Thousands of NHS Wales staff building AI skills through national Microsoft Copilot campaign
21 October 2026
Thousands of NHS Wales staff are gaining the confidence and skills to use artificial intelligence (AI) in their everyday work thanks to a national campaign delivered by the Microsoft 365 Centre of Excellence (CoE), a NHS Wales initiative in collaboration with Microsoft.
The campaign has focused on making AI accessible, practical and relevant for colleagues across Wales by helping staff understand how Microsoft Copilot can support them with day-to-day tasks while helping ensure the technology is used safely and responsibly.
Copilot can help staff with non-clinical tasks such as generating emails and documents, summarising or searching for information and organising notes, creating ideas and supporting understanding.
Recognising that successful adoption is about people rather than technology alone, the Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) M365 CoE worked closely with Microsoft to provide training, guidance and ongoing support to help staff explore how Copilot can modernise ways of working and make a difference in their roles.
Across NHS Wales, colleagues are using the tool to help them prepare reports and presentations, summarise lengthy documents, turn notes into clear action plans, analyse information and generate new ideas. By helping staff complete time-consuming tasks more efficiently, Copilot is enabling them to spend more time focused on delivering value for patients, services and colleagues.
More than 6,000 NHS Wales staff have now participated in training designed to build confidence in using Copilot effectively and safely. The programme has created a growing community of users who are sharing learning, exploring new use cases and helping colleagues understand how AI can support their work.
Nearly 33,000 staff are now active users, with around 5,450 colleagues using the tool every day as part of their routine work. Training has focused not only on what the tool can do, but on how to use it appropriately.
The tool is also helping save time. A survey of 301 people identified average self-reported time savings of 40 minutes on days where they used Copilot to help with specific work.
One user who attended the training said: “I completed the training last week; it was really interesting and very well paced. I'm now using Copilot for information searching and it is efficient and intuitive. I will definitely try using it for more in-depth tasks going forward.”
Julian Blewett, Adoption Lead for the M365 CoE, said: "What's been most encouraging is seeing colleagues across NHS Wales embrace the opportunity to learn something new and discover practical ways that AI can support their work.
"Whether it's helping someone prepare for a meeting, summarise a complex document or gather information, Copilot is helping colleagues save time. The average timed saved, according to a recent community poll, was around 40 minutes per day on days when they used Copilot to help them with tasks. Whilst this was just a small sample of users, it is encouraging to know that its giving colleagues time back. “
"By providing practical training, clear guidance and ongoing support, we've helped people build confidence in using AI safely and effectively and make use of practical applications that support productivity, creativity and collaboration.”
The M365 CoE has taken a national approach, ensuring staff across organisations have access to the same learning opportunities, resources and support.
André Worwood, Senior Director, Cloud Solution Architecture at Microsoft UK, said: "We're proud to be collaborating with NHS Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) on this AI journey. It's been great to see the team deliver not just a technology solution, but the experience around it, such as training, practical guidance and ongoing support. By combining strong technical foundations with a real focus on people and adoption, we can help colleagues realise the full value of Copilot."
By putting people at the centre of adoption, the teams are helping staff develop the confidence, skills and support needed to build the foundations for the responsible use of AI across health and care.
NHS Wales staff can access training, guidance and support through the M365 Centre of Excellence resources.