to AI
Resources:

Copilot Communications scenarios: Copilot Comms Kit
View our blog CorpComms Blog
Get our WorkLab Book

First Fridays November: Reimagining Internal Comms in the Age of AI

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 22:29:03 GMT

How is AI transforming internal communications? At Microsoft, building skills to operate as “Frontier Firm”—where AI agents work alongside people to drive faster, smarter, and more impactful outcomes. Join us for our next AI for Communicators series, Friday Nov. 7, 8-9 am PT. We’ll be joined by Lindsay Powers Tiernan, Sr. Communications Manager, who plays a strategic role as a leader in Microsoft’s Global Employee and Executive Communications (GEEC) team helping drive AI understanding, learning, and incorporation across Microsoft, in addition to breakthrough news.

Please find the session slides at the bottom of this blog.

View the recording below or at aka.ms/FirstFridaysPlaylist

Key themes for Internal Comms in the age of AI

Frontier Mindset: Success now depends on how you learn, adapt, and think differently—not just what you know.
Data-Driven Comms: We’re “unlearning” old habits and doubling down on data, experimentation, and trust to shape our global employee communications.
AI-Powered Listening: Real-time feedback and analytics from tools like Viva Engage and HR Insights help us respond to what matters most to employees.
Scaling with Agents: Learn how we use Copilot and custom AI agents to streamline workflows, amplify leader voices, and empower communicators across the organization.
Trust & Engagement: Two-way channels and timely, authentic messaging are key to building trust and driving engagement in today’s workplace.

Ready to become a Frontier Communicator?

Don’t miss November’s First Friday for practical strategies, real-world examples, and resources to help you lead with trust, leverage data, and experiment with AI in your comms work.

Join us at Ragan Internal Communications conference in October

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:51:40 GMT

In a few weeks, Oct 14-16, the Ragan Internal Communications conference is in Seattle at the Microsoft Headquarters. Join us to connect, learn and hear from great communicators across the industry. Whether you’re looking to elevate your internal communications strategy or explore the latest trends in AI-driven comms, this conference offers something for everyone.

Learn from Microsoft Comms

Come a day early to join a pre-conference workshop, AI in Action: The Advanced Bootcamp for Comms Leaders, led by Allison Michels and Sarah Lundy. In this hands-on workshop they’ll guide you on how to integrate AI into your comms workflow.

Listen to Lindsay Powers Tiernan share about how Microsoft is reimagining internal communications in the age of AI – highlighting the focus on frontier employee mindset, employee listening, trust and scaling impact with AI agents

Don’t miss the other Microsoft-led sessions:

Keynote: Data Decoded! The Art of Turning People Data into Comms Gold
LinkedIn and Beyond: Uniting Executive and Employee Voices on Social Media

There’s still time to register with our special discount code: SPEAKERVIP

More learning opportunities:

Elaine and Frank Shaw recently launched a (free!) communicators AI course: aka.ms/TheCommunicatorsGuidetoAI. By completing the course you’ll earn a LinkedIn Learning certificate of completion you can add to your profile.

Upcoming First Friday events:

Aka.ms/FirstFridaysNov: Becoming a Frontier Communicator, led by Lindsay Powers Tiernan
Aka.ms/FirstFridaysDec: Meet the Maker: A Communicator’s Guide to AI with Elaine Q. Chang

We hope to see you IRL at Ragan, but if not, we hope you join us for one of our First Fridays sessions. See you soon!

Becoming Frontier: AI, agents and how communicators can lead the way

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:38:25 GMT

Join us for our next AI for communicators series, Friday Sept. 5, 8-9 am PT. This month we’re joined by Jon Bates, executive and employee communications leader for Western Europe at Microsoft.

As communicators, we find ourselves at the heart of AI transformation. We are helping our organizations navigate change, build trust, and unlock new possibilities, all the while this technology changes the way we operate in our own profession.

