Microsoft MVP News, Copilot Costs, Scout Automations and AI Security

Microsoft MVP News, Copilot Costs, Scout Automations and AI Security

In this episode of Two Surfdudes and AI, Paul and Vincent celebrate Vincent becoming a Microsoft MVP for Microsoft 365 Copilot. They discuss what changed now that Cowork has moved to pay-as-you-go, why companies are rethinking AI costs, and when Copilot, Cowork, Scout, scheduled prompts, workflows or agents make the most sense. The conversation also covers Copilot skills in PowerPoint and Excel, brand kits, dashboards, Microsoft Scout automations, token pricing, AI enablement, and the security risks of building with new npm packages. And as always, they end with surf: heatwaves, campervan life, surfing with kids, summer waves and a new wave pool in Belgium.

Cowork Is GA: What You Actually Pay Now (+ WorkIQ, Scout & PowerPoint AI)

Cowork just went GA, and the free ride is almost over. In this episode Paul and Vincent break down what is actually changing, what it will cost you, and how to roll it out without panicking your board. Real numbers, real opinions, no hype. Cowork went GA on June 16 and stays free until July 1 for Frontier companies, after that it moves to pay-as-you-go according to Microsoft. WorkIQ also went GA, which changes the game for context-aware Copilot. In this episode: - Cowork is GA: the caveats, the timeline, and the July 1 cutoff - What it really costs (300 to 400 euro a month) and how to cut your token bill - GPT 5.5 vs Claude, subprocessors, and the GDPR setting you must check - Microsoft's own cheaper model, and how companies should roll all this out - Brand Kit, PowerPoint AI and the MyImage 2.5 model that surprised us - Building a full website with Scout and Playwright - WorkIQ is GA: why context is the real differentiator Chapters: (0:00) Weekend catch up, surf and a half marathon (4:01) Let's talk tech (4:22) Cowork is GA, with some big caveats (10:16) Cowork timeline: free until July 1 (11:38) GDPR, subprocessors and GPT 5.5 vs Claude (12:27) Token cost analysis: 300 to 400 euro (13:42) Microsoft's own cheaper model is coming (15:44) How companies will actually roll it out (17:30) Copilot Chat training and a free webinar (21:34) MVP renewal season (24:01) Brand Kit in Create (26:29) Better AI images: Gemini vs Copilot (28:01) PowerPoint AI and the MyImage 2.5 model (30:17) Building a website with Scout and Playwright (33:08) WorkIQ is GA (38:03) Wrap up Download the free Microsoft 365 Copilot whitepaper: https://kbworks.eu/free-microsoft-365-copilot-whitepaper/ Book a free 30-minute consultation: https://bit.ly/30minintroductionmeeting Connect with Paul: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkeijzers-sharepoint-specialist-teams-expert/ Website: https://kbworks.eu/

Copilot Cowork & Skills: The 4 Steps Most Teams Skip

Most Copilot users still type prompts and wait. Cowork is where you describe an outcome, walk away, and come back to finished work. In this episode of 2 Surfdudes and AI, Vincent Claeys and Paul Keijzers unpack Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork and Skills, the part of Copilot most teams are still sleeping on. What we cover: • The evolution from Copilot Chat to Microsoft 365 Copilot to Cowork • The 4 steps to enable Cowork: Anthropic subprocessor, Frontier Mode, enabling the agent, and pinning it for users • What a skill really is, a Standard Operating Procedure your Copilot follows every time • Skill Factory, the fastest way to build and merge your own skills • Governance, where skills live in OneDrive, the risk of downloaded skills, and why a SharePoint list of approved skills is a smart starting point • Skills vs agents, when to choose which • A skill that scans your Outlook, Teams, and Cowork sessions every Monday and proposes new skills to build Also in this episode: Microsoft Build on June 2 and 3, the end of the Microsoft fiscal on July 1, and why pricing for Cowork is the conversation nobody is having out loud yet. If you are rolling out Copilot in your organisation and you have not touched Cowork yet, this episode will save you a few quarters of trial and error. Hosts: Paul Keijzers, Microsoft MVP and founder of KbWorks Vincent Claeys, independent Copilot consultant Follow the show for new episodes every two weeks.

Ep 2: Less Prompting, More Results? Brand Kits, DLP Gaps & EU Data

Paul Keijzers (Microsoft MVP, KbWorks) and Vincent Claeys are back for episode 2 of '2 Surf Dudes Talking AI'.This week we go deeper into the gap between adoption and governance. We talk about whether Cowork really kills the need for prompting, why foundations still matter for 80% of your users, and a DLP scenario where the same policy blocks content in Copilot but lets Cowork read it.We also cover MIP plus RMS plus DLP as the only safe stack, EU Data Boundary surprises in multi-geo tenants, flex routing, the Copilot 'entertainment only' myth that exploded on LinkedIn, and a live walkthrough of Brand Kits in PowerPoint with multiple brand kits per tenant. We close on Notebooks, mind maps, audio recaps, and what happens when you run four AI tasks at the same time.For IT pros, admins, MVPs and anyone responsible for Microsoft 365 governance.More on https://kbworks.eu/

We Tried AI. Here's What Actually Happened.

You keep hearing that AI will change the way you work. But what does that actually mean for you on a normal Tuesday morning? In this first episode of 2 Surf Dudes Talking AI, Paul Keijzers and Vincent Claeys — two consultants who work with Microsoft 365 and AI every day — sit down for a real conversation about what using AI actually looks like. Not in a presentation. Not in a demo. In real life, with real people who just want to get their work done. They talk about what surprises people when they first try AI tools, where it genuinely helps, where it falls flat, and why the gap between the promise and the reality is where the most interesting things happen. No jargon. No sales pitch. Just two guys being honest about something that is changing the way all of us work. New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe so you do not miss the next one. Connect with Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkeijzers-sharepoint-specialist-teams-expert/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkeijzers-sharepoint-specialist-teams-expert/]Connect with Vincent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claeysvincent/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/claeysvincent/]