Telstra is  underway with Australia's largest deployment of generative AI, with Copilot for M365 being made available to 21,000 of its staff. It is also one of the largest rollouts by any telecommunications company globally, the company claims.

Telstra says it is planning a phased roll out of Copilot to its regular users of Microsoft 365 apps, after consulting with employees and unions.

The large-scale adoption follows a trial by 300 early adopters, who reported using Copilot to summarise meetings, emails and chat threads, and generate first drafts of content.

According to survey results, most Telstra users reported saving between 1 - 2 hours per week, with 90 per cent agreeing that Copilot improved their experience at work.

The Copilot roll out is the next step in Telstra’s ambition to be an AI-fuelled company and follows the deployment of AI tools to help frontline employees better serve customers – like AskTelstra and One Sentence Summary – and a company-wide Data & AI Academy to train employees to use AI confidently and responsibly.

“We’re dedicated to equipping our people with the best AI technology and upskilling them to thrive in the workforce of the future,” said Telstra CEO Vicki Brady.

“Giving our team access to Copilot not only gives them the space and time to spend on more meaningful tasks, but also fosters a culture of continuous learning, improvement and innovation as we drive digital and AI transformation through our business.”

The expanded partnership builds on the strategic five-year agreement that Telstra and Microsoft announced in July 2022.

Microsoft has also announced it has selected Telstra as a strategic partner to extend its AI infrastructure in Australia to serve the growing demand for AI. As a foundational partner on Telstra’s new ultra-fast Intercity Fibre Network, Microsoft has now signed contracts for the first routes and has engaged Telstra InfraCo as part of its strategy to deliver enhanced connectivity solutions within Australia and to power more AI capabilities for its customers.

“As we move into this new era of AI, connectivity has never been more fundamental. There’s so much to be excited about when it comes to AI – including generative AI tools like Copilot – but none of it works without the foundational layer of secure, reliable connectivity,” said Brady.

“Our intercity fibre network routes connect Australia to the world, seamlessly transitioning terrestrial fibre to our extensive international subsea fibre network. This partnership, which involves building high-capacity intercity fibre routes for Microsoft, further enables Microsoft to boost its capacity and achieve end-to-end connectivity across key telecommunications routes in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region.

“With more than 1,800 kilometres of fibre already laid across the country, Telstra’s Intercity Fibre Network is undeniably about the future and will drive growth, connectivity and digital prosperity. It will move the nation’s digital capabilities from the gigabyte era to the terabyte era – which will be essential for AI, quantum and new data centre gigaplexes.”