Customer spotlight: Capgemini is turning comms and conversations into AI-ready knowledge
As organizations invest in Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI, many are asking the same question: What knowledge will AI actually use? For Capgemini, the answer isn't buried in documents alone. It's found in leadership conversations, employee communities, company events, and knowledge shared every day across the organization. Through Viva Engage, Capgemini is creating a living knowledge layer that helps employees connect with leaders, learn from one another, and build the organizational context that makes AI more useful. Moving beyond broadcast communications Capgemini's goal is simple: meet employees where they already work. Rather than adding more destinations and channels, the company is focused on creating a connected experience across Teams, Viva Connections, and Viva Engage that makes it easier for employees to find information, participate in conversations, and learn from their peers. For Jeanette Vikbacka Castaing, Global Internal Communications at Capgemini, communities are ultimately about helping people connect, learn, and share expertise. Speaking at Microsoft 365 Community Conference, she described the value of bringing together people who are "passionate about engagement, communications, and products" and creating opportunities to learn, grow, and exchange ideas. Creating the signals Copilot needs One of the central themes of Microsoft's "Engage Everywhere" session was that AI adoption is not simply a technology challenge. It is a communications and knowledge challenge. Copilot relies on organizational context to generate grounded responses. That context comes from everyday interactions between employees, experts, and leaders. Communities capture peer learning. Leadership dialogue provides direction and context. Events create shared moments. Conversations preserve institutional knowledge. At Capgemini, these signals are being created at scale through several key use cases: Executive leadership communications Corporate events Employee challenges and campaigns AI-focused communities Ongoing employee conversations and knowledge sharing Making leaders visible—and discoverable Leadership visibility became one of Capgemini's key priorities over the past year. What began as an experiment encouraging leaders to post directly evolved into a measurable communications strategy. "We have really seen now an increase of the views every time a leader posts directly in our all staff community," Jeanette explained. "It's very clear that people want to hear from the leaders. We can see that in the data." Beyond reach, the goal is trust. By making leaders more approachable and accessible through conversation, Capgemini is creating stronger connections between leadership and employees. "When you're approachable, you also build trust," Jeanette shared. These leadership conversations become more than communications content. They become organizational knowledge that employees can discover later and that AI can reference when surfacing relevant information. Turning events into lasting knowledge Capgemini has also embraced events as a way to create connection and generate knowledge before, during, and after a live moment. Instead of treating events as standalone broadcasts, conversations continue around the event experience. Employees ask questions, share perspectives, and contribute ideas that remain available to the broader organization. Microsoft's vision for Engage events follows the same principle: event conversations create content that can remain discoverable and continue delivering value beyond the live session itself. The multiplier effect of conversation Perhaps the most compelling insight from Capgemini's story is what the team calls the “Multiplier Effect of Conversations” For example: A post creates a conversation. A conversation creates connections. Connections inspire action. Actions drive outcomes. For communicators, this represents a shift in how success is measured. The value of a post is no longer limited to impressions or views. The real value comes from the expertise surfaced, questions answered, relationships built, and knowledge created throughout the conversation lifecycle. As communications strategies evolve, measurement becomes increasingly important. Capgemini has seen this effect firsthand through employee challenges tied to company sponsorships such as the Ryder Cup, America's Cup, and Tour de France. Previously these campaigns relied heavily on email. Today they are powered by conversations in Viva Engage. According to Jeanette, the difference has been "night and day." Employees immediately start commenting, tagging colleagues, sharing excitement, and encouraging others to participate. "We really build momentum," she said. "It's kind of a snowball effect.” Perhaps most importantly, the conversations continue long after the original campaign. Past contest winners often return to encourage future participants, creating a self-sustaining cycle of engagement and peer advocacy. Capgemini's journey reflects a growing need among communicators to understand not only whether content was delivered, but whether it generated participation, engagement, and meaningful outcomes. The goal is helping communicators measure not just reach, but influence. Measuring More Than Reach Capgemini's approach to communications is increasingly data-driven. Whether evaluating leadership visibility, participation in AI communities, or