Today's Copilot is no longer just an AI for creating text.
It searches for internal company information. It uses specific documents you designate. It helps with Excel and PowerPoint tasks. It organizes meeting content and creates email drafts. Furthermore, features that allow you to process multiple tasks together have also appeared.
In this article, I will introduce 30 ways to use it that office workers should know, in the order of "What it can do → Where to use it → What to be careful about."
However, even with the same Copilot, the available functions differ depending on the contract, administrator settings, device, and update status. First, please check the contract displayed under your name.
C: Copilot Chat (Basic)
B: M365 Copilot (Basic)
P: M365 Copilot (Premium)
For C, Copilot Chat focuses on Web searches and using files you specify yourself. However, within Outlook, if you have a target Microsoft 365 contract, you may be able to use some questions and operations for your inbox and calendar even without an additional Copilot license.
For B, you can also use Copilot in target apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
For P, you can use Work IQ to search across emails, meetings, chats, files, etc. You can also use functions for detailed research and analysis, such as Researcher and Analyst.
○: Available
△: Conditional or partial functions only
×: Not available
How to check your contract name:
If you cannot find a function, please check not only the contract but also the administrator settings, Microsoft 365 Apps update status, and whether you are eligible for phased rollout.
A brief announcement before the main topic.
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If you're someone who has stopped at just "asking questions," I recommend joining now.
Now, on to the main content ↓↓↓
Basic Copilot functions to learn first
1. Directly specify materials using "/"
Target: C△ / B△ / P○
*C and B are for files only. P can also specify people, emails, and meetings.
What it can do: You can specify the materials to be used for the answer within the prompt. This is convenient when you want to summarize using only materials from the same project.
How to use: In C and B, type "/" in the Copilot Chat input field and select the file you want to use. In P, if you turn on Work IQ, you can specify not only files but also people, meetings, and emails.
Note: If there are multiple files with the same name, check the storage location and update date.
Prompt for C/B:
▼ Copy from here
Organize the decisions, pending items, person in charge, and deadlines based only on /[Document Name]. Do not supplement content not written in the document; display it as "Not mentioned."
▲ To here
Official info:
2. Search across internal information with Work IQ
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can search across emails, meetings, chats, files, etc., that you have access to.
How to use: Turn on Work IQ in Copilot Chat before asking a question. Turn it off when you want to search mainly on the Web.
Note: Copilot does not gain new viewing permissions. However, since files shared too widely within the company become easier to find, please also check the original access rights.
3. Choose materials to use for answers
Target: C△ / B△ / P○
What it can do: You can choose the materials Copilot uses when creating an answer. This is useful when you want to prevent unrelated materials or Web information from being mixed in.
How to use: Open "Change data sources" from "Add and manage sources" and select the information sources to use.
Note: C and B focus on the Web and files you added yourself. P is required to select internal information such as emails, meetings, and chats.
4. Add to or edit Copilot answers as a page
Target: C○ / B○ / P○
What it can do: Using Copilot Pages, you can turn an answer into a page that can be added to or edited, rather than just a one-time response.
How to use: Select "Edit in Pages" under the answer. Add background, decisions, pending items, next actions, etc.
Note: Before sharing, check the viewing permissions of the original document and the sharing range of the page.
5. Use Notebooks as a dedicated consultation space for projects
Target: C△ / B△ / P○
What it can do: You can group files, pages, websites, etc., related to a project and ask Copilot questions centered on those materials.
In C and B, you can add up to 50 materials. In P, you can add over 300, but only up to the first 300 are used as the basis for answers.
In P, you can also add internal information from Teams meetings, SharePoint, and OneDrive. The types of materials available depend on the contract and availability.
How to use: Create a new Notebook in Microsoft 365 Copilot Notebooks and add the materials needed for the project.
Note: Adding materials to a shared Notebook may require the other party to have access rights to those materials. Check permissions before sharing.
Official info:
6. Periodically execute frequently used requests
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can repeat the same question at a fixed date and time, such as for weekly reports or project checks.
How to use: Execute a prompt once and select "Schedule this prompt" from the menu. Set the frequency, date and time, and notification method.
Note: Specify the target period and project name so that it doesn't keep summarizing old information every time. It may not be displayed depending on administrator settings or availability.
Prompt for P:
▼ Copy from here
Every Monday at 8:30 AM, check the people, meetings, emails, and files related to [Project Name] from last week, and organize the decisions, changes, and deadlines for this week.
▲ To here
Outlook tricks you can use every day
7. Operate Outlook with everyday language
Target: C○ / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can ask to search/summarize emails, draft, flag unread emails, and check schedules in a conversational format.
How to use: Open Copilot Chat in Outlook and type something like "Summarize the emails from Company A that arrived last week."
Note: C and B focus on some questions and operations for the inbox and calendar within Outlook. P can also cross-reference chats and files. Check the content before sending or confirming a schedule.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/copilot-outlook/chat-with-copilot-in-outlook
8. Summarize shared/delegate mailboxes together
Target: C○ / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can summarize the contents of shared or delegate mailboxes you have access to, such as sales or inquiry desks.
