Forms missing in New Outlook

[callthatgirl]

Hey TN'ers, this is an older post I put out last fall, and so far not much has changed in regards to forms in New Outlook. If you had custom forms in classic Outlook, as of right now they are not able to convert to the New Outlook (Sep 10, 2024). Please comment or add any info, we are all learning this together.

Custom forms were not something I got into developing for clients, but I know many that have them and spent a lot of money creating the perfect forms (for email, contacts, many other things). If you have access to your forms in another version of Outlook or still have access to classic Outlook, I would consider making a list of everything that form did, and try to figure out another option such as using 365 Forms. And if your client has a custom form for contacts, I'd check into that way later. I'm not seeing MS add in any custom fields yet (sad as it's one of the best parts of Outlook contacts), hopefully they will.

My testing with adding a 365 Form into New Outlook didn't go so great (maybe there is an app I don't know about). You can use a link of course from your Form you create in 365 (easier to maybe make a template in 365 and have the link there with info). Some research is saying you can do other miracles but I haven't seen it yet, Forms might be updated before 2029, otherwise it's "find a new replacement". Honestly, I don't see any old forms anymore and my 365 clients haven't gotten excited about 365 Forms.

New Outlook so far will use “365 connected apps” so you might want to find a company that has an app similar to what you need (you can search this in New Outlook (see image below). If you are a larger company needing your own 365 app, then you want to search for a Power Apps/Automate consultant. I have found a Forms consultant and am happy to refer you but their fees are on the higher level consulting quotes (probably $5k to $10k)

For more information about New Outlook

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• https://callthatgirl.biz/new-outlook-resource-guide

 

[Sky-Knight]

The modern workflow for this utilizes Power Automate, that is a vastly more powerful low/no code automation solution for all things not just Outlook things.

It can be triggered in various ways to make the email for you and deliver it directly to the target, or your inbox for forwarding.

But as always... we must go deeper...

M365 Copilot comes with access to https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com, which allows you to make a custom Copilot Agent, which can decide and trigger multiple Power Automate flows as well as assist in creation of more flows.

Beware, this is an INCREDIBLY deep well, but it's also a place where if you spend enough time you can automate your life out of Outlook almost entirely.

 

[callthatgirl]

This reminds me of 2009 when I was starting to get calls from clients about migrating to hosted exchange. I did not want to learn it, I forced myself to learn it and it took 6 months of figuring it out. I had one tech at GoDaddy teach me everything about literally everything. Him helping me, helped me help 1000's of clients migrate to Exchange. If I never did it, I would not have the business I have today.

I'm guessing with your reply, this is my future with 365, not for a few years but I can see the future. I'm not going to resist learning but until Outlook classic is 100% done, I don't know if I can put the time into what you mentioned.

 

[timeshifter]

M365 Copilot comes with access to https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com, which allows you to make a custom Copilot Agent, which can decide and trigger multiple Power Automate flows as well as assist in creation of more flows.

Which SKUs of 365 come with this? Or, is it the $30 per month Copilot add on?

 

[Sky-Knight]

Which SKUs of 365 come with this? Or, is it the $30 per month Copilot add on?

The addon, copilot is never bundled, it's a direct purchase in all variants and in all cases.

Power Automate however has a ton of free functionality, and the free version of Copilot is good at teaching you how to use it. It's just not the fully integrated experience the paid product provides.

@callthatgirl, those that can leverage AI to deliver value, are the new class of "builders". What I've described above isn't your future with Outlook, it's your future with M365 at large in a specialty area that everyone needs, and I can tell you right now... the SMB will be VERY under served.

I'm half tempted to bring Intouch back online to provide consulting / coaching for Copilot and 3rd party AI integration with M365 at large. That's a well as deep as ERP, and will be lucrative for decades.

Because while I said automate yourself out of Outlook, the true potential here is the automation of any workflow that leverages M365 services in any way.

It's a very deep well. One that I cannot see the bottom of!

 

[HCHTech]

The addon, copilot is never bundled, it's a direct purchase in all variants and in all cases.

I am.....disappointed....that MS chose the price point they did for Copilot. It more than doubles the cost of the subscription even for BP folks. I would have to think they would get better adoption rates by ramping into that price point over a few years. Getting folks even to BP in my tiny end of the SMB market is always a struggle - I don't even dare bring up Copilot without come concrete cost-saving benefits, and I sure don't have those worked out yet.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I am.....disappointed....that MS chose the price point they did for Copilot. It more than doubles the cost of the subscription even for BP folks. I would have to think they would get better adoption rates by ramping into that price point over a few years. Getting folks even to BP in my tiny end of the SMB market is always a struggle - I don't even dare bring up Copilot without come concrete cost-saving benefits, and I sure don't have those worked out yet.

