Caroline Bishop
Mar 10, 2026 14:39
Kerry Group exec reveals how Microsoft’s AI assistant cut 86-page document review from hours to 90 minutes as new agentic features hit enterprise customers.
Microsoft’s push to embed AI across enterprise workflows is gaining traction, with Kerry Group’s Shane McGibney offering a concrete example of how the $30-per-user Copilot service is changing how executives handle information overload.
McGibney, who works at the Irish food ingredients giant, described using Copilot to digest an 86-page acquisition proposal in 90 minutes—without reading a single page. “I leveraged Copilot to give me executive summaries of all the different sections and I chose to ask questions as I would of any potential acquisition based on my experience,” he said. “Copilot did exceptionally well for me.”
The testimonial arrives as Microsoft rolls out Wave 3 of its Copilot updates, announced in March 2026. The latest iteration focuses on “agentic AI”—features that let the assistant execute multi-step tasks rather than just answering questions. A new “Copilot Cowork” function can now orchestrate entire workflows, like preparing for customer meetings, integrating technology from Anthropic’s Claude.
For McGibney, whose background is business rather than scientific, Copilot serves as a knowledge bridge. “I don’t have an expertise in science,” he explained. “So, I need to find a way to quickly get up to speed in certain details on market dynamics, or in some of the latest processing techniques because I’m speaking with scientists or I’m making investment decisions.”
Microsoft has been aggressively expanding Copilot’s capabilities since the November 2023 enterprise launch. February 2026 brought quick actions in Outlook, the ability to draft emails directly in Copilot Chat, and agent creation from SharePoint files. Wave 2 had previously added collaboration tools across the ecosystem.
The company’s stock has remained relatively stable, trading at $409.41 as of March 9, 2026, with a market cap of $3.04 trillion. Enterprise AI adoption remains a key growth driver as Microsoft competes with Google and emerging players for corporate AI spend.
McGibney’s use case—rapid document synthesis for M&A decisions—represents exactly the high-stakes scenario Microsoft is targeting. Whether the $30 monthly fee delivers consistent ROI at scale remains the question enterprise buyers are still answering.
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