How to use: Open the target mailbox and specify the period, sender, and content you want to know.
Note: Use requires permissions for the target mailbox. Copilot does not add permissions.
9. Turn a series of email exchanges into a meeting invite
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can create a meeting invite that carries over participants, subject, and agenda from a series of email exchanges.
How to use: Select "Schedule with Copilot" from the target email and check the candidates.
Note: Confirm participants, date and time, time zone, and agenda before finalizing the schedule.
10. Register meeting invite processing rules in text
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: Using Calendar Instructions, you can register response rules for meeting invites that meet specific conditions.
How to use: Open Calendar Instructions in the new Outlook or Web version of Outlook and specify something like "Accept invites from my boss if the schedule is free."
Note: Check the results of the automatic processing for the first few cases. Include conditions to not automatically confirm important meetings or overlaps.
11. Gather related emails and materials before a meeting
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can summarize emails, materials, and past meeting content related to a schedule, reducing preparation time before a meeting.
How to use: Open a schedule in Outlook and select "Prepare for this meeting."
Note: Check the storage location and date to ensure that projects with the same name or old materials are not mixed in.
12. Make emails easier to read before sending
Target: C△ / B○ / P○
*May not be displayed depending on the target contract or availability.
What it can do: You can check the wording, clarity, and impression the recipient will get from the email.
How to use: Write an email in Outlook and open "Coaching by Copilot." Check the suggestions and reflect only the necessary parts.
Note: Check that facts and numbers haven't changed due to Copilot's suggestions, and confirm the recipient before sending.
Teams tricks to reduce meeting oversights
13. Catch up on a meeting you joined late
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can quickly check what was discussed before you joined, decisions made, and tasks or deadlines related to you.
How to use: Open Copilot within a Teams meeting and ask, "Tell me what was decided before I joined."
Note: Availability and storage range change depending on transcription settings and meeting policies. Confirm important matters with the original statements.
14. Send Teams answers to Word or Excel
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can send a long summary of meeting content to Word, and a list of people in charge and deadlines to Excel.
How to use: Create an answer with Copilot in Teams and select "Open in Word" for text or "Open in Excel" for tables.
Note: May not be available depending on sensitivity labels or meeting copy/output settings.
15. Listen to summaries of up to 8 meetings by voice
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can select up to 8 transcribed meetings and create an audio summary that you can listen to while on the move.
How to use: Open Audio recaps from Meeting Recaps or Meet in Teams and select the period, meetings, style, and language.
Note: Only meetings with transcriptions are eligible. Check that topics from multiple meetings are not confused.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/teams/copilot/listen-to-audio-recaps-of-your-meetings
16. Have Facilitator help with meeting notes and progress
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: Facilitator leaves meeting notes created by AI during the meeting and organizes decisions, unresolved questions, agenda, time, and tasks.
How to use: Turn on Facilitator from the Teams meeting invite or the menu during the meeting.
Note: Some functions are trial versions before official release. Participants should check the meeting notes and tasks created by AI after the meeting.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/teams/copilot/facilitator-in-microsoft-teams-meetings
Tricks to have Excel help you directly
17. Use Edit, Plan, and Chat appropriately
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: Use three modes: Edit (change the sheet directly), Plan (create only the work procedure), and Chat (answer without changing the sheet).
How to use: Open Copilot in Excel and choose the mode according to the request. Start with Plan or Chat when you don't want it to be changed suddenly.
Note: After using Edit, check the changed cells, formulas, and graph ranges.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/Excel/copilot/get-started-with-copilot-in-excel
18. Import data from another Excel file
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can find another Excel file and directly import the necessary data into the current file.
How to use: Explain the necessary data to Copilot, select the file and range to import from the candidates, and execute "Import to a new sheet."
Note: If multiple candidates are displayed, check not only the file name but also the storage location and data content. Current official guidance targets Windows and Mac.
Official info:
19. Execute Python analysis from Copilot
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can analyze trends, outliers, growth rates, graphs, etc., with Python without writing specialized code.
How to use: Tell Copilot in Excel specifically the target columns and what you want to know. Choose advanced analysis mode if necessary.
Note: Requires a target Microsoft 365 contract, compatible device, and internet connection. Python functions that incur additional charges are limited to cases such as using high-performance computing environments. Check analysis results with original data or normal formulas as well.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/Excel/python/introduction-to-python-in-excel
20. Ask who changed what
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can check the changes in an Excel file by filtering by conditions such as person, period, and cell.
How to use: Ask, "Organize the important cells changed after 3 PM yesterday by changer, content, and time."
Note: This is not a substitute for audit records. Check important changes in version history or original data as well.
21. Register rules for each Excel file
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can save rules to be followed in that Excel file, such as formatting, calculation methods, and column handling, in a .Rules sheet.
How to use: Select "Create workbook rules" from "Add work content" in Copilot and write one rule per cell.