View the recording here:

The capacity gap: why this technology matters now

At the center of this transformation wave in the next 12 -18 months will be the concept of the “Frontier Firm”. These will be organizations which embrace AI-first thinking to scale, innovate, personalize, and elevate every aspect of their operations.

And this applies to communications too – especially in the way that the world of work is under pressure, with a majority of employees and leaders feeling stretched, lacking the time, energy, and tools to do their best work.

AI offers a way to close the capacity gap. By automating routine tasks, streamlining workflows, and surfacing insights, it frees all of us, and communicators, to focus on what matters most: strategy, creativity, and connection.

Four Pillars of AI Transformation in Communications

At the heart of becoming Frontier are four pillars that can guide how AI delivers real value in our organizations, and for communications:

Enriching Employee Experiences

Generative AI transforms how employees engage with their work. By automating repetitive tasks, it allows communicators to focus on crafting meaningful messages and fostering deeper connections. It’s not just about efficiency—it’s about wellbeing. When employees spend less time on the mundane, they have more energy for the creative and strategic.

Reinventing Engagement

In addition to changing how your organization engages with their customers, AI enables communicators to move from broadcast to dialogue in new and exciting ways. It helps personalize messages, tailor content to audience behaviors, and deliver insights that guide strategy. AI empowers us to connect more deeply with our audiences, internal and external alike.

Reshaping Business Processes

Communications is a business process, and AI is reshaping it. From content generation to analytics and personalization, AI streamlines how we work and enhances how we deliver. It’s not just about doing things faster; it’s about doing them better. Messages become moments, and campaigns become conversations.

Bending the Curve on Innovation

AI accelerates innovation—not just in products, but in culture. Communicators play a vital role in spotting emerging themes, amplifying bold ideas, and connecting innovators with the right platforms. AI helps us surface what matters, faster, and share it in ways that inspire action.

Our role as communicators

Despite the promise of AI, trust will remain a critical barrier as globally, confidence in AI technologies is fragile. Our people want to understand not just what’s changing, but why it matters and how it helps them.

So, as we look ahead, the message is clear: AI is not just a wave of change, it’s a moment of possibility. And as communicators, we’re not just riding that wave, we’re helping shape its direction.

In this upcoming webinar, we’ll dive deeper into each of these pillars of AI transformation in the frontier firm and explore how Microsoft is embracing them to reshape communications - from the tools we use to the culture we build. You’ll hear real examples, meet the teams behind the agents, and learn how you can apply these ideas in your own work.

Because the future of communications isn’t just about what we say, it’s about how we lead. And with AI, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do just that.

Make sure to register at aka.ms/FirstFridaysSept We’re excited to have you join us next month!

If you missed any of our previous AI for Communicators webinars you can view them at aka.ms/FirstFridaysPlaylist.

GEEC Out: Microsoft Pulls Back the Curtain on Internal Comms — Live from M365 Conference

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:16:20 GMT

You get ‘GEEC Out’—a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how Microsoft’s Global Employee & Executive Communications (GEEC) team is evolving the way 200,000+ employees are engaged, informed, and inspired.

This first—and so far only—episode was recorded live at the Microsoft 365 Conference, where for the first time, Corporate Communications had its own dedicated track. If you’re working in as a communicator, it’s the track you’ll want to join next year’s conference.

Watch GEEC Out on YouTube

A Community-Centric Approach to Comms

GEEC isn’t just a function—it’s a global community of over 1,000 internal communicators working together to align messaging, elevate executive voices, and build trust across Microsoft’s workforce. What’s impressive isn’t just the scale—it’s how intentional the team is about collaboration, consistency, and community-building across time zones and teams. From weekly communications and calls to “Tech & Tools” sessions and office hours, the GEEC team ensures members are equipped with the latest resources—including AI and Viva Engage—to support communications.

Amy Morris shares, “We’re managing from the center—the strategy for all employees. We scale resources for different programs across the company and leverage a Viva Engage community to do that. For stickier topics, we have an employee hot topics document that comms leads can reference when prepping their leaders.”

