Have you seen a colourful new button pop up on the Microsoft products you use… Please give a warm welcome to Microsoft’s new AI tool, Copilot! Built directly into Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, Copilot is designed to help you get more done. All without needing to be a tech expert or spend hours figuring things out!

Instead of learning new software or complex shortcuts, Copilot works by letting you ask for help in plain language, just like it’s a friend! Below, we’re breaking down five of the best features of Copilot, what they actually do, and why they can make your everyday computer tasks a whole lot easier!

Natural Language Prompts That Feel Easy and Familiar

One of Copilot’s biggest strengths is how natural it feels to use! You don’t need to remember specific commands, technical terms, or where things are hidden in menus. Just type or speak your request as if you were asking a person for help!

This is a big shift from how most software has worked in the past. Instead of learning how the program thinks, Copilot adapts to how you think!  You can ask it to summarise a document, explain something in simple terms, or rewrite text, all without worrying about wording things “correctly”.

For people who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy, this is huge! Just like other AIs, it removes a lot of the intimidation that comes with powerful software and makes everyday tools far more accessible!

Here are some prompts to try:

• “This feels messy. Can you clean it up for me?”
• “Does anything here look wrong or confusing?”
• “How would you explain this to someone who knows nothing about the topic?”

Smarter Writing and Editing in Microsoft Word

Writing can be one of the most time-consuming parts of using a computer… Especially when you’re trying to get the tone just right. Copilot helps in Word by drafting content, rewriting paragraphs, summarising long documents, and polishing wording so it reads and sounds just how you want it!

It’s particularly useful when you know what you want to say but struggle with how to say it. No need to be a pro writer! Copilot can turn rough notes into a structured draft, simplify complex language, or adjust the tone depending on the situation. You always get to review and edit the result, so don’t stress, you still have the final say!

So next time you’re working on reports, letters, schoolwork, or personal documents, use Copilot to remove the “blank page” problem! It doesn’t replace your ideas; it just helps you easily express them with far less effort.

Here are some prompts to try:

• “Rewrite this document to sound more professional and concise, while keeping the original meaning. Improve clarity, fix grammar, and reduce repetition.”
• “Summarise this document into 5 clear bullet points highlighting the key takeaways for someone who hasn’t read it.”
• “Rewrite this content for a non-technical audience. Use plain language, short sentences, and avoid jargon.”

Making Excel Easier to Understand and Use

Excel is incredibly powerful, but it’s also one of the most intimidating programs in the Microsoft suite. Many people only scratch the surface because formulas, charts, and data analysis can feel overwhelming. However, with the addition of Copilot, this helps bridge that gap by letting you ask questions about your data in plain language.

Instead of trying to figure out formulas or graphs yourself, you can ask Copilot to summarise trends, explain what a table means, or create a simple report from your spreadsheet. Making it much easier to understand what your data is actually telling you.

This is ideal for small businesses, home users, and anyone who uses Excel occasionally, saving a huge amount of time. It turns Excel from this stressful, complicated tool into something genuinely helpful, without requiring you to become an expert. Adding this AI help to Excel is definitely one of the best features of Copilot!

Here are some prompts to try:

• “Analyse this spreadsheet and tell me any key trends, patterns, or unusual values. Summarise the insights in plain English.”
• “Create the formulas needed to calculate totals, averages, and percentage changes for this data. Explain what each formula does.”
• “Create a clear chart that shows the main trend in this data and suggest the best chart type to use.”

Faster, Cleaner Presentations in PowerPoint

Creating presentations often takes far longer than expected. Even when you know your topic, turning notes into clear slides and speaker notes can be a slow, drawn-out process. Copilot then comes into play, just like an assistant. It’s great at generating slide outlines, summarising content, and writing speaker notes based on your existing information. What a huge time saver, right?! Less time formatting slides and more time focusing on the message you want to deliver!

Whether it’s for work, a club meeting, or a personal project, Copilot helps you get to your final result much faster. PowerPoint has been around for decades, and now Copilot is giving it a modern boost! It keeps things simple while still helping you produce presentations that are organised, clear and professional! Or maybe just a little more chaotic if that’s a bit of you…

Here are some prompts to try:

• “Create a 6–8 slide presentation on this topic. Include a title slide, key points on each slide, and a short conclusion. Keep the tone clear and professional.”
• “Summarise this document into a slide deck. Use concise bullet points, suggest slide titles, and highlight the most important information.”
•  “Rewrite these slides to be more engaging and easier to read. Reduce text, improve flow, and suggest where visuals or icons would help.”