I'm going to perform an experiment... I'm going to respond to you twice. The first time will be unfiltered Rob, the second... will be the paid copilot I use everyday. I do this as further illustration of what this technology is capable of, I do this to show value!

$30 / user / month it only needs to save 1 hour of time per person per month to pay for itself. This technology is not for everyone in the org, it's for decision makers and builders. It can be leveraged at every level, but it's easier to pitch to the value of higher value people in the org.

That hour is saved just in email summaries, you can forget all the other things you can do with it. The failure here, is your personal ability to understand its value. The fact you do not dare bring up this new feature set is your problem, you're spending your customer's money. Do not tell your customer what they can do with their own wallet! Sure, they may tell you no, but that doesn't change the value being delivered.

Meanwhile, the failure of the SMB to invest is also a problem in that market place, which given my exposure is also due to an inability to express the value. There are how many people out there paying the $20 / month for how many LLM tools? Why is it so much of a stretch to assume that you'd need to pay more than that for an AI assistant that doesn't steal your information AND is fully integrated with the ecosystem you're already working in?

M365 Business Premium is $23.60 / user / month
M365 Copilot is $31.50 / user / month
Total user cost: $55.10 / user / month

That's peanuts compared to the cost of the human, if the org cannot truly afford this... they don't have the cash to operate. Which again, is their call not ours, we present what it can do, the time savings it delivers. The real issue here is, you've not used the tech yourself to understand its value. This product is transformative, and you need to put some cash to your own growth here.

The transformation comes with the direct ability to reduce workforce, which generally means you can spend more time on value generating activities than some significant portion of the mindless minutia that everyone goes through just to operate. I have to stress this point, because organizations that get this will grow organizations that do not will fail.

Why?

Not the usual things I bring out... I personally get wrapped around the security axle because that's where my brain lives, but this technology is disrupting something far more fundamental.

Organizations that ignore the AI wave, will fail for two primary reasons.

1.) They aren't leveraging AI correctly to maintain competitive advantage.
2.) Their people will make their own attempts to leverage AI and those same people tinkering in ignorance, will cause the exfiltration of what they use to make money to future models, enabling their competition to simply ask, and receive, how they operate on a detailed level.

The exfiltration risks are existential... and they aren't a future problem, they were a last year problem. This marketplace is very much in trouble! Are you aware that Google's AI as part of Googles standard search can write for you an entire business plan on most public businesses? This message goes out to the owner of this forum, you know the content he sells? Yeah, AI generated at a request, right now to the correct LLM. The ENTIRE PROGRAM can be replicated, on demand.

Oh... one final uncomfortable note...

Microsoft doesn't need "improved adoption rates". They're selling Copilot so fast they cannot keep up with the infrastructure expansion required to fuel it. There's a reason that M365 Copilot is only available on an annual commitment, they didn't even let you pay for it monthly until a March, and the product only really launched in January!

It's selling... to all market segments... right now... like hot cakes. I've got customers contacting me daily asking about it, how to protect themselves from AI, you name it. This is from orgs with 5 people, all the way up to some of the largest orgs you've ever heard of.

$661.20 / year / user for Premium + Copilot. US Federal minimum wage is $7.25 / hour, consider a 20 hour a week employee. That's $6,960 / year to have that human, the above tools are just shy of 10% of that cost. Let that sink in, let that inform your decisions. The business decision is painfully clear, and I want everyone here to understand that, drive value from it, and survive the coming storm.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Now... for Copilot enabled Rob. Seriously, if I had this tech in my hands Intouch would have NEVER CLOSED. This thing makes me better.
The Prompt:

Please take the provided following text and rewrite it using a professional tone, appropriate for use with business leadership.  As a secondary objective, this is to act as a persuasive action to technical assets working for the targeted business leaders.

The Output:

I’d like to offer a candid perspective on the transformative potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot and why its adoption is not just a technical enhancement—but a strategic necessity.

At $30 per user per month, Copilot only needs to save one hour of time per person each month to justify its cost. And that’s a conservative estimate. Even if you consider just the time saved through email summation alone, the ROI becomes immediately clear. This isn’t a tool for everyone—it’s a force multiplier for decision-makers and builders. It’s designed to empower those who shape outcomes, not just consume information.