Listening and Learning at Scale

John Cirone, Senior Director of Employee Communications, shares how GEEC uses employee listening, real-time data, and platform analytics to shape strategy. This is communications as a responsive, evolving system—where the message follows the insight, not the other way around.

John shares, “A big part of that is listening—leaning in, listening, and demonstrating that you're listening by responding at scale. We were able to measure that leaders with high comms satisfaction scores were doing this really well: communicating authentically, addressing topics employees care about in a timely manner, and creating an open and transparent communications environment.”

Measuring What Matters

One of the biggest takeaways from the session was the shift from traditional metrics like email open rates to measuring real business impact. Through tools like employee signals surveys and annual comms assessments, the team evaluates how well employees understand key initiatives like AI and security—and how trust and two-way dialogue influence communication satisfaction.

AI as an Accelerator, Not a Replacement

Both Amy and John emphasized how AI is transforming their work. From drafting comms plans to analyzing CEO town hall feedback, AI tools like Copilot are helping communicators work smarter and faster. The key? Start with the problem you’re trying to solve and let AI accelerate the solution.

Celebrating 50 Years of Microsoft

The team also reflected on Microsoft’s 50th anniversary campaign— part of the strategy for employees included a 50-day Viva Engage countdown celebrating changemaking moments from the past while looking toward the future. With global participation and leader-driven storytelling, the campaign was a powerful example of two-way engagement at scale.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Internal Communications

What makes this conversation resonate isn’t just the tools or the structure, it’s the mindset. The magic of GEEC isn't just in the platforms or playbooks—it's in the culture. Whether it’s evolving town halls or reimagining executive engagement, they’re not afraid to try new things—and that’s what keeps Microsoft’s communications both fresh and future-focused.

As John (and Wayne Gretzky) put it, “You skate to where the puck is going.” For communicators, that means embracing change, experimenting with new tools, and building trust. Amy added, “Don’t be afraid to experiment. Trust is where I’m investing.”

The pace of change in the field of internal communications is faster than ever, and it is crucial for communication professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s adopting new tools, experimenting with innovative strategies, or continuously learning and upskilling, the key to success lies in our ability to adapt and evolve.

Watch the Episode + Join Us Next Year

Whether you lead internal comms at a Fortune 500 or you're building a function from scratch, this episode is packed with insight, inspiration, and practical ideas.

And if you missed the M365 Conference Communications Track this year, make plans to join us next year April 21 - 23, 2026 in Orlando, Florida! It’s one of the only places where comms professionals gather to talk strategy, tech, storytelling, and the future of employee experience—all in one place.

First Fridays June - An insider's view: Global Executive & Employee Communications at Microsoft

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:17:35 GMT

In June, we were joined by John Cirone and Amy Morris who lead the Global Executive and Employee Communications team (GEEC) which enables communicators across Microsoft while they work to help scale Microsoft employee communications.

Check out the recording here.

View the slides here.

We’ll be covering some of the biggest questions we get from Microsoft customers and giving you a peek behind the curtains:

How do we prioritize news & information for employees?
In a world of clicks and eyeballs, how do we measure what really matters?
How have we shifted our channel mix to build trust?
How do we balance the risk vs. reward of creating open and transparent dialogue?
What about AI?

During the session you’ll hear Microsoft’s future-looking take on traditional communications and how we’re incorporating AI, agents, and Copilot into day-to-day workflows and to help upskill communicators.

Make sure to register at aka.ms/FirstFridaysJune. We’re excited to have you join us next month!

If you missed any of our previous AI for Communicators webinars you can view them at aka.ms/FirstFridaysPlaylist.

A Communicator’s Guide to the Microsoft 365 Conference

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 01 May 2025 18:47:21 GMT

Microsoft is once again the headline sponsor of the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, the ultimate Microsoft 365 & AI learning experience, May 6-8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. We're packed up and ready with a dedicated Communications track, and to help you catch every moment we’ve created a list of all the sessions, resources and must-sees for communicators.

