Overview
Learn how to utilize Copilot in Microsoft Outlook and Teams.
Before You Start
Microsoft Copilot can help you draft emails, summarize information, prepare for meetings, and complete everyday tasks more efficiently. This guide focuses on practical examples you can begin using right away.
Tip: Always review Copilot’s output before sending emails, sharing documents, or making decisions based on AI-generated content.
Best Practices for Using Copilot
- Use clear, structured prompts, such as: Summarize the last two paragraphs in one sentence.
- Keep relevant content visible in the document, email, or chat for context.
- Use Copilot iteratively. Adjust your prompts based on the responses.
- If Copilot refuses, tweak the phrasing rather than repeating the same request. Review and refine
- Copilot’s outputs to ensure accuracy.
- Use examples to clarify your requests and guide Copilot better.
Tip: Think of Copilot as a conversation. If the first answer is not quite right, ask a follow-up question or provide more context.
Copilot in Outlook
Copilot in Outlook can help you draft replies, summarize email threads, create follow-ups, extract key information, and work more efficiently from your inbox.
Common Outlook Prompts
Drafting a reply
Example prompt
“Help me write a response to this email explaining [your message].”
Summarizing a conversation
Example prompt
“Summarize the key points from this email thread.”
Creating a follow-up
Example prompt
“Compose a follow-up email to [person] about [specific topic].”
Extracting information
Example prompt
“What are the key takeaways from this email?”
Copilot in Outlook offers suggested actions.
Tip: Use Draft when you are starting from scratch. Use Coach when you already wrote something and want help with tone or clarity.
Use Email Templates
Use email templates instead of rewriting emails in the same format over and over.
Steps
- Create the main structure.
- Highlight it and type: Make it an Email Template.
- Save the draft.
Highlight the reusable structure of your message and ask Copilot to turn it into an email template.
Tip: Templates are especially helpful for recurring updates, meeting follow-ups, project status messages, and common responses.
Change the Tone Based on Your Audience
Use Copilot in Outlook to adjust your writing style and tone based on who will receive the message.
Tip: A message for leadership may need a different tone than a message for a close teammate. Use Copilot to help adjust the tone before sending.
Summarize and Compare Documents
Use Copilot in Outlook to summarize and compare two documents.
Create Outlook Rules
You can ask Copilot to help create an Outlook rule, such as categorizing all emails from a specific
sender.
Example
“Create an inbox rule to categorize all emails from Sam as important.”
Modify the Rule and Save It
Review the rule settings, make any adjustments, and save your changes.
Summarize Long Email Threads
Instead of reading every message in a long email thread, use Copilot to summarize the conversation
and identify the most important points.
Tip: Ask for “key decisions,” “action items,” or “open questions” when you need a more focused summary.
Copilot in Teams
Copilot in Teams can help you summarize chats, ask questions, prepare for meetings, recap
discussions, and find useful information from conversations.
Accessing Copilot in Teams
You can access Copilot from the left navigation bar in Teams.
Open Copilot from the Upper Right-Hand Side
In some Teams chats, you can open Copilot from the upper right-hand side.
Ask Questions in Teams
Use Copilot options or ask your own questions about the conversation.
Tip: When asking about a chat, be specific. For example, ask “What decisions were made?” or “Who is responsible for what?”
Prepare for an Upcoming Meeting
Use Copilot to help you prepare for an upcoming meeting. Add documents from OneDrive, SharePoint,
Outlook, or your computer.
Use Copilot Recap in Teams
Use Copilot Recap inside Teams to summarize and note key points of the meeting.
Tip: After a meeting, ask Copilot for key topics, decisions, action items, and unanswered questions.
Speaker Coach
Activate Speaker Coach at the beginning of the meeting. Speaker Coach provides feedback on speaking
style, including clarity, pacing, and engagement level.
Use the Whiteboard App
Use the Whiteboard app for brainstorming in the meeting.
View Meeting Information
View meeting information gathered in Teams, including recap, attendance, notes, Speaker Coach, Q&A,
and meeting whiteboard.
Speaker Coach results can help you review pace, filler words, inclusiveness, intonation, monologue,
and repetitive language.
Writing and structuring better prompts
Good prompts produce better results. A strong prompt usually includes three parts: the topic, context, and the format you want Copilot to use.
Define the topic
Explain AI in business.
Add context
Focus on automation, customer service, and data analysis.
Include the format
Provide a three-paragraph summary.
Tip: The more specific you are about topic, context, and format, the more useful Copilot’s response will be.
Persona Prompting
You can also use persona prompting by asking Copilot to respond from a specific role or perspective.
Example prompt
“Act as a tour guide. Recommend a 3-day itinerary for a couple planning their honeymoon in Rome.”
Tip: Persona prompting can help Copilot tailor its answer to a role, audience, or situation.
Quick Reference: Prompts You Can Reuse
Use these prompts as starting points and adjust them for your specific task.
| I want to: |
Try this prompt |
| Summarize an email thread |
Summarize this email thread in five bullet points. |
| Draft a reply |
Help me write a professional reply explaining [your message]. |
| Create a follow-up |
Compose a follow-up email to [person] about [specific topic]. |
| Extract action items |
List the action items, owners, and due dates from this conversation. |
| Prepare for a meeting |
List the action items, owners, and due dates from this conversation. |
| Prepare for a meeting |
Help me prepare for tomorrow’s meeting using the attached content. |
| Compare documents |
Compare these two documents and summarize the key differences. |
| Change tone |
Rewrite this message to sound more professional and concise. |
Source
Need help?
For more information, see Microsoft Office 365 Support Request or select Request Help from this page.