The event
The session is called "Lunch and Learn: Using Microsoft Copilot to Cut Repetitive Work." It runs online on Tuesday 1 December 2026, from 12:30 to 13:15. Business News Wales names the host as Rhys Gwilym, an AI Adoption Adviser with the Business Wales AI Awareness and Adoption Programme. The programme is funded by the Welsh Government.
The Business Wales events listing says this is the fourth session in a four-part series on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. Each session stands alone, so you can attend one or all four.
Key practical points:
- Cost: free.
- Audience: Welsh-based small and medium-sized enterprises, including owners, founders, managers and staff.
- Capacity: places are limited to two delegates per business.
- Prior knowledge: none needed.
- Language: Business Wales says its events are available in Welsh and English, and you can state a preference when you register.
- Format: it includes live questions and answers, plus a short walkthrough of further funded AI support through the programme.
What the session says it will cover
According to the listing and the Business News Wales report, the agenda includes:
- Spotting repetitive jobs that AI can realistically take on.
- Answering customer emails and enquiries faster without losing your own tone of voice.
- Templates and standard replies for recurring questions.
- Where Copilot sits in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, and which licence you need.
- Keeping company data inside your own tenant, checking accuracy, and knowing where a person still has to sign off.
The event is introductory. Neither source gives measured time savings or says which specific Copilot features will be demonstrated. Treat the promised benefits as topics for discussion, not proven results.
Licensing: the question the webinar will tackle
Licensing is where small businesses most often trip up. Microsoft Learn says Copilot is available as an add-on for eligible subscription plans. Microsoft Copilot Business is an add-on for organisations with up to 300 users that have eligible Microsoft 365 Business licences. The eligible plans include Business Premium, Business Standard, Business Basic, Apps for Business and Teams Essentials. Microsoft also warns that terms can change and tells customers to check the Product Terms and service description before buying.
Independent write-ups add some context:
- Copilot Business only attaches to Business-family plans, so an organisation on Microsoft 365 E3 uses the enterprise add-on, even with fewer than 300 users.
- One reseller says Copilot Chat is included at no extra cost with Business Basic, Standard and Premium. It says the paid licence is what connects Copilot to your data in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive.
- Prices vary by source and promotion. One pricing guide lists $21 per user per month on an annual commitment as the standard rate. The same guide describes a promotional $18 rate that runs through 31 December 2026. Another source says the promotion was extended from September, so confirm current pricing with Microsoft or your reseller. Pricing from third parties is not authoritative.
Data protection: what Microsoft actually commits to
The webinar promises guidance on keeping data inside your tenant. Microsoft's documentation sets out the baseline.
- Copilot reaches your organisation's data through Microsoft Graph. It only surfaces content the individual user already has at least view permission to see.
- Microsoft states that prompts, responses and Graph-accessed data are not used to train its foundation models.
- Copilot stores interaction data, including prompts and responses. Admins can manage it with Content search or Microsoft Purview.
- Admins decide which agents and third-party models are allowed. Those can carry their own terms.
Microsoft's own guidance says generative AI output is not guaranteed to be fully factual. It frames Copilot output as drafts for people to review.
These are vendor commitments, not an independent audit. Because Copilot respects existing permissions, sloppy SharePoint sharing can expose more than you intend. Check your permissions before you roll Copilot out.
Wider Welsh context
The Welsh Government announced in January 2026 that it had committed £2.1 million to help SMEs adopt AI. That covers the Business Wales awareness and adoption programme, tourism and events activity, and Flexible Skills Programme funding. It is a government-wide commitment, not a budget for this webinar.
Business Wales has also relaunched a separate AI skills pilot under the Flexible Skills Programme, published 16 October 2026. It covers training at Level 2 or above, with an enhanced 75% contribution to training costs, and runs until the end of March 2027. It is aimed at the next stage of learning, and Business Wales says its introductory support should be the starting point. Attending the webinar does not entitle you to that funding.
Who should go, and a few cautions
The session suits owners who handle everything themselves, and managers wondering whether Copilot justifies a licence. It also suits IT contacts at small firms who need a grounded overview.
Before you book:
- Check that your business is Welsh-based and that you're within the two-delegate limit.
- Find out which Microsoft 365 plan you're on, since that decides which Copilot licence applies.
- Note that no registration deadline, platform access details or post-event materials were confirmed.
- Keep expectations realistic. A 45-minute introduction won't configure your tenant.
The agenda gives real attention to accuracy, data protection and human oversight, not just productivity.
Correction (November 3, 2026): The Welsh Government's £2.1 million AI commitment was announced in January 2026, not March 2026.