Will Microsoft Copilot Work for Your Business? Only If Your Files Are Ready

Most teams want to take advantage of Microsoft Copilot—but it only works as well as your file system does.

Copilot doesn’t “figure it out.” It draws from your existing content across SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. If your files are disorganized, inconsistently named, or saved in the wrong place, Copilot either returns confusing results or nothing useful at all.

This blog breaks down where Copilot helps, where it stumbles, and what you can do to make your files Copilot-ready.

What Copilot Can Actually Help With

Copilot isn’t magic—but when your content is structured well, it can:

• Summarize documents, meeting notes, or email threads
• Surface recent or frequently used files from SharePoint or OneDrive
• Pull in information from multiple documents in response to a prompt

This can save your team time. But only if your files are where they should be, named in a way that makes sense, and consistently formatted.

Want to better understand how to get started with AI in your business?  Read More: You Don’t Need an IT Department to Start Using AI at Work

Where Copilot Gets Confused and How to Fix It

The most common Copilot frustrations come from issues that aren’t technical—they’re organizational:

• Files are saved to personal drives and aren’t accessible across the team
• Folders are inconsistently named or duplicative
• Documents with the same name live in multiple places
• Teams store drafts in chat but never move the final version to SharePoint

If Copilot can’t find what it needs—or finds too many versions of the same thing—the results won’t be helpful.

You don’t need perfection. But Copilot needs:

• Shared folders with consistent access
• Logical folder structures (by project, client, or department)
• Files named in a way that describes what they are (not just “final_final_v2”)
• Storage in searchable locations (SharePoint, not desktops)

Think of it like this: Copilot helps your team search, summarize, and suggest—but only if your content is stored in a way it can understand.

How to Get Copilot-Ready

You don’t need to do a full migration to make Copilot useful. But you do need to make your files easier to find, understand, and navigate.

Start here:

• Clean up folder structure and eliminate duplicates
• Use clear, consistent file naming
• Save important team documents to SharePoint libraries, not personal OneDrive folders
• Make sure version control is in place for frequently updated files
• Consolidate storage platforms where possible

Copilot can be a great tool—but it’s not a workaround for poor file structure.

Is your hardware ready for Copilot too?  Future-Proofing Your Business Devices for AI Tools Like Copilot 

If you want to get value from Microsoft 365 AI tools, we can help you get your files ready. It’s part of what Horizon’s TotalCare managed IT support does for businesses across Western Canada.  

Contact us to find out where to start.