employee engagement with company-wide campaigns, the team looks beyond simple message delivery. "People want to hear from the leaders. We can see that in the data," Jeanette explained when describing the growth of leadership communications. The same focus applies to Copilot communities. Capgemini tracks how employees engage, ask questions, and help one another. Jeanette noted that even large, open communities remain productive because employees arrive with a specific purpose: learn, ask questions, and share knowledge. "You ask a question, you get an answer," she said. "It's really peer-to-peer connection at its best." For communicators, these interactions represent something more valuable than traditional engagement metrics. They are signals of learning, expertise sharing, and organizational knowledge creation—the same signals that help employees today and help Copilot deliver more relevant answers tomorrow. Building an AI-ready culture The most important lesson from Capgemini's story is that successful AI adoption starts with people. Communities give employees a place to learn together. Experts can share knowledge. Leaders can provide clarity. Questions become answers. Conversations become institutional memory. Over time, those interactions create the organizational context that helps Copilot deliver more relevant, grounded responses. One of the fastest-growing examples is AI itself. Capgemini has built multiple communities dedicated to Copilot, including a broad Copilot Chat community, a community for licensed Copilot users, and a separate space for certified Copilot champions. According to Jeanette, each has a different purpose and audience, but all are performing well and generating strong participation. "The reach is just amazing. We measure, of course," she explained. Start, test and, and learn Asked what advice she would give communicators just beginning their journey, Jeanette's answer was straightforward: "Test, test and learn." There is no single formula for building communities or driving engagement. What works depends on the audience, culture, and goals. "Failure is also progress," she said. "Test and see what works and build from there." That mindset reflects Capgemini's broader approach to AI readiness. Create opportunities for people to connect. Encourage leaders to participate. Build communities where expertise can be shared openly. Measure what matters. Over time, every conversation contributes to something bigger: a living body of organizational knowledge that helps both employees and AI work smarter together. For communicators, the opportunity is clear: every conversation is more than a moment of engagement. It is a chance to create knowledge, build trust, and help the organization become more ready for AI. So, the question becomes: what conversations are you creating today that your employees, and AI, will need tomorrow?Tech for Good in Action: Accessibility, AI, and Expanding Our Community Impact
Accessibility is not a niche topic. It is a fundamental aspect of inclusive technology, and a shared responsibility for everyone who builds, teaches, and communicates about tech. This message was at the heart of a recent Global Skills session that brought together Microsoft MVPs and community leaders to explore how technology, AI, and communication can be used as powerful tools for social good. The meeting featured three complementary perspectives: hands-on grassroots initiatives making technology accessible to vulnerable groups, the role of AI in building inclusive systems by design, and the importance of communicating technical knowledge beyond traditional expert audiences. Making Technology Accessible Where It Matters Most Microsoft MVP Navika Chhauda opened the session by sharing her work on making technology and technical education accessible to vulnerable communities in India, focusing on visually impaired students and acid attack survivors. Her community initiatives demonstrated how empathy, persistence, and creativity can bridge gaps that technology alone cannot solve. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Navika began teaching Microsoft Office 365 tools to visually impaired students at a blind school in Delhi through virtual classes. This work came with significant challenges, particularly the limitations of screen readers such as JAWS and the difficulty of conveying visual interfaces in an online environment. To address this, Navika adapted her teaching approach by reading screen content aloud, offering highly personalized guidance, and encouraging peer support among students with partial vision who could assist others during sessions. Beyond foundational digital skills, Navika also mentored visually impaired students in preparing for the Azure AZ-900 certification. Through dedicated guidance and accommodations, two students successfully achieved the certification, becoming among the first visually impaired candidates in India to do so. Her support did not end with certification. Navika continues to mentor these students through ongoing sessions and community events, including visits to Microsoft offices and participation in discussions around AI and disability. Her work also extends to empowering acid attack survivors through various NGOs in India. Recognizing both the lack of resources and the need for practical, job-relevant skills, Navika arranged access to computers and tailored Office 365 training to real-world use cases such as Excel-based billing. She also facilitated interactions between