Email & Organisation Help in Outlook

Wouldn’t it be nice if dealing with pesky emails took way less time? Long threads, unclear action items, and constant back-and-forth messages can quickly pile up. Summarising email conversations, highlighting important points, and drafting replies when needed are just some of the many uses Copilot can help you with!

Copilot is especially useful when you’re catching up after time away or trying to quickly understand what’s going on in a long thread. Copilot can point out what needs action and help you respond clearly without starting from scratch. By reducing the mental load of email management, you can now stay organised and spend less time in your inbox. That alone can make a noticeable difference to how productive your day feels!

Here are some prompts to try:

• “Draft a polite and professional reply to this email. Keep it concise and friendly, and include clear next steps.”
• “Summarise this email conversation. Highlight key decisions, action items, and who is responsible for what.”
•  “Rewrite this email to sound more confident and professional, without sounding abrupt or rude.”

The best features of Copilot all focus on one thing: making everyday tasks easier. Instead of spending time figuring out how to use software, you can focus on what you actually want to achieve.

Like any new technology, Copilot can feel unfamiliar at first, especially when it appears after an update with little explanation. A bit of guidance can make all the difference when it comes to getting comfortable with new tools.

We help everyday Kiwis understand and use technology with confidence. Whether you want any help learning how to use it properly, or making sure your device can handle modern software, we’re here to help. Because technology should work for you, not against you!

While we can’t answer all of those, we’ve put on our thinking caps and pulled together some tech predictions for 2026. AI is impossible to ignore, but we’ve made a conscious effort to look beyond the hype. Exploring what else might shape the tech landscape next year.

Rising Component Prices

We’ve already seen the cost of RAM begin to skyrocket, rising nearly 50 percent in the latter stages of 2025. This tech trend is expected to continue into 2026. Other components, including storage and GPUs, are also increasing in price. This is largely driven by the rapid growth of AI, which requires enormous amounts of computing power. Current supply chains are struggling to keep up.

Globally, data centre capacity is expected to triple by 2030, and all of that expansion requires vast amounts of hardware. As a result, consumers are increasingly taking a back seat while large commercial clients are prioritised. Earlier this year, Micron, one of the world’s leading memory manufacturers, confirmed it would stop producing its Crucial line of consumer RAM and SSDs. The company has instead chosen to focus on meeting demand for high-powered artificial intelligence hardware.

“The AI-driven growth in the data centre has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments,” said Sumit Sadana, EVP and Chief Business Officer at Micron Technology.

What does this mean for consumers?

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your device, waiting may not be your friend. Prices are unlikely to soften in the short term.

More Autonomous Robots

Autonomous devices are going to be one of the main tech trends of 2026. They are becoming more common, from warehouse robots and cute delivery bots to automated production lines and fully autonomous cars. While robots have often felt like a gimmick in the past, 2026 is likely to see more meaningful adoption. This is especially true in industrial and logistics environments.

As AI systems improve, autonomous robots are becoming better at learning, correcting mistakes, and adapting to complex tasks. Large warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and supply chains are expected to lean further into automation to improve efficiency and reduce labour shortages. Fully driverless vehicles will continue to expand in controlled environments, such as delivery routes, mining, and transport hubs. That said, widespread consumer adoption is still likely to be slow, with regulation, safety concerns, and public trust remaining major barriers.

2026 Tech Predictions – Improved Cybersecurity

AI has introduced new security risks, including voice cloning, video deepfakes, and more convincing phishing scams. However, it’s also becoming one of the most powerful tools on the defensive side.

AI-driven cybersecurity systems can automate threat detection, analyse vast amounts of data, and respond to attacks far faster than traditional tools. By learning normal behaviour patterns, AI can identify unusual activity and flag potential threats early.

AI won’t replace human analysts in 2026. What we do expect is banks, cybersecurity firms, and antivirus providers to roll out more AI-powered protection features. This doesn’t eliminate risk, but it does help level the playing field in what has become a constant back-and-forth between attackers and defenders.

Renewed Energy for the “Great Log Off”

This one comes with a disclaimer: personal opinions may apply.
With social feeds increasingly flooded with AI-generated content, ads, and recycled trends, 2026 could mark a shift towards more intentional tech use. Not a mass digital exodus, but a growing desire to disengage from platforms that no longer feel rewarding.

Gen Z and Millennials are increasingly aware that endless scrolling, shortened attention spans, and unrealistic online content can take a toll on mental health. While people aren’t about to delete every app overnight, we may see more users curating feeds, setting boundaries, or stepping away from certain platforms altogether in favour of real-world connections.