Note: Workbook Rules are currently most stable when used in English. In Japanese, instructions may not be reflected correctly. Also, if you hide the .Rules sheet, Copilot will not use the rules.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/copilot/copilot-in-excel-rules
22. Save repetitive Excel tasks as procedures
Target: C× / B○ / P○
English display required
What it can do: You can save repetitive work procedures as a Custom Skill and call them any number of times.
How to use: Open "Manage skills" → "Custom skills" from Copilot settings and add the procedure to a dedicated folder created in OneDrive.
Note: Excel Custom Skills are currently only available when the Office display language is set to English. They cannot be used in Excel with Japanese display.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/Excel/copilot/copilot-in-excel-skills
Tricks to advance Word and PowerPoint to finished products
23. Create a draft in Word by referencing multiple materials
Target: C× / B△ / P○
*B is file-centric. P can also reference emails and meetings.
What it can do: You can use multiple materials to create drafts for approval documents, proposals, reports, etc., all at once.
How to use: Start a new draft in Word's Copilot and specify the materials you want to reference.
Note: B can mainly reference files. In addition to files, P can also specify emails and meetings. Check that old versions of materials are not mixed in.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/copilot/draft-and-add-content-with-copilot-in-word
24. Turn Word text into a table
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can turn points or people in charge listed in text into a table that is easy to compare.
How to use: Select the target text and choose "Visualize as a Table" from Copilot.
Note: Check each cell to ensure it hasn't supplemented information not in the original text.
25. Ask questions by voice during Word read-aloud
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: While listening to a long document, you can ask Copilot questions by voice at places you're curious about.
How to use: Open "Review → Read Aloud" in Word and turn on the microphone at the place you want to ask a question. Once the question is finished, you can resume reading aloud.
Note: P is required. Since voice recognition may be incorrect, check numbers and proper nouns in the text as well.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/listen-to-your-word-documents
26. Create speaker notes for all slides at once
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can add content to be spoken for presentation to all slides in PowerPoint at once.
How to use: Select "Generate speaker notes for all slides" from "View → Notes" and check the generation results.
Note: Verify numbers, sources, and proper nouns against the content of each slide. Humans also adjust the time for each slide.
Official info:
27. Save repetitive PowerPoint tasks as procedures
Target: C× / B○ / P○
What it can do: You can save repetitive work procedures as a Custom Skill, such as check items for executives, unification of notation, and creation of summary slides.
How to use: Open Skills in PowerPoint's Copilot and add a Custom Skill. Call it by specifying the name when needed.
Note: Sharing within an organization involves administrator settings. Check execution results against original materials and internal rules.
Official info:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/copilot/copilot-in-powerpoint-skills
Tricks to entrust detailed research and multiple tasks
28. Use Researcher and Analyst appropriately
Target: C× / B× / P○
Researcher is a function that searches internal information and the Web to create reports with sources.
Analyst is a function that summarizes data such as Excel and CSV and analyzes trends, outliers, graphs, etc.
How to use: Open both from "Agents (Dedicated AI)" in Microsoft Copilot. P and administrator permission are required.
Note: Always open Researcher's sources and verify Analyst's calculation results with original data.
Official info:
29. Entrust multiple tasks to Cowork together
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can proceed with a series of tasks, from searching emails and meetings, creating materials, finding schedule candidates, to preparing drafts for sending.
How to use: Open Cowork in Microsoft Copilot and tell it the final result and the information it can use. Check the plan on the confirmation screen before execution.
Note: In addition to P, use requires the company administrator to enable payment according to usage and register the target user as a Cowork user. Even if you have P, you cannot use it without the company-side settings.
Operations that are difficult to undo, such as sending, deleting, and finalizing schedules, must be checked by a person before execution.
Official info:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/cowork/cowork-admin-governance
30. Create an inbox organization plan with Cowork
Target: C× / B× / P○
What it can do: You can classify a large number of emails by conditions such as newsletters, internal notifications, action required, and important customers, and create an organization plan.
How to use: Specify the target period and classification conditions, and have it output only a list at first.
Note: In addition to P, use requires the company administrator to enable payment according to usage and register the target user as a Cowork user. Even if you have P, you cannot use it without the company-side settings.
Operations that are difficult to undo, such as sending, deleting, and finalizing schedules, must be checked by a person before execution.
Prompt for P:
▼ Copy from here
First, show a list of which emails you plan to organize and how. Do not execute delete, move, reply, or send yet; wait for my confirmation.
▲ To here
If you're starting today, this is the order
First, summarize emails with Outlook in number 7, and specify the files to use with "/" in number 1. If you can use B, expand to Excel in number 17, and if you can use P, expand to Work IQ in number 2, and Copilot will become a work tool rather than just someone to ask questions to.
And for any function, the final confirmation is done by a person. In particular, do not finalize recipients, numbers, people in charge, deadlines, sending, deleting, and schedule confirmation as automatic processing.
Thank you for reading this far.
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