Yet, the real barrier to adoption isn’t cost, it’s comprehension. The failure to recognize and communicate the value of this technology is a leadership gap. If we hesitate to present this to our customers or internal stakeholders, we’re not protecting budgets, we’re limiting potential. It’s not our role to decide what customers can afford; it’s our responsibility to show them what’s possible.

Let’s put this in perspective:

• M365 Business Premium: $23.60/user/month
• M365 Copilot: $31.50/user/month
• Total: $55.10/user/month

That’s a fraction of the cost of a single employee. If an organization cannot afford this investment, it raises deeper questions about operational viability. The value proposition is not hypothetical it’s measurable, immediate, and scalable.

More importantly, this technology enables a shift from routine execution to strategic contribution. It reduces the burden of repetitive tasks and frees up time for high-value work. Organizations that embrace this shift will accelerate. Those that don’t will fall behind.

Why?

Because the disruption AI brings is not just about automation it’s about intelligence. Companies that fail to adopt AI will suffer in two critical ways:

1. Loss of Competitive Edge: They won’t leverage AI to maintain or grow their market position.
2. Data Leakage via Shadow AI: Employees will seek out external tools, often unsecured, risking the exfiltration of proprietary knowledge into public models models that competitors can query.

This is not a future risk. It’s already happening.

Consider this: AI models today can generate entire business plans for public companies using only publicly available data. Proprietary content, once leaked, becomes a blueprint for competitors. The threat is real, and the timeline is now.

And let’s be clear Microsoft is not struggling with adoption. Demand is outpacing infrastructure. Copilot is selling across all market segments, from five-person startups to global enterprises. The annual commitment model isn’t a sales tactic it’s a capacity safeguard.

At $661.20 per user per year, the cost is less than 10% of what it takes to employ a part-time worker at US Federal minimum wage. The math is simple. The value is undeniable. The decision is strategic.

This is a call to action for leadership to lead, and for technical teams to champion. The organizations that understand this will thrive. Those that don’t may not survive the coming wave.

Let’s be on the right side of that curve.

 

[callthatgirl]

@Sky-Knight you can consult with us first lol. I'd hire you to help me learn a lot of what I don't know. And I know this post is public and I'm not afraid to admit when I need to learn something. Videos won't help me as I don't service what the videos offer, I have watched many and can't calculate how my clients will benefit from whatever I'm watching.

Since I'm not a reseller for MS, I won't be upselling Copilot and not sure how to even navigate this into my service list.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@callthatgirl some of this scares the ever loving daylights out of me.

I don't really have the words in this format to fully express everything that I've seen, and Copilot is only 6 months old. It's also not the ONLY product in this space, and yes... I've used many of them. I've got a lab running models locally too! At least... I did... up until that idiot drove a U-Haul into my house. This is a huge issue for me personally, because I'm losing weeks of access to a process that's evolving by the hour!

 

[callthatgirl]

I help 40 or so clients a week and I swear every day I'm like "wtf did that go now" or "why is it doing that and it didn't do that yesterday"

My clients are in support of my misery lol. "thank god it's you!"

The last "lab" I bought now sits on my far desk hoping to get used again. Unplugged and safe as a kitten.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I help 40 or so clients a week and I swear every day I'm like "wtf did that go now" or "why is it doing that and it didn't do that yesterday"

My clients are in support of my misery lol. "thank god it's you!"

The last "lab" I bought now sits on my far desk hoping to get used again. Unplugged and safe as a kitten.


View attachment 17564

I need that bell for my daughter...

 

[HCHTech]

At $661.20 per user per year, the cost is less than 10% of what it takes to employ a part-time worker at US Federal minimum wage. The math is simple. The value is undeniable. The decision is strategic.

This is a call to action for leadership to lead, and for technical teams to champion. The organizations that understand this will thrive. Those that don’t may not survive the coming wave.

Thanks for spelling this out so succinctly!

Devil's advocate view: You can make this same argument for many, many things, but the upside potential is 100% reliant on the customer seeing the dollar value of the savings in this equation, not to mention investing in training & such to get the full benefits possible. Without that, they only focus on the expense. Considering how much every single expense has risen over the last year, this is a tough nut to crack.

I have no problem at all believing that the client reactions I've gotten so far are mostly do to my poor salesmanship skills. I have a TPA firm that bought a single license for the marketing person to use precisely for the email summary benefit. After 3 months, I asked her how it was going. She said something along the lines of "Well, it's not as great as I would have hoped. I like it, but it doesn't save me as much time as I was hoping it would." I don't really have a retort for that......that's why I need to start using it myself.