AI Everywhere (Whether You Like It or Not)

In 2026, avoiding AI will be nearly impossible. If you weren’t a fan of Microsoft’s Copilot rollout, brace yourself. AI is expected to be embedded into most major apps, websites, and devices by default. From drafting emails and managing calendars to shopping recommendations and customer support, the amount of effort required from users will continue to shrink.

That said, AI fatigue is real. While convenience is a major selling point, not everyone is comfortable handing over more control, data and personal information. Expect a growing tension between automation and user choice, with people becoming more selective about when AI helps and when it gets in the way.

What this means for everyday tech users

Tech in 2026 is getting more powerful, more expensive, and more complex. From rising hardware costs to AI baked into everyday devices, staying on top of it all is becoming harder for everyday users. That’s where Geeks on Wheels can help. We make technology reliable, secure, and easy to use, whether that’s through device upgrades, performance checks, security advice, or getting everything set up properly from the start. Call today to get the help you need!

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is no longer just a buzzword, it’s everywhere, that’s why spotting AI is so important! From social media to the arts and media! With it becoming so mainstream, the line between what’s real and what’s not becomes blurred.

Unfortunately, you can’t check every piece of media with an AI content detector. So, improving your AI spotting skills is a must! Sometimes, content is conveniently marked as AI-created. Other times, it’s simply not. Avoid being misled, start spotting AI-generated content today.

AI-generated images

AI-generated images often look a bit too perfect! The lighting might seem too even, and the contents of the image can appear glossy and artificial. AI struggles with the finer details, so always make sure to check for distorted imagery in the background of an image and look out for garbled text and numbers. Also, if there are persons present in an image, check that they don’t have extra or misplaced hands and limbs. This is a dead giveaway!

For detailed instructions on spotting AI-generated images, make sure to check out our dedicated blog. You’ll be a pro AI content detector in no time!

Spotting AI-generated videos

The first thing you should be thinking to yourself is, “Does this scenario seem believable?” If a video’s contents are unbelievable, or too good to be true, stay suspicious and look for other signs. Like AI-generated images, an obvious sign that a video is AI-generated is if the quality of the video looks too perfect, glossy and artificial.

We’d also suggest looking out for discontinuity when spotting AI content. For example, an item of clothing might change colour across different clips or different elements may blend into each other.

Unnatural body posture or facial movements is another giveaway. If the mouth or chin area looks blurred and the audio doesn’t sync with the mouth, treat the video’s origins with suspicion!

With Google’s release of Veo 3, their latest AI video model, AI-generated videos have become a lot harder to spot! It’s worth mentioning, AI-generated videos don’t always look polished or high quality.

Many people creating and posting AI-generated videos are now using poorer quality clips to make them more believable. Passing them off as security camera footage or clips filmed on a mobile phone.

Audio quality is currently another way that you can spot AI videos. Voices often sound metallic and tinny. Read our next section to learn more. Keep in mind, updates will likely fix these flaws very soon. AI is rapidly evolving and will likely not be distinguishable from non-AI-generated content in what could be a matter of months.

AI-generated audio

AI has provided the ability to copy a person’s voice and pretend to be someone else. This also makes it a great tool for scammers who can imitate a loved one or someone you know. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use an AI content detector for a phone call.

So, if you get a call or a voice message that seems suspicious, listen closely. Is there oddly no background noise at all? Or is there background noise that sounds unnatural, such as static or crackling noises?

Oddities like this should be an indication that something is not legitimate. If you pay attention to the speaker’s voice, does their tone sound robotic, flat or unnatural? Context clues are also important to pay attention to. It’s strange to get a call from your high school friend saying, “Hello, I’m having trouble remembering the name of our history teacher, could you help me out?”

An unexpected call out of the blue like this could be an attempt to gather personal information to access accounts. Another common tactic is using the voice of a loved one in distress. Err on the side of caution; you could be very likely listening to AI-generated audio.

Make a safeword with your loved ones.

We suggest families create a “safeword” that only they know. This can be used to verify their identity to each other. This method has even been recommended by the FBI.

According to the FBI “Criminals exploit generative artificial intelligence (AI) to commit fraud on a larger scale, which increases the believability of their schemes. Generative AI reduces the time and effort criminals must expend to deceive their targets.” Criminals can create convincing images and videos of loved ones in distressing situations. These are designed to cause victims to act without thinking, as well as provide money, information and sensitive data.

Creating a secret word or phrase with your family is an important way to verify their identity. Make sure this phrase isn’t shared online.

For more advice on scam protection, staying safe online and/or spotting AI-generated content, call the Geeks on 0800 424 335. We’re here to help!