DWP finds Copilot saves civil servants a whopping 19 minutes a day

Tool speeds up searches and first draft emails, becomes 'comfort blanket' for Whitehall workers

Microsoft Copilot saved civil servants 19 minutes daily on routine tasks, according to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) research comparing users to a control group of non-users.

This finding is lower than the 26-minute saving reported by participants in a Government Digital Service research study of 20,000 civil servants published in June 2025, though that research lacked a comparison group.

A separate Department for Business and Trade trial published last September found Copilot made no discernible productivity gains, speeding up some tasks while slowing others through poor-quality outputs.

The DWP research, examined how the paid licensed version of Copilot performed across eight routine tasks. It saved the most time - 26 minutes daily - when searching for existing information, followed by summarizing information, writing emails, and producing written material. It saved the least time (9 minutes daily) transcribing or summarizing meetings.

Copilot users primarily redirected time saved toward completing other tasks, improving work quality, and planning.

"It allows me to focus less on the mundane stuff. I can spend time doing my actual job," said one participant quoted in the research.

Beyond time savings, users reported Copilot improved their work quality, particularly for writing emails - although more for first drafts and suggestions than anything involving human judgement. Users also reported higher job satisfaction, with some calling the service a "comfort blanket" that reduced stress.

The research drew on surveys of 1,716 Copilot users and 2,535 non-users, plus 19 in-depth interviews. As staff volunteered or were nominated rather than randomly selected, researchers applied statistical adjustments for demographics, job roles, and AI experience.

DWP provided 3,549 staff in central office functions - rather than public-facing work such as in Jobcentres - with licenced Copilot between October 2024 and March 2025.

In April 2025 the department made the free version of Copilot available to all its staff. ®