If you haven't already registered there's still time.

Comms & Coffee Meet Up (May 7^th)

Join us for an informal ‘meet and greet’ during our Comms & Coffee Meet Up, where you can connect with other communication attendees, network with industry pros, share tips of the trade, and mingle with Microsoft product and communications experts – we'll provide the coffee!

Sessions and Talks

Explore strategies, insights, and best practices to modernize communications and engage employees. Create a clear plan to align stakeholders and drive meaningful transformation, whether by fostering a strong organizational culture, accelerating innovation, or adopting technologies like Copilot and AI. Gain practical guidance, inspiration from experts, and real-world examples from peers across industries.

“GEEC Out Part 1: Insights and Strategies for Global Executive and Employee Communications at Microsoft” with John Cirone and Amy Morris | Tuesday, May 6, 12:15pm-1:15pm |
“GEEC Out Part 2: An Insider’s View of Communications, Change and Culture at Microsoft” with Amy Morris and John Cirone| Tuesday, May 6, 2:45pm-3:45pm |
“Reimaging Communication and Employee Engagement in the Age of AI” with Venkat Ayyadevara, Jason Mayans, Steve Nguyen and Mike Holste | Tuesday, May 6, 4:00pm-5:00pm |
“Hosting Company-Wide, Divisional and Community Meetings and Events with Viva Engage and Microsoft Teams” with Dan Holme | Wednesday, May 7, 2:00pm-3:00pm|
“Driving Change and Culture: Activating Leaders, Managers and Employees with Viva Engage” with Steve Nguyen and Allison Michels | Wednesday, May 7, 11:20am-12:20pm |
Lightning Talk | “Getting Started with Viva Amplify” with Marc Mroz and Michael Holste | Wednesday, May 7, 1:30 – 1:50pm in the Expo Hall
“Managing Channels, News and Noise with Viva Engage, SharePoint, Teams and Outlook” with Dan Holme and Steve Nguyen | Wednesday, May 7, 10:00am-11:00am |
“Communicators on Communications: Success Stories and Insights” with Allison Michels, Michael De Leon - Eaton, Amy Dolzine - EY, Andy Honeycutt - Atrium Health, John Moore - EY | Thursday, May 8, 12:00pm-1:00pm |
"Viva Connections: Building an Employee App for your Organization with SharePoint & Viva" with DC Padur and Tejas Mehta | Wednesday, May 7, 10:00am - 11am |
“Panel of Peers: Communication Strategies, Best Practices and Lessons Learned” with Allison Michels| Thursday, May 8, 2:30pm-3:30pm |
“Copilot for Communicators” with Allison Michaels and Amy Morris | Thursday, May 8, 10:45am-11:45am |
"Navigating Communication Channels in Microsoft 365 for Meaningful Engagement" with Emily Mancini | Wednesday, May 7, 2:00pm-3:00pm |
"Extensibility Options to Improve Your Employee Experiences within Viva Connections and SharePoint" with Vesa Juvonen and Luca Bandinelli | Thursday, May 8, 2:30pm-3:30pm |
“Closing Panel: Ask Us Anything!” with Jason Mayans, Dan Holme and Steve Nguyen | Thursday, May 8, 4:00pm-4:45pm |

As always, the Microsoft 365 Community Conference is the place to hear directly from over 160 Microsoft product leaders directly from the product teams. We will share the latest updates and guidance on the tools you use every day. This is your chance to get expert insights, stay ahead of industry trends, and gain practical tips to enhance your productivity and work strategies. See you there!

Prompting for Communicators – our April First Friday Session

LaurelDzneladze — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 15:34:55 GMT

April 4^th is Microsoft’s 50^th anniversary, and we couldn’t let this event pass without bringing our own AI for Communications flair by celebrating with a deep dive session led by one of our favorite Microsoft communicators. This month’s session will be led by Darina Sexton, Head of Communications for Ireland.