participants and Microsoft professionals, helping to build confidence, exposure, and a sense of belonging within the broader tech ecosystem. Navika openly addressed the challenges of working with vulnerable groups, including limited access to devices, low levels of basic computer literacy, language barriers, and difficulties in outreach. She shared practical strategies to overcome these obstacles, such as collaborating with NGOs, teaching foundational digital skills before moving to advanced tools, and applying for special accommodations for certification exams. Her call to action was clear: more technologists can get involved by volunteering, mentoring, and partnering with organizations that already work closely with underrepresented communities. Building Inclusive Systems with AI Following this grassroots perspective, MVP Abdulrafiu Izuafa shifted the focus to the systemic level, discussing the importance of designing accessible AI systems for persons with disabilities. He emphasized that accessibility is not an edge case, noting that more than 1.3 billion people globally live with disabilities. Exclusion, he explained, is often unintentional, but its impact is profound when accessibility is not considered from the outset. Abdulrafiu highlighted how AI-powered solutions are already transforming accessibility across multiple domains. In visual accessibility, technologies such as image recognition and screen readers enable people with visual impairments to interact more independently with digital content. In hearing accessibility, tools like live captions, sign language avatars, and sound recognition open access to information for people with hearing impairments. In the area of mobility, voice control and eye-tracking technologies provide alternative ways to interact with devices. He shared examples of real-world applications, including his own News Accessibility Platform and Microsoft’s Seeing AI app, to illustrate how AI can translate innovation into tangible impact. Abdulrafiu also outlined Microsoft’s broader investments in accessibility, referencing initiatives such as the AI for Accessibility program, built-in accessibility features across Microsoft 365, and community-focused events like the Ability Summit. The central theme of his talk was advocacy. Abdulrafiu encouraged Microsoft MVPs and technologists to advocate for accessibility as a default requirement, not an afterthought. This includes involving people with disabilities directly in the design process, mentoring others to build inclusive solutions, and normalizing conversations about accessibility within technical communities. The conversation concluded highlighting that inclusive design benefits everyone, not only those with disabilities. Reaching Beyond the Technical Echo Chamber The final part of the session focused on communication and community growth. Micah Heaton explored how Microsoft MVPs can make their technical content more accessible to broader audiences, including non-technical stakeholders such as sellers, customer success managers, and decision-makers who play a critical role in product adoption. Micah observed that MVPs as well as technical experts often create content primarily for other experts, unintentionally excluding what he described as the “forgotten majority.” He argued that improving clarity does not dilute technical expertise. On the contrary, using clear language, reducing jargon, and explaining acronyms can significantly increase the reach and influence of technical content. He also emphasized the importance of supporting real-world adoption by addressing practical questions and trade-offs. This includes being honest about product limitations, discussing realistic implementation scenarios, and helping others explain complex concepts in simple terms. During the discussion, it became clear that MVPs who enable others to learn and succeed play a vital role in building sustainable, inclusive communities. Micah further suggested that more transparent case studies, including imperfect demos and challenges faced during adoption, would help MVPs and customers better understand real-world scenarios. His message aligned closely with the broader theme of the session: accessibility is not only about technology, but also about how knowledge is shared. Moving Forward Together, these conversations highlighted a powerful truth: building accessible and inclusive technology requires action at every level, from grassroots education and AI-driven innovation to thoughtful communication and community advocacy. By combining technical expertise with empathy and openness, the tech community can create solutions that truly work for everyone. Resources Learn more about Microsoft’s approach to inclusive technology: Accessibility Technology & Tools | Microsoft AccessibilityLearn from Microsoft: Best practices for engaging employees with AMAs and live events
At the beginning of each fiscal year, Rajesh Jha, EVP of Experiences + Devices at Microsoft, hosts a kick-off event for his organization of more than 40,000 employees. During the event he is eager to get his employees excited about what is to come, listen to, and engage with colleagues through their questions. This year was more engaging than ever as they adopted new technology to achieve their goals: Ask Me Anything (AMA) events and live events in Viva Engage. The event was so successful that the leader has committed to a bi-monthly cadence for future events.
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