5 Key Takeaways from the Webinar: Breaking Down Knowledge Silos with Copilot Agents

This webinar provided a comprehensive discussion about addressing content silos using Copilot agents and semantic layers. This innovative approach offers a transformational edge for organisations struggling to access actionable knowledge assets within their SharePoint environments.

Featuring expertise from Tony Ressaire, Innovation Director at Altuent, and Helmut Nagy, VP Sales Enablement at Graphwise.

Here, we distill the session’s key points, quotes, and actionable takeaways that will help you maximise the insights shared in this webinar.

1. Siloed Knowledge Inhibits Business Growth

One of the recurring themes highlighted in the webinar was the adverse impact of siloed knowledge on business growth and operational efficiency. Helmut Nagy, VP of Sales Enablement at Graphwise, vividly illustrated this by drawing parallels to the pharmaceutical industry. He explained how delays in retrieving accurate information for FDA compliance can directly translate into mounting costs:

“The longer it takes to find the right information to answer questions from the FDA, the longer it takes to get the drug approved—and that’s cost. Only when you get it approved can you sell it.”

Toni Ressaire, Innovation Director at Altuent, added to this by discussing how siloed knowledge leads to duplicated efforts, inaccuracies, and compliance risks.

The conclusion? Knowledge silos slow businesses down, raise costs, and create avoidable errors.

2. Valuable Institutional Knowledge Is Locked in Your SharePoint

SharePoint often serves as the primary repository for institutional knowledge, yet accessing this information quickly and reliably remains a challenge. Toni confessed that her opinion on SharePoint as a knowledge repository had radically evolved over time:

“If you had asked me five years ago, ‘Is SharePoint a viable repository for knowledge?’ I would have tried not to roll my eyes before I gave you a really good answer as to why it’s not.”

Today, the introduction of Copilot has shifted her stance completely. As Toni shared:

“SharePoint is the primary citation source for Copilot. When you’re using Copilot to search, this is where it’s getting most of its information from.”

However, both Toni and Helmut noted that SharePoint’s full potential often goes untapped, primarily due to the lack of structured metadata, poor tagging practices, and chaotic file organisation. With an effective strategy, organisations can unlock this treasure trove of resources and make SharePoint an asset rather than a liability.

3. Copilot Agents Can Bridge the Knowledge Gap

One of the standout topics in the webinar was the exciting potential of AI Copilot agents. As Toni demonstrated, Copilot agents go far beyond traditional search functionalities by integrating natural language understanding, identifying cross-referenced documents, and unearthing insights across repositories. For example, while showcasing a Copilot search scenario, she remarked:

“Even though I used different terminology, it was able to give me a really accurate response. And I’m really happy with that response and that we can now trust the responses that we’re getting from Copilot.”

Helmut shared diverse use cases, including compliance support, employee onboarding, and even upskilling through Copilot agents. He succinctly explained:

“Copilot agents could also help people access the most relevant information for their job or for getting upskilled.”

By transforming previously siloed content into actionable insights, Copilot agents empower teams to make informed decisions without spending hours sifting through legacy systems.

4. Metadata Makes Agents MUCH More Reliable

The backbone that enables Copilot agents to deliver reliable, actionable answers is metadata. Both speakers emphasised that strong tagging, taxonomies, and semantic enrichment are crucial for AI’s success. Toni passionately spoke about the transformation made possible by auto-tagging technology:

“When I first saw the auto-tagging feature in Graphwise, in PoolParty… I was just like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ That was amazing. It tagged hundreds of documents in a couple of minutes.”

This shift from manual tagging—which can be excruciatingly slow—to automated approaches enables teams to enrich their data at scale. Helmut summed it up perfectly:

“The agent becomes smarter when it is grounded in accurate metadata. Without that foundation, you’ll always struggle with reliability.”

Organisations that prioritise developing a semantic layer for their SharePoint environments will see far greater returns from Copilot agents—a theme that resonated deeply with the audience.

5. Start with a Proof of Concept (POC)

A crystal-clear message from Toni and Helmut was the importance of starting small when introducing Copilot agents into your organisation. Toni explained Altuent’s consulting framework, which is designed to ease businesses into the adoption process:

“We take you through a framework…discover, define, implement, fine-tune, and control. It’s very iterative.”

She stressed that the best way forward is not an overhaul of SharePoint or rewriting thousands of documents but rather a “low-touch approach” that starts with business goals and use cases. This POC phase is essential, both for measuring the feasibility of integrating Copilot agents with existing systems and for evaluating AI’s performance with custom semantic layers tailored to specific organisational needs.

Helmut revealed that even Graphwise champions this philosophy:

“The solutions we’re discussing today can work with any type of data or content repository, allowing clients to realise value without major disruptions.”

By starting with a POC, organisations can reduce risks, build internal confidence in AI, and ensure that Copilot delivers a reliable, trustworthy experience from day one.

Final Thoughts

This webinar underscored how Copilot agents, powered by semantic technology, are revolutionising the way organisations approach knowledge management. From breaking down content silos in SharePoint to delivering trustworthy answers, Copilot offers robust solutions that unlock SharePoint’s full potential.

For those interested in diving deeper, Helmut also teased the Graphwise AI Summit happening in October—a free-to-attend event promising more customer use cases and insights that further expand on this conversation. Toni summed it up beautifully:

“The Graphwise AI Summit is just really one of the most informative conference-type events I’ve been to in the last couple of years.”

Ready to tackle your knowledge silos and explore Copilot agents?

Start with a POC, invest in metadata enrichment, and see how AI like Copilot can transform your business!