I also think I need to ask CoPilot itself questions like:

"What tasks can CoPilot help with for a small accounting firm?"

or

"What tasks can CoPilot help with for a small architecture firm?"

etc. This would give me some (hopefully) concrete examples I can use in my approach.

So I'm going to pony up for licenses for my shop and see how it goes.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@HCHTech You've got it! That's exactly what you do.

Then you keep kicking it....

Level 1: Get the free Copilot to do something useful.
Level 2: Get M365 Copilot, and work that into your workflow.

Level 2 is DEEEEEP... every office application has its own variant of Copilot, each tuned to that app's context and operations.

Outlook Copilot, summarizes huge email chains, coaches email drafting, can rewrite emails based on provided context. I use this personally to find call outs for me in huge email threads, as well as to rewrite my grumpy technobabble into something a board member will understand. (See above)

Word Copilot, similar to the drafting bits of Outlook, it can create entire documents or sections, rewrite things, proof read things. The chat is also useful for idea bouncing while working through complex topics. It's a powerful creative accelerator. Saves me real time, while also improving the quality of the contracts I'm writing daily.

Excel Copilot... OMG... Where do I even get started? Feed it a table and it makes pivots, charts... suggests visualizations you may want to present. Then the real magic... it remembers all those silly formulas and junk that I once used 5 years ago, gives me a working example that I can tweak into whatever in minutes. Instead of spending hours trolling forums and reading the docs on a command... it just "does it", and I mutate it accordingly. People think I'm an Excel wizard, Rob post copilot is near God tier. That's HUGE for me, because I'm constantly mining data from systems to determine the changes we need to make, when, where, and why.

Teams Copilot, AI transcriptions and captions, automated meeting notes and highlighted recordings. You'll never forget anything EVER AGAIN with this thing.

Then... and this is where I think we consultants will find some serious gold to mine for years

Level 3, Building automated workflows that fuse M365 Copilot, Power Automate, and M365 services. This is where you're building customized AI agents to perform specific tasks, then orchestrating it all through Power Automate to a place where you can tell the bot in Teams... go and make a proposal for this subject matter, for that customer. Come back in 5min, and the document is prepped in my target SharePoint repo. Is it perfect? Oh no... but it's 60% of the way there, and now I can focus on alignment instead of cold start.

This is $30 / month.

I cannot describe to you all how much I simply cannot do my job without this tool anymore.

 

[HCHTech]

And let’s be clear Microsoft is not struggling with adoption. Demand is outpacing infrastructure. Copilot is selling across all market segments, from five-person startups to global enterprises. The annual commitment model isn’t a sales tactic it’s a capacity safeguard.

Also, this isn't a challenge, but I'm wondering where you get this information? Googling (I know....but let's start there) this question gives the following AI response:

=========
While it's difficult to definitively say whether Microsoft is having a "hard time" selling Copilot, here's a breakdown of the situation:
1. Adoption and User Feedback:

• Mixed Reviews: User experiences with Copilot are mixed. Some find it useful for tasks like summarizing meetings and drafting emails, while others find it unreliable or inaccurate.
• Potential for Improvement: Some users have reported that Copilot's responses can be generic, lack detail, or even be inaccurate.
• Integration Issues: Some users have reported difficulties integrating Copilot with other Microsoft products, according to a Microsoft Community forum.
• Forced Adoption Concerns: Some users express frustration with Copilot being integrated into their workflows, even when they may not find it beneficial.

2. Sales and Revenue:

• No Separate Revenue Reporting: As of mid-2024, Microsoft was not reporting separate revenue figures for Copilot.
• Focus on Adoption: Microsoft has emphasized customer adoption and the increasing number of organizations using Copilot.

3. Potential Reasons for Challenges:

• Value Proposition: Some users may not fully grasp Copilot's value proposition or how it can improve their productivity.
• Limited Use Cases: Some users may find that Copilot doesn't offer enough relevant use cases for their specific work needs.
• Pricing: The cost of Copilot might be a barrier for some organizations, particularly if they are unsure about its value or have other AI solutions already in place.
• Integration Issues: Challenges integrating Copilot into existing workflows or with other tools could hinder adoption.
• Lack of Training: Lack of adequate training and support for users could affect how effectively Copilot is used.

In Conclusion:
While Microsoft is actively promoting Copilot and its potential benefits, there are mixed user reviews and potential challenges regarding its sales and adoption. Some users are finding Copilot useful, while others are encountering issues or not seeing the value. Microsoft is likely working to address these issues and improve the user experience and overall value of Copilot.
=========

I found this article, which gives a middling review, citing lack of positive use cases as the main problem, and document summary as the main benefit. I also found this article, listing pros and cons of CoPilot - giving a similar conclusion.

