TeamQuest: How QA and Microsoft reimagined digital skills training with AI

In a world where digital transformation is no longer optional, how do you teach AI in a way that’s as dynamic and disruptive as the technology itself?

That was the challenge Microsoft brought to QA. The goal wasn’t just to deliver another training course – it was to create a whole new kind of learning experience. One that would spark curiosity, build real-world skills, and scale across industries.

The result? TeamQuest – a bold, gamified learning program that doesn’t just teach AI, but is powered by it, too.

The brief: Make learning unforgettable

Microsoft needed a way to engage a diverse learner audience of engineers, developers, analysts, and IT leaders across its audience in various client sectors.

The ask was clear: deliver hands-on, high-impact learning that could accelerate AI readiness and resonate emotionally with learners.

Traditional training formats weren’t going to cut it. This needed to be immersive, scalable, and unforgettable.

The twist: Leverage AI to design the training in an innovative new way

QA took a fresh approach. Instead of just teaching AI, they used Microsoft Copilot to help design the program itself. From refining learning objectives to generating challenge formats and prototyping workflows, Copilot became a creative partner in the process.

The result was a series of one-day, virtual workshops – each one a high-stakes, story-driven mission where participants compete in teams to solve real-world challenges using Microsoft technologies.

The experience: Three missions, one goal

• The Great Copilot Showdown turns learners into secret agents mastering structured prompting across Microsoft 365 apps. It’s fast-paced, spy-themed, and teaches participants to use Copilot to its full potential, as a true thought-partner.
• The Compliance Games drops participants into a dystopian world of data breaches and governance failures. Using Microsoft Purview, they must uncover risks, deploy DLP policies, and align with global compliance standards – all while racing against the clock.
• Mission: AI Possible challenges teams to build functional AI agents using Copilot Studio, Power Automate, and Dataverse. It’s hands-on, high-pressure, and deeply practical.

Each session is limited to 32 participants, structured in teams of 4, ensuring high engagement and collaboration. Teams earn “Microbucks” for speed and creativity, unlock “Brucie Bonuses” for innovation, and face surprise “Tech Curveballs” that test their adaptability. A live leaderboard keeps the energy high and the competition fierce.

Why it works: AI-powered learning for the real world

What makes TeamQuest different isn’t just the engaging gamification experience – it’s the relevance and applicability of the learning content. Every challenge mirrors real business scenarios. Learners don’t just absorb theory – they apply it under pressure, in environments that feel authentic, building confidence and proving their ability to bring their new skills straight to active projects.

QA are experts in the science of learning and made sure the format taps into the learner psychology. By combining storytelling, competition, and collaboration, it creates emotional engagement – something ‘traditional’ training often lacks. Collaborative learning is proven to ensure a higher rate of knowledge retention, and 90% of learners reported that gamified learning had made them more productive.

The impact: Skills that stick

Participants leave TeamQuest with practical, transferable skills in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Purview, and Copilot Studio. Engagement is high, retention is stronger, and the format is flexible enough to scale across sectors and delivery modes.

Learners themselves validated the impact of the training, describing it as “10/10. Massively informative and useful.” They also attested to their newly gained ability to “get the most out of Copilot” with “fantastic, efficient and effective prompts” and “accelerate [their] generative AI tool capability no end.”

As Paul Griffiths, Enterprise Skills Lead – Public Sector, Defense, Oil, Gas, Water at Microsoft Worldwide Learning, put it:

“TeamQuest is redefining how we engage learners. It’s not just training – it’s digital skills transformation readiness in action.”

The future of learning is here

TeamQuest isn’t just a training program – it’s a blueprint for the future of learning.

This is training that practices what it preaches, showing what’s possible when AI is used not just as a subject, but as a co-creator. It proves that with the right design, learning can be immersive, impactful, and even fun.

In a world where AI is reshaping how we work, QA and Microsoft are showing how it can also reshape how we learn.