You'll hear how Darina is using Copilot through prompts to help streamline and improve her daily work. She highlights how she's been using iterative prompting, using Copilot as an assistant to craft communications plans, recap videos and even understand content in different languages.

During this session walk away with tips for how to better prompt Copilot to get the results you need, examples of how Microsoft communicators are using Copilot for creativity, improving processes and developing communications with Copilot as your partner.

Many of the prompts you’ll see us use already exist in our Copilot Prompt Gallery. Make sure to check it out.

Don’t forget about our upcoming Microsoft’s Skills Fest starting on April 8^th.This event will take place over April and May and will bring many activities of AI discovery and skilling.

Join us at the M365 Conferences with sessions focused on Executive & Employee Communications

AllisonMichels — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:16:10 GMT

Microsoft 365 Community Conference, it’s not just for IT and product leaders – it’s the premier event for executive and employee communications professionals using the Microsoft cloud featuring Engage, SharePoint and Microsoft Viva. You will join industry experts, product leaders, and hundreds of peers from across industries and geographies.

Check out the full list of communications sessions.

By attending, you’ll have the opportunity to:

Explore the industry, workforce and workplace trends that drive the need for modern communications strategies.
Dive deep with peers to share insights, answers, and best practices for informing and engaging employees.
Take away prescriptive guidance from experts for how to support your objectives and scenarios with Microsoft's tools you can use today.
Learn how AI and Copilot both inform and empower your comms team and strategies.
Develop an actionable plan that aligns stakeholders to drive the change that matters to your organization, whether you want to nurture a high-performance organization, foster culture and diversity, accelerate innovation, or transform your workplace for the age of AI.

Diverse opportunities to learn and share

The Communications track at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference enables multiple ways to connect.

You'll learn, share, and exchange experiences across a variety of activities including:

Keynotes and General Sessions that will inspire you and help you understand the breadth of ways you can leverage modern tools and strategies for communications, employee engagement and change management
Breakouts that dive into diverse topics including strategy, tactics, products, success stories and learnings from experts and peers
Peer-to-peer social activities that will allow you to connect with your team and with peers to exchange war stories and best practices
Focus groups and roundtables to share knowledge about communications challenges and provide feedback to Microsoft product teams
Lightning talks where you can share your story, see product demos, and learn from peers & experts
Capstone workshop (optional) Meet with industry experts Susan Hanley and Mark Rackley to dive deep into tactical and technical implementation, answer questions and develop an adoption & readiness plan inclusive of exec sponsorship, objective definition, technical & business readiness, and metrics
Meetings with Microsoft execs: optionally, schedule a meeting with our executives and product leaders to discuss your transformation and get your questions answered

We know communications will continue to play a critical role in workplace and AI transformation and hope to see more communicators at the conference this year. Join us in Las Vegas for an unforgettable week of innovation, inspiration, and community!

Announcing new resources for corporate communicators

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 19:49:54 GMT

Customers across the globe already rely on Microsoft for a communications platform that is fast, easy, and secure – and we are committed to simplifying and innovating in this area. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of a new Employee Communications adoption site to help customers understand what’s possible using Microsoft technology and assist communicators in their pivotal role in driving AI business transformation. This new site provides resources and guides to help communicators connect employees, support leaders, reach audiences, share knowledge, and harness the power of AI.

Visit our new site at https://aka.ms/ModernEmployeeComms, which includes:

Modern Employee Communications Guide
Guidance on migrating content from a different platform to Microsoft
Deploying Viva Engage in Three Chapters
Tips for using Copilot for communications workloads
A look at how Microsoft does internal communications and change management
New capabilities & best practices across our communications apps

On the site you’ll also find our new Modern Employee Comms playbook, offering a simplified view of our communications solution and guidance on how to modernize your campaigns, brand experiences, drive leadership engagement, and how to manage and measure campaigns.