I think use cases are the key here. If I can go to one of my attorney clients and say "you can summarize received pleadings in 30 seconds instead of having to manually review each one", then I might have a chance. I just don't know (yet) if that's true, and I don't have similar statements (yet) I can make for my accountants, financial advisors, architects, landscapers, metal fabricators, insurance agents, funeral homes, chiropractors, engineers, movers, retail stores, opticians, electricians, candy makers (that's a fun client!), etc. Since I don't have a main vertical market, my clients are all over the map. I think to really have a chance convincing each one of these that this is a good idea, I have to have at least one concrete use-case I and present to each one.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@HCHTech, I was getting data directly from Microsoft on Copilot adoption at Ignite. I've been selling the daylights out of it to clients at my dayjob of all levels. I also follow their data center construction rates, the ramp up after launch of Copilot is pretty wild. I suppose it could be a self created bubble, but given what I've been getting from my own customers that doesn't feel accurate.

You're right you need to have that use case but honestly... just the email bits are enough to pay for it.

And the answer is YES... Copilot is VERY GOOD at taking two documents, and telling you what's different. It's very good at summarizing documents too. Lawyers eat this thing up! The difficulty I have is with smaller practices, because they can get ChatGPT for $20, and turn it off next month if they don't like it. Copilot is better... but is it another $10 / month more plus an annual commitment better? That is a very real friction point!

 

[callthatgirl]

@Sky-Knight ... just the email bits are enough to pay for it.

do tell (please)

 

[Sky-Knight]

@Sky-Knight ... just the email bits are enough to pay for it.

do tell (please)

It's in post 14 above.

Copilot in Outlook is amazing stuff, and typically the things that get people interested. Friction point? Copilot is a cloud based tool, ergo all of the information it works on must be in the cloud.

TLDR... Outlook Classic ain't gonna cut it, you have to be in New Outlook to use it.

But seriously, when the Copilot trial for my company went live internally, once my manager of Professional Services got it, and I had it... the entire company was SCREAMING for it. The two of us are HUGE bottle necks within our org for various reasons. Copilot made us more, and the performance gains were so visible half the company was asking... how?!?

Once that got out, it was over, and it's been spreading from our teams to all of our customers ever since. We don't "sell" Copilot, we just let people see how we work a bit, and licenses go out the door.

 

[callthatgirl]

Ok, I saw it and didn't match it up. I'l check into it. I'm sure in a bigger org it can do so much more. For one person, I'm deep into chatgpt it knows me better than I do!

So yeah, Copilot would pick up on my stuff probably quick. I might get a license to eff around. I did try it last year but it was a test for a client and it failed miserably.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Ok, I saw it and didn't match it up. I'l check into it. I'm sure in a bigger org it can do so much more. For one person, I'm deep into chatgpt it knows me better than I do!

So yeah, Copilot would pick up on my stuff probably quick. I might get a license to eff around. I did try it last year but it was a test for a client and it failed miserably.

If you're used to ChatGPT, there is one huge thing that will eat your lunch...

ChatGPT learns from you, the more you use it, the more it adapts to you. That's wonderful from a human perspective, but it's also a compliance nightmare... you lose ownership of everything you put into ChatGPT. The better it gets, the better it is at serving the entire planet, which includes giving away your processes and secrets to anyone that asks! I know there are chats marked to not do this... but they do... they've been caught.

Copilot does NONE of these things, so you must learn how to query it, it will never learn you, because it's never taking ownership of anything you feed it. That's great! But now you need to learn how to work with it... Specific words, phrases, etc. I have a OneNote FULL of prompts that have worked well.

OpenAI's products are more varied too, the various models have different use cases. Copilot is crap at math in comparison, and higher level reasoning. What Copilot is good at is being your personal assistant, because it's directly integrated with your M365 applications, it works within the proper context at the start, and helps you move through those applications more efficiently.

The size of the org isn't what's at play... it's your personal workflow that determines its value. I live and die by vast quantities of information that ultimately go into Word, so it can spit out a PDF of a contract to get signed. Because my workflow lives and dies by Outlook, Word, and Excel, Copilot making me faster in those three things specifically just makes me more me.

But if you don't have a workflow married to M365 in some way, Copilot is going to lose value relative to ChatGPT or any of its competitors. Rather like everything else Microsoft does really... it's not the best, it's the 80% solution that works out better because it bolts into everything else.