Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Copilot Chat and Copilot must not be used for informing or supporting clinical decision-making, direct patient care, or any activity requiring clinical judgement.  

Whilst transcription can be used in a Microsoft Teams meeting, Copilot Chat and Copilot should not be used to summarise clinical content and users must not request, generate, or act on AI outputs in any clinical context. 

If you are considering the use of any AI tool for clinical purposes, please contact the Digital Clinical Team.  

In line with NHS England guidance, any AI tool that generates or summarises patient information is considered a medical device and must meet the following requirements before it can be used in clinical settings: 

• Completion of a Clinical Safety Assessment in accordance with DCB0160 standards 

• A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to ensure lawful and secure data use 

• Compliance with MHRA Class I medical device requirements if the tool performs clinical summarisation or documentation 

Background 

 AI tools are increasingly being used in meetings to support administrative tasks and improve efficiency. In some cases, they are also used as a reasonable adjustment to support colleagues to do their jobs.  

Microsoft Copilot users in Mersey Care may have access to record, transcribe and summarise meeting notes using an AI tool called Facilitator within Microsoft Teams.   

While Facilitator is approved for our use, other AI tools - such as Otter.ai or Read.ai - may be used by external participants. These tools, although potentially approved by the external participant’s organisation, are not approved by Mersey Care. This is because any data recorded by them is stored outside our NHS digital infrastructure, posing risks to our data privacy and security.  

These external tools may show up in your Microsoft Teams meeting under the ‘People’ tab or participant list, often with names such as ‘Joe Bloggs Meeting Agent’, ‘Joe Bloggs Notetaker’, ‘Joe Bloggs Otter.ai’, or sometimes as unknown participants (see example below).  

What you should do  

For meetings organised by the Trust  

Before the meeting:  

• Please make it clear in the meeting invite and any emails to participants that external third-party AI tools are not permitted and only AI tools approved by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust can be used.  

During the meeting:  

• Monitor the participant list for unknown names such as ‘AI Notetaker’ or ‘Meeting Agent’.  

• If an unapproved AI tool is detected, inform attendees that it will be removed to protect data security.  

• To remove the tool in Microsoft Teams:  

1. Select People  

2. Locate the unapproved AI tool in the participant list

3. Click the More (···) button next to the name  

4. Select Remove from meeting  

• If a pop-up message appears, for example saying “Joe Bloggs AI Notetaker would like to join the meeting”, select Deny. 

• If an external participant joins with an AI notetaker (e.g. for a small section of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meeting), you must ensure that the AI tool also leaves or is manually removed when the participant exits. This will prevent the external tool from capturing sensitive or confidential information they should not have access to.  

• If an external participant requests to use a third-party AI tool as a reasonable adjustment - for example, to take notes - you may offer to use Copilot Facilitator on their behalf.  

For meetings organised by external participants or organisations  

• Ask the meeting organiser to remove any AI tools being used, especially if sensitive or confidential corporate or patient information will be discussed.  

• If the request is declined, you may choose to end the meeting and reschedule without the AI tool.  

• If you are unsure or worried about a meeting that has taken place, please speak to your line manager or contact the Information Governance (IG) Team.  

Additional reminders  

• Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat are the only approved AI tools for work use.    

• These tools are designed to help you work more efficiently - whether you are drafting or summarising content, exploring ideas, or creating presentation slides.  

• These tools must not be used for clinical decision-making, direct patient care, or any task requiring clinical judgement.  

• If you become aware of any unapproved AI tools being used, please report this immediately to your line manager or the Information Governance (IG) Team.  

• To get the most out of Copilot Chat, helpful online learning is available on IM Online Learning.  

• Stay informed: digital controls are in place to help prevent unapproved AI tools from joining meetings, but your awareness and support in following the above guidance is key to protecting our corporate and patient data. 

All Mersey Care colleagues have access to Copilot Chat within Microsoft Teams.

Copilot Chat, along with Copilot (available with an additional paid license) are the only approved AI tools for work use. 

All other AI tools that have NOT been approved for use - such as ChatGPT or Otter AI – must not be used for work purposes.

To access Copilot Chat, open Microsoft Teams. If you cannot see the Copilot logo in the left-hand menu, select the three dots (pictured below) to search for Copilot and add the app.

You can also access Copilot Chat online.

Please sign in using your NHS Microsoft account.

To get the most benefit from Copilot Chat, please complete the short Copilot Chat course on IM Online Learning which has been developed by NHS Informatics Merseyside (IM). 

💡 Work faster
Use natural language prompts to get things done quickly.

• How: Type things like “Summarise this document,” “Make this clearer,” or “Turn this into bullet points” directly into Copilot Chat. It will instantly respond with a refined version or a summary you can use in emails, reports, or presentations.

🎯 Stay focused
Cut through the noise in long emails or chat threads.

• How: Paste the content into Copilot Chat and ask “What are the key points?” or “Summarise this conversation.” You’ll get a concise overview so you can move on to what matters.

🧠 Research and analyse easily
Get help comparing ideas or exploring new ones.

• How: Try asking questions such as “How can I improve team engagement?” or “What are best practices for running effective virtual meetings?” Copilot Chat will then provide insights and suggestions to help.

🔐 Stay secure and compliant
Everything happens within your NHS Microsoft account, so your data stays protected.

• How: Access Copilot Chat from Microsoft Teams (left menu) or online using your NHS Microsoft account. Your chats are kept within your organisation’s secure environment, with built-in compliance.