According to Microsoft, approximately 70 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are using Microsoft 365 Copilot, resulting in time savings, productivity gains, and increased revenue. But if you’ve been tasked with rolling out Copilot in your organization, you’ll know it’s a multi-faceted process, and one of the biggest hurdles isn’t technical, as you might assume, it’s about the people.
Although attitudes to the technology, once it’s in use, is hugely positive – according to a recent Microsoft survey of 20,000 UK government employees, over 80 per cent of trialists said they wouldn’t want to give up Copilot – many simply don’t know where to start.
That’s where a Copilot prompt-a-thon comes in. It’s a simple, repeatable way for IT teams to build confidence, surface creative use cases, and unlock more value from your Microsoft 365 investment.
Read on to discover how.
What’s a prompt-a-thon?
Put simply, a prompt-a-thon is like a mini Copilot hackathon. It’s a focused session where employees are invited to experiment with AI in a safe, structured way, usually using the apps that employees use every day, like Word, Outlook, Teams, and Excel.
You don’t need a big budget or lots of time. A successful prompt-a-thon can be as short as an hour or run asynchronously over a week using Teams or Viva Engage to collaborate.
The aim is to help users get hands-on with Copilot, share prompts and best practice, and see what works. It’s about learning together whilst accelerating adoption from the ground up.
Why IT should run it
As an IT professional you have an important role to play in Copilot user adoption not just as an enabler but as an IT adoption leader. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a prompt engineering expert to run a prompt-a-thon. In fact, you don’t want to overcomplicate things. The goal is to help users feel comfortable and surface use cases, in a safe, judgement-free environment.
By hosting a prompt-a-thon, you and your team can:
- Encourage experimentation without fear of “getting it wrong”
- Spot patterns in how different departments want to use Copilot
- Uncover champions who can help drive adoption more widely
- Gather feedback on Copilot’s strengths and limitations
How to run a successful prompt-a-thon
Here’s a quick guide to planning your own, based on Microsoft’s recommended framework.
Set clear objectives
Prompt-a-thons are a proven way to:
- Boost hands-on Copilot adoption.
- Inspire high-impact use cases.
- Build confidence and prompting skills across the business.
So, start by aligning the event to strategic goals. That could be improving team productivity, automating manual tasks, or generating process innovation.
Build the right team
Each team should include:
- A Copilot Coach – someone who understands the art of prompting and can guide participants.
- A Business Coach – someone who knows the business and can guide scenario creation and identify high value business challenges.
- A Team Lead or Host – to keep energy up and the session on track.
And don’t forget your judges. They’ll assess pitches based on creativity, impact, and feasibility.
Set the stage
Create a dedicated Teams channel to share resources and connect participants.
And if it’s in person, set up a collaborative environment with good Wi-Fi, plenty of power sockets, and a big screen for pitching.
Structure the day
Kick off with a keynote and prompting masterclass to get everyone aligned.
Then move into the hack session, a focused block of time where teams design solutions to real business challenges using Copilot.
Each team builds out their ideas using a prompt template, then pitches their solutions back to the group.
Pro tip: Introducing resources like Microsoft’s Scenario Library can really help inspire ideas by showing how Copilot can add value across real-world business tasks.
End with impact
Wrap up with a judging session and awards.
Then make sure your prompt-a-thon isn’t just a one-off event.
You can build momentum by launching a “Prompt of the Month” series, invite departments to host themed sessions, or build a shared prompt library for your organization.
Significant gains can come from continuous learning becoming part of your workplace culture.
Final thoughts
Prompt-a-thons are a low-barrier, high-impact way to boost Copilot adoption and empower users to work smarter with AI. And when IT leads the charge, you create the confidence and the guardrails for adoption at scale.
Need help planning your Copilot adoption strategy?
For more information and resources on running a Microsoft 365 Copilot prompt-a-thon, check out the Microsoft prompt-a-thon site.
And if you could use some support with your Copilot adoption journey, the Cloudwell team can help with everything from technical readiness to user enablement. Reach out and let’s talk.