Copilot cannot settle the argument over what “ready” means.

Work IQ is expanding business context. First, get the departments to agree what their records mean.

Ask Sales and Service whether an account is healthy. If you get two different answers, giving an AI access to both systems will not settle the argument.

It may just summarize it beautifully.

The useful part is agreeing what the records mean

Microsoft’s September 25 Work IQ announcement describes bringing Dynamics 365 and Power Platform business context into Copilot and agents. Preview starts September 30, with rollout through October. The described approach combines selected data with relationships, business terminology and reusable business skills. Read Microsoft’s announcement.

Microsoft also describes administrative controls over participating environments and access. This is a preview announcement, not proof that it is enabled or included in your organization’s licenses. We have not tested it.

Try the meeting before the setup

Here is an illustrative exercise for a department considering this kind of connected AI. Pick one decision people make every week. Before configuring anything, ask the people making it to agree on four things:

• The definition. What does “ready,” “urgent” or “at risk” actually mean?
• The evidence. Which record supports that label, and how recent must it be?
• The exception. What would make the apparently correct answer wrong?
• The decision owner. Who can approve the next action?

For example, a purchasing team might consider a supplier ready for renewal because the contract is current. Operations might disagree because an unresolved delivery problem has stopped production. Neither person needs a better synonym for “ready.” They need a shared rule.

Write the rule down. Then test a few cases where the departments agree, a few where they disagree, and one where important information is missing. Keep the expected answers so you have something to compare with the eventual AI result.

Give the process an owner

The opportunity here is more useful than another clever prompt: a common understanding that can be maintained as the business changes. But someone still has to maintain it.

If the supplier rule changes next month, who updates it? Who checks that the old interpretation has stopped showing up? That is a business responsibility worth assigning before the demonstration.

Connecting the systems is IT’s part of the job. Agreeing what “ready” means is ours. We should probably do that before asking Copilot.