NHS England announced it will provide Microsoft 365 Copilot access to 505,000 clinicians and support staff, representing what the organization describes as the largest implementation of its kind in the healthcare sector.

The deployment follows a trial involving 30,000 NHS workers across 90 NHS organizations. According to the press release, the trial found that using Copilot saved users an average of 43 minutes on administrative tasks per day, equivalent to five weeks annually per person.

The agreement includes access to Copilot Studio, which will enable NHS England to build and deploy AI agents for workflow automation. Individual NHS trusts will be able to create custom agents for specific challenges, with governance provided through Agent 365.

Health Innovation and Safety Minister Preet Kaur Gill stated that the technology aims to reduce administrative burdens on healthcare professionals and allow more time for patient care.

Rob Thompson, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer at NHS England, said the partnership will help drive NHS productivity and enable patients to receive treatment sooner.

The implementation will follow a 12-month onboarding plan, with 200,000 users scheduled to be added within the first six months. NHS England will provide training programs to ensure staff can utilize the AI tools effectively.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) CEO for UK & Ireland Darren Hardman commented that the rollout will help NHS teams reduce administrative work and improve productivity across the health service.

The system is intended to assist various NHS functions including ward clerk duties, medical secretarial work, core services like HR and finance, and management tasks such as drafting board papers and organizational analysis.