Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant. Inside Microsoft 365, it works with your files and emails: it writes in Word, analyzes spreadsheets in Excel, summarizes conversations in Outlook and meetings in Teams.
In this article
Who has access
- Personal use: Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions include Copilot in the apps, with a usage limit.
- Businesses: Copilot Chat (chat with enterprise data protection) is available with your work account; Copilot inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, with access to company files and meetings, requires the Microsoft 365 Copilot license, purchased separately.
Plans and limits change often. Check the official Microsoft 365 page before buying. To choose your company’s plan, see Microsoft 365 for business: which plan to choose.
Word
Click the Copilot icon on the ribbon or in the document.
Draft a sales proposal for IT support services for a clinic with 15 computers.
Use the information from the file /Price list and leave marked placeholders for me to fill in timelines and terms.Rewrite this section in simpler language for customers without technical knowledge, keeping all amounts and deadlines.Excel
Copilot works best with data in table format (Home › Format as Table) and with the file saved to OneDrive or SharePoint.
Show total sales by month and by salesperson, and highlight the 3 months with the biggest drop compared to the previous month.Create a column that calculates how many days each invoice is overdue based on the Due Date column, using today's date.For more complex formulas, see also AI for Excel: formulas and analysis.
Outlook
- Summarize a long thread (the Summary by Copilot button at the top of the email).
- Draft with Copilot to write or reply.
- Coaching by Copilot to review tone and clarity before sending.
Reply to this email accepting the meeting on Thursday at 2 p.m., asking for the agenda in advance and suggesting a 45-minute duration. Friendly and to-the-point tone.Teams
When the meeting is recorded or transcribed, Copilot answers questions during and after the meeting:
What decisions were made in this meeting, and what tasks were assigned to each person, with deadlines?I joined 15 minutes late. Summarize what has been discussed so far.Let participants know about the recording or transcription. If Teams gives you trouble, see Teams not loading.
Precautions
- Review everything before sending: Copilot can misread data, dates and names.
- It accesses whatever you already have permission to see. Poorly shared folders show up in its answers: review the permissions on sensitive files.
- Don’t treat its answer as a final decision on legal, tax or HR matters.
FAQ
The Copilot icon doesn’t appear in Word or Excel.
Check that the account signed in to Office is the one with the license, update Office and restart the app. In companies, the administrator has to assign the license to your user.
Does Copilot use my documents to train the AI?
According to Microsoft, organizational data in business accounts isn’t used to train the models. For personal accounts, check your Microsoft account’s privacy settings.
