Copilot Training Formats: Which of the 4 Fits Your Goal and Group Size?
The short answer: pick the format by what you want people doing the day after. A 60-minute lunch and learn gives a wide group a first look at 1 app. A 90-minute executive briefing gives a leadership team its own session. A hands-on workshop (1.5 to 4 hours, 20 to 25 people) gets people practising on their own files. And a habit that has to change over weeks needs a course of 3 to 5 sessions.
Below: 1 decision table, an if-then map from goal to format, and how to choose between online and in person. No prices on this page (they live on each format page).
Copilot training formats side by side
4 formats, 4 different jobs, so no, they're not interchangeable. All 4 run online or in person.
| Format | Length and group | Pick it when | Built to give people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch and learn | 60 minutes, up to 100 people | A wide group needs to see what 1 app or 1 role can do | A clear picture of 1 app, so you can decide whether to go deeper |
| Executive briefing | 90 minutes, a leadership team | The people who set budget and policy need their own session | What Copilot changes for the business, where the risk sits and what leadership has to demand |
| Hands-on workshop | 1.5 to 4 hours, 20 to 25 people | You want people working on their own real files | Practice in the actual apps on the team's own documents, plus prompting |
| Course | 3 to 5 sessions of 1.5 to 2 hours | A habit has to change over weeks, not an afternoon | Time to use Copilot in real work between sessions, and to come back with questions |
Which Copilot training format should you pick? If this, then that
1A wide group, 1 app
If you want a lot of people to see what Copilot does in 1 app, book a lunch and learn. It stays on 1 app or 1 role, so the hour goes deep instead of skimming 4 apps badly. You can run it as a pack of 4 or a monthly series, 1 app per session.
2Leaders who set the pace
If the people in the room set budget and policy, book the executive briefing. It's a different session from the staff workshop, not the same one with the exercises removed. Keep the room to the leadership team. In a mixed room, everyone calibrates to the lowest common question.
3Practice on real files
If you want people working in the apps, book the workshop. I talk to someone who knows the group first, and the team shares real documents in advance (with sensitive content removed). The examples then come from their work, not mine.
4Habit over weeks
If the goal is to move from having the licence to using Copilot every day, book a course. The weeks between sessions are the point: people use Copilot in their real jobs, then bring the questions back.
5More than 25 people
A workshop stops being a workshop above 25, because I can't circulate and help everyone who gets stuck. So run it in waves. Or use a lunch and learn (up to 100 people) for the wide group, and workshops for the teams that need depth. For a really big room, that's a keynote, which is a talk and a different product.
Start with the smallest format that fits the goal. Then decide whether to go bigger.
Online or in person?
All 4 formats run both ways. For the hands-on ones I'd start online, because people are already at their own computers (which is where they'll use Copilot anyway) and the logistics are simpler. In person suits a team that wants a physical event, or has no laptop set-up in a room.
Same content, same exercises, same 25-person cap either way. Live online sessions run in English, scheduled for Europe first and US East afternoons.
What to tell me before the first call
1Who is in the group
Leaders, 1 department or a mix. This alone can decide it.
2How many people
Up to 25 opens the hands-on workshop. Up to 100 opens the lunch and learn. For a course, give me the number and we scope it together.
3Which apps matter most
Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams or PowerPoint. It shapes the examples, and it tells us whether 1 app is enough.
4What you want them doing differently
Understanding Copilot, trying it, or using it daily. Pick one.
Send me those 4 and I'll say which format fits, even when the answer is a different product. I have no commercial interest in Microsoft, for the record.
Questions about Copilot training formats
What is the difference between a lunch and learn and a workshop?
A Copilot lunch and learn is 60 minutes on 1 app or 1 role for up to 100 people, with most of the hour spent on live demos. A workshop is hands-on, 1.5 to 4 hours, for 20 to 25 people who work on their own real files.
How long should a Copilot workshop be?
A hands-on Copilot workshop runs from 1.5 to 4 hours. The length is set when we scope the apps and the group. If you need more practice than that, a course of 3 to 5 sessions gives people weeks to use Copilot in real work.
How many people can attend a Copilot workshop?
20 to 25. Above 25 a hands-on workshop stops working, because the trainer can't circulate and help everyone who gets stuck. Larger groups run in waves, or start with a lunch and learn.
Is a one-off session enough, or do we need a Copilot course?
A single session gets a group started. A course of 3 to 5 sessions of 1.5 to 2 hours adds the weeks in between, when people use Copilot in real work and bring questions back. For a first look, book the session. For a daily habit, plan for the course.
Which Copilot training format is best for executives?
The 90-minute executive briefing, for the leadership team only. It covers what Copilot changes for the business, where the risk sits and what leadership has to demand from the organisation. A mixed room of leaders and staff pulls the session down to the lowest common question.
Can Copilot training be done online?
Yes. All 4 formats run live online in English, and in person as well. For the hands-on formats online is where I'd start, because people are already at their own computers.
Not sure which of the 4 fits?
Tell me the group, the headcount and the goal. I'll tell you which format fits, or whether you need something else.