Viva Connections experience

Meta Customers looking for a new communications & communities solution

In 2024, Meta announced they were shutting down their Workplace tool. We know many customers are looking for a new communications and communities solution that brings together information workers and frontline workforces. Whether your organization is looking to start fresh or migrate your content from Meta, we’ll help you every step of the way. Learn more: https://aka.ms/metamigration

Customer Zero Success: Deploying Viva Engage at Microsoft

At Microsoft, we have transformed how we use Microsoft Viva Engage to take important actions like connect with our employees, support our internal communications, and drive organizational change. We have learned a lot along the way, lessons that we share with you now in our new downloadable readiness guide that will help you through how to get more out of Viva Engage at your company.

Copilot for Communicators

If you’re a communicator looking to better understand how Copilot and AI can help you do your best work, check out these resources:

[Watch]: What’s new in Microsoft for communicators

We’re continuing to prioritize employee communications and communities innovation in M365 and Viva. Watch our latest session from Microsoft Ignite to see what’s new and what’s coming. And make sure to read our Ignite 2024 recap to catch up on the great innovations for communicators.

Check out the latest capabilities available now

Since Ignite, we’ve continued to add robust features. Go deeper on what has shipped since November 2024:

Viva Engage

Viva Connections

Join product and communications leaders during our live, virtual sessions

Want to learn how to get the most out of Viva Engage? Join us for the Monday Masterclass: Your Guide to Viva Engage Essentials, a comprehensive session designed to introduce new customers to the powerful features of Viva Engage.

Curious to learn more about the impact of AI on communications? Happening the First Friday of each month, we’ll help you understand how AI is changing the way communicators work, drive engagement, support leaders and deliver effective communications. Check our Corporate Communications blog for information on the monthly sessions. Join us tomorrow, March 7^th, to hear from Steve Clayton, VP of Communications, on how Microsoft’s communications team has been integrating generative AI into their work.

We hope you find the new Modern Employee Communications adoption site useful, and we will continue to add additional materials to help you deliver effective communications with Microsoft. Want to learn more? Join us for the Communications track at Microsoft 365 Communications Conference.

AI for Communications First Fridays – March edition

LaurelDzneladze — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 21:41:52 GMT

Steve Clayton, VP Communications Strategy

For over a year, Microsoft's Communications team has been integrating generative AI into their work, including content creation, measurement, reporting, skilling and incorporating AI into common communications activities. In next month’s First Friday session on March 7^th, Steve Clayton will share insights on applying AI in communications, best practices, and showcase internal tools transforming the work of over 250 global communicators.

Join us as we explore the transformative impact of new AI-powered tools on the communications industry and how it is poised to revolutionize the way we connect, create and collaborate.

Innovative Communications Tools: The various ways new AI-powered tools can reduce administrative burden and make lives easier for communicators - enabling more strategic and creative outcomes for organizations and stakeholders.
Power of Practice to Develop New Skills: The need to demystify what the AI platform shift means for communicators and illustrate the power of practice to accelerate learning and growth in how we apply these new tools.
Driving adoption of AI; The role of communicators in ensuring adoption of AI in their own teams and across the organization and building an individual and organizational AI habit.

Catch the recording of this session with one of the most knowledgeable AI communications strategy leaders in the business.

Recording available here https://aka.ms/FirstFridaysMarch

How Microsoft is Transforming Employee Communications and Engagement

John_Cirone — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 22:58:36 GMT

The Microsoft 365 Community Conference brings together experts, community members, customers, and Microsoft employees to learn about the latest innovations, share best practices and hear product updates. At the 2024 Microsoft 365 Community Conference, John Cirone, head of employee communications for Microsoft, shared insights into how Microsoft is revolutionizing its approach to communications and employee engagement. If you missed the session and are interested in hearing how some of John’s insights can be applied to your organization, read on for highlights and make sure to view the full session.

