Founded in 1834 and headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland. Sulzer is a global leader in critical applications for core infrastructure and processes for large essential industries around the world. Innovation and long-term value creation are central to how the company operates, including its approach to digitalization and AI.
When Sulzer began exploring Microsoft 365 Copilot, the ambition was clear: move beyond license rollout and create real, everyday value for employees. With Storyals as a learning partner, the use of Copilot gradually expanded into everyday work.
Sulzer’s collaboration with Storyals did not begin with a company-wide Copilot rollout. Instead, it started with learning. AI was already on the agenda, but there was a healthy level of caution about where and how Copilot would deliver measurable business value. Rather than scaling too quickly, Sulzer chose a low-risk, high-learning entry point. The journey began with broad inspirational live sessions on Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (that all users had access to), combined with focused sessions introducing the premium capabilities of Microsoft 365 Copilot (that a subset of users had access to). The purpose was not scale, but clarity - to build shared understanding, spark curiosity, and identify where Copilot could make a meaningful difference from the start.
As Copilot became more widely available, Sulzer was careful not to define success by rollout alone. Enablement took priority. Together with Storyals Productivity Coaches, Sulzer combined structured learning with Storyals’ on-demand courses in their Learning Management System, and hands‑on training sessions grounded in real work scenarios. Employees received role-relevant guidance and ongoing opportunities to explore, ask questions, and apply Copilot to everyday tasks. The impact became visible quickly: Around 80 % of Copilot users are active on a weekly basis. Copilot was no longer just available - it was being used consistently across daily workflows. This shift marked a transformation from mere adoption to visible results through ownership of Copilot.
As confidence grew, Sulzer took the next step: moving from usage of Copilot to agent creation. Agent building was introduced through a pilot within the legal team designed with a strong hands‑on focus. Attendees were supported in moving from consuming Copilot outputs to shaping and extending them. After the first session, participants began experimenting independently - building simple agents and exploring new applications without waiting for further instruction. This momentum was reinforced through Storyals’ workshop “Build your own Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot” – a structured workshop focused on organizational agents developed using Copilot Studio.
Throughout the journey, Copilot adoption at Sulzer was intentionally framed as business‑led, with IT acting as an enabler rather than a driver. Business users brought real needs and use cases, and enablement focused on connecting those needs to the right capabilities, rather than enforcing top-down technology adoption. This value‑driven approach allowed Copilot usage to evolve steadily, from visible productivity gains to more advanced scenarios such as retrieval agents and workflow support.
Sulzer’s journey shows that sustainable AI adoption is not about speed, but about intent and focused enablement. By starting small and making value visible early, Copilot has become a natural part of how work gets done - and a strong foundation for continued innovation. What began as cautious exploration has evolved into a scalable, business‑owned capability designed to grow with the organization.
“It is a true pleasure to work with Sulzer. As we successfully introduce AI-powered ways of working at scale in a global organization, together we set an example not only as vendor and customer, but even more so as proud business partners.”
- Adrian Leufvén, COO and Business Development Manager at Storyals