Microsoft, like many cloud-based software programs, continues to bring AI into more Office tools. You might be wondering if it’s worth embracing for work and personal use. Copilot and other AI tools are on the rise, and we have data to back up this trend. McKinsey suggests that 47% of employees will soon use AI to complete about a third of their office tasks.
Such a big change can be intimidating, even if it offers benefits. In this article, you’ll learn what Microsoft Copilot is, how it can make your life easier, and things to remember while using Copilot AI.
Microsoft’s Copilot AI: What is it?
Microsoft Copilot is an AI companion that sits within the Office tools you use every day. It uses large language models (LLMs) and Microsoft’s decades of organizational data to process on-screen information and offer contextual solutions.
Think of it as a smart digital assistant. Copilot can help you get through tasks, switch between workflows, and communicate with stakeholders with better speed and accuracy.
A Microsoft and IDC study claims that generative AI like Copilot gives 3.7X return on investment. According to a survey on the first batch of Copilot users, 70% of people felt more productive, and 29% completed their tasks faster. The tool, since then, has only improved.
To jump through complex tasks, Copilot uses OpenAI’s LLMs such as GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, DALL-E, along with Microsoft’s own Phi-4 and Prometheus models.
You’ll find Copilot in all the popular Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, Excel, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, OneNote, Forms, Edge, etc. For uninterrupted personal use, Microsoft rolled out Copilot Pro, so you can access all AI features even during peak hours.
With Copilot+ PCs, you can start using AI features that match intelligent hardware or create your own low-code AI platforms with Copilot Studio.
What are the Features of Microsoft’s CoPilot AI?
Copilot can do many things, which can be a bit overwhelming, notably for new users to AI. Here are some key ways you can tap into Copilot’s benefits:
Productivity Boost
Copilot reduces time spent on repetitive tasks. It can summarize documents, draft emails, generate meeting notes, extract key data points, and clean up formatting in apps like Word and Excel. This saves you hours clicking through menus and allows you to shift focus to higher-level thinking.
Creative Solutions
Hit a creative wall at work? Ask Copilot for feedback, and it can use context-aware menus to identify bottlenecks and offer you solutions. In apps like Word and PowerPoint, Copilot can rewrite content in different tones, generate image suggestions via DALL·E, or propose layout changes based on SOPs. This is especially valuable when you’re iterating on ideas and need a sparring partner that gives you structured alternatives.
Coding Assistant
Developers love Copilot for its native support for low and no-code environments. For example, if you spend hours coding and fixing bugs, Copilot can help you review and compile code.
If you’re stuck somewhere, you can ask Copilot to give you feedback or write new strings of code that you can verify later. This way, you automate the grunt work and focus on expediting deployment.
As a coding assistant, Copilot also makes coding accessible to people who are not tech-savvy. If you need light coding to fix website issues or embed some media, Copilot is at your rescue.
Agentic Framework
Copilot’s scalability puts it ahead of other tools at work. With Microsoft 365, you can build specialized AI agents with the help of Copilot. These AI agents are designed to handle a chain of specific tasks such as sales, analytics, and even decision making!
Microsoft 365 Copilot comes pre-built with agents such as Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales, Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service, and Microsoft 365 Copilot for Finance! You can refine the agents or build your own to fit your use cases.
Seamless Communication
Missing out on important conversations? Copilot can automate and remind you to circle back to important tasks. Ask Copilot to generate content according to the context, edit grammar, and improve style and style for clearer communication. It helps reduce message overload and ensures follow-ups don’t fall through the cracks.
Since Copilot is also available as an app, you can personalize every touchpoint, both at work and at home.
Microsoft’s CoPilot AI Real-World Use Cases
If you rely on Microsoft tools for your daily work, Copilot can help you work more efficiently. Here are a few practical ways to get more done with it:
Simplify Busy Workdays with Copilot
Tired of back-to-back meetings? Copilot in Microsoft Teams and Outlook reduces meeting fatigue by pulling real-time context during calls and summarizing key points. It captures decisions, assigns action items, and logs everything into OneNote or drafts follow-up emails for you in Outlook.
After a busy workday, ask Copilot to summarize your key discussions and to-dos. It pulls from Teams chats and Outlook calendars, then logs everything into OneNote so you can wrap up faster — and disconnect more easily.
Supercharge Excel with Copilot
Got handed a messy Excel sheet? Use Copilot to inspect broken formulas, identify exactly where references fail, and find the correct logic. It flags statistical outliers using built-in analytics, not just conditional formatting. When a dataset lacks structure, Copilot can convert it into named tables, apply consistent data types, and rebuild it for filtering and analysis.
For example, you can ask it to track monthly cash flow, and it will generate a working spreadsheet with categorized expenses, dynamic charts, and month-to-month comparisons.
Finally, Copilot can suggest applying proper sensitivity labels and permissions based on Excel content, which improves data governance.
Plan and Execute Complex Projects with Copilot
Managing a personal project like a cross-country move involves dozens of tasks, deadlines, and documents. Copilot brings order to the chaos.
Start by brain-dumping ideas in OneNote and ask Copilot to organize them into phased checklists. Those flow into Planner as tasks with timelines, while linked Loop pages hold things like packing lists or vendor quotes. Everything stays synced with To Do and Outlook, so you get reminders, status updates, and zero duplication.
Juggle Multiple Threads with Copilot
Copilot declutters communication in projects that span long email threads and Teams chats. It pulls together context across multiple conversations, summarizes the current state, flags missing decisions, and creates concise updates that you can share with others.
Apart from that, it can analyze texts in Outlook to flag suspicious messages or potential phishing attempts, helping you avoid security risks before they occur. It even tags who needs to respond next, helping you nudge the right people without chasing them manually.
Be Presentation-Ready with Copilot
When producing recurring documents like quarterly sales decks, grant proposals, or client briefs, Copilot improves consistency and speed.
It pulls past versions from SharePoint or OneDrive to match formatting, tone, and layout. After that, it auto-generates a first draft with placeholder data, suggested visuals, and section flow on Word or PowerPoint. If your reports usually include charts from Excel or quotes from CRM data, Copilot can pre-fill that context or flag what’s missing. It also ensures brand-aligned presentation, using your previous formatting choices, slide templates, or document styling to keep everything ready without manual tweaking.
Tips to Get The Best out of Microsoft’s CoPilot AI
Powerful as it is, Copilot demands a bit of groundwork and trial-and-error before it becomes truly useful. But you don’t have to go through all that. Here are some tips to get extra value out of Copilot:
- Start your day by asking Copilot to scan Outlook and Teams to summarize yesterday’s inbox and flag missed follow-ups. Most people use Copilot reactively. Instead, use it as a proactive filter so you can start the day the right way.
- Always store your files in OneDrive or SharePoint. This way, Copilot can pull context from your workspace. If your documents live on your desktop or in local folders, Copilot will rely on you uploading them manually.
- Don’t just ask “how”, give it your intent. Instead of prompting “make a chart,” say “show a line graph of customer churn over time using the data in column B.” Copilot responds better to goal-oriented prompts than vague ones.
- Link Word + Loop + To Do for personal projects. Ask Copilot to track updates across these apps so you don’t miss important updates. Start in Word for context, break tasks into Loop, sync deadlines in To Do.
- Ask Copilot for access management and policy compliance reminders. Security is a big part of Copilot, so you can ask it to verify security policies and MFA setups.