Global Employee and Executive Communications Community – AKA GEEC

The "Customer Zero" approach involves Microsoft first implementing and testing new communication strategies and tools internally with a specific and strategic set of communicators. John leads the Global Employee & Executive Communications (GEEC) community which includes over 1,000 communicators globally. This diverse group collaborates to share insights, strategies, and best practices, creating a center of excellence within Microsoft and ensuring a unified and effective communication approach across the organization—It's this ability to scale communications strategies across such a diverse community, that provides an invaluable source of feedback for the product team to better understand the needs of communicators and how Microsoft can create great products that foster and support leader and employee engagement.

Data-Driven decision making based on employee feedback

Using data from employee surveys and listening systems help inform both strategic and tactical decisions is a cornerstone of Microsoft's communications approach. By analyzing data, communicators can make more informed decisions that lead to better outcomes and more effective engagement strategies.

“When you look at the journey, we have been on of transforming our own communications systems, it really is that data – and the importance of leaders and managers driving change that we have leaned into over the last few years.”

Microsoft has built a robust employee listening system which is a combination of traditional HR tools and surveys alongside ambient channels. The combination of these systems enables GEEC to measure sentiment and two-way dialogue and map it to important moments.

“ What’s important in having a two-way dialogue is listening. You can't have dialogue without listening to what your employees are thinking and trying to respond to them at scale.”

Through data GEEC can encourage a culture where feedback is welcomed and valued to further enhance employee engagement.

Evolution of Communication Tools

Microsoft's communicators lead with a growth mindset, which means they are always open to learning and improving. This was a critical component to shifting the way communicators operate within Microsoft and essential to transforming company culture.

Microsoft has continuously evolved its communication approach and tools over the years. The integration of new technologies like Microsoft Viva and Copilot has been instrumental in enhancing employee engagement and streamlining communication processes. Our communicators are encouraged to test new tools and capabilities and share best practices.

“You can’t make the shift overnight – moving from an email-based world into a world that embraces two-way dialogue without a lot of intentionality behind your choices”

For more detailed insights and to watch the full presentation, you can view the recording here.

Announcing AI for Communications First Fridays!

LaurelDzneladze — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:06:52 GMT

What is ‘First Fridays’? This is a series for communicators looking to understand how AI is changing the way we work, drive engagement, support leaders and deliver effective communications.

Join Microsoft product and communications leaders in these monthly sessions, happening on the first Friday of each month, to learn more about how to:

Utilize AI and Copilot in their daily work
Gain insights into how other communications leaders and organizations are growing AI skills
Partner with your IT department to communicate, adopt and use AI
Understand current trends, tools and innovations in the communications field

Thank you to everyone who joined the session. Future-proof your communications team with AI with Microsoft speakers Laura Oxford & Sarah Lundy. If you miss it, please check out the recording below:

Stay tuned for upcoming sessions in 2025!

Resources for communicators

If you’re looking to improve your AI skills while you wait for our December session, check out http://aka.ms/CopilotPromptComms. This prompt library is your free resource to leverage with your favorite AI tool with practical suggestions to try today. There are some new features on the Copilot Lab site including ability to share these prompts! And if you do use Copilot, you can sign-in and access these prompts directly in your Microsoft 365 apps (such as Word and PowerPoint).

See you in December!

Keep checking the Comms Community for information on future sessions. If you have other topics you’d like to learn more about, share in the comments!

Corporate Comms Discussion - January

LizSundet — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 20:06:07 GMT

What a great discussion with Wendy Sherwood about what was done at CBRE with Viva Connections and Viva Engage. Lots of great stuff from creating goals to thinking about the hybrid workforce. Take a listen.

Corporate Comms Community Discussion - December

LizSundet — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 20:05:57 GMT

Interesting discussions in the world of Artificial Intelligence. How will it change your role in corporate communications or has it already? This discussion led by Allison Michels will really get your brain working and thinking about the future. Take a listen.

Corporate Comms Community Discussion - October

LizSundet — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 20:05:12 GMT

Annette Corbett joined us all the way from the UK to talk about her role with Corporate Comms, the need for better training on platforms, governance and some examples to think about. Take a listen and let us know what you think.