How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Teams)

Success Trending    January 21, 2024    Tech Skills , Tech Updates   

Microsoft announced the release of Copilot Pro and the Microsoft 365 Copilot with integrated capabilities within its ecosystem. After many AIs enter the market, it's time for competition. It's also the time to look at how the impact of this technology on the economy and society will unfold.

Microsoft Copilot will assist its users with the most widely used apps on personal computers - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Additionally, Copilot will also work along with Onenote and Teams.

In this blog post, you will learn everything about Microsoft Copilot, how it works, and how you can use Microsoft Copilot in the most widely used Office applications to maximize productivity. Let us first understand about Microsoft Copilot.

Contents

• What is Microsoft Copilot?
• How does Microsoft Copilot work?
• Different Versions of Microsoft Copilot With Pricing Options and Features
• How to Enable Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps
• Using Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps
• How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Word
• How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Excel
• How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - PowerPoint
• How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - OneNote
• How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Outlook
• How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Teams
• How to Install and Set up Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Conclusion 

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is a chatbot that leverages the power of large language models (LLMs) to boost productivity, unlock creativity, and help users understand information better with a simple chat experience. 

LLMs are artificial neural networks that can process and generate natural language by learning from massive amounts of text data. Microsoft Copilot is based on an LLM called GPT-4, which has trillions of parameters and can perform various language tasks, such as text summarization, translation, code generation, and more. 

Microsoft Copilot could be the most useful option among other LLMs by integrating with popular Microsoft products, such as Bing, Edge, Windows, Azure, and Microsoft 365, and providing a seamless and personalized user experience. 

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How does Microsoft Copilot work?

Microsoft Copilot has the potential to create a significant impact on how we work, as it can assist us with various tasks, such as writing emails, reports, presentations, blogs, and more, as well as providing relevant information, suggestions, and feedback. 

Microsoft 365 Copilot AI is a productivity tool that simplifies your work by automating common tasks such as writing documents in Word, summarizing emails in Outlook, converting word files into presentations in PowerPoint, taking notes in OneNote, making visual reports in Excel, and capturing meeting summaries and action items in Teams. Copilot uses large language models and your data in the Microsoft graph to deliver smart and personalized assistance.

The Microsoft Graph serves as a gateway to access data and intelligence across Windows, Office 365, and Enterprise Mobility + Security. This technology enables easy access to a vast amount of Microsoft ecosystem data.

Copilot is an AI productivity tool that leverages the data available in the Microsoft Graph, combining it with large language models and content from Microsoft 365 apps to enhance your productivity. Copilot only accesses content and context through Microsoft Graph, including emails, chat conversations, and documents that you have access to. Your data remains secure, as Copilot inherits permissions and security settings at runtime, ensuring that your data stays within your tenant and is not used to train Microsoft's foundation models. Your data is not shared with external services, as Copilot uses its own integrated model.

You can also use Microsoft graph connectors to ingest your external content into Microsoft Graph so that Copilot can reason over your line-of-business data through natural language prompts. Copilot is compliant with Microsoft's privacy, security, and compliance commitments, including GDPR and EU Data Boundary, for Microsoft 365 commercial customers.

Microsoft Copilot aims to be a copilot for work, not a replacement, and to empower users to achieve more with less effort and time.

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Different Versions of Microsoft Copilot With Pricing Options and Features

Microsoft Copilot is an AI chatbot tool that can help you find information, create content, and get things done faster.  Copilot is available on the Web, Windows, macOS, and iPadOS with Text, voice, and image support. There are two versions of Microsoft Copilot: the free version and the Pro version. 

Here are the main differences between them:

The free version of Copilot is available on the web as well as in Windows, macOS, and iPadOS. During non-peak times, you can use GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo for conversational search and access text, voice, and images. With Designer or Bing Image Creator, you can create AI images and get 15 boosts per day. You can also use plug-ins and GPTs. For $20 per user per month, the Pro version of Copilot offers everything in the free version, plus priority access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo during peak times. 

Did you know that you can use Copilot in certain Microsoft 365 applications to help you write documents, create presentations, summarize emails, and perform other tasks? Furthermore, you can use DALL-E 3 to create AI images even faster with Designer, with 100 boosts available per day.

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If you are a Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, or Business Premium customer, you can also get Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is an add-on that costs $30 per user per month without extra charge and provides access to Copilot in all Microsoft 365 apps. This add-on also allows you to create custom GPTs by tweaking their capabilities as per your requirements.

You can try Copilot Pro for free for 14 days and cancel anytime. You can also use the Copilot free version without any subscription.

Bing Chat Enterprise is an advanced tool that builds on Microsoft Copilot, providing commercial data protection features that ensure your business data remains secure and confidential. You can use it with confidence, knowing that your data won't leak outside the organization and that chat data won't be saved. 

Additionally, Microsoft doesn't have any access to your data, and it's not used to train large language models (LLM). Bing Chat Enterprise is available as a standalone option for just $5 per user per month, or it's included in both Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5.

How to Enable Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps

In the options menu of the Office application you wish to use—for example, Word, Excel, or Outlook—enable Copilot.

To access the chat pane where you can submit your instructions and receive recommendations from Copilot, select Copilot from the ribbon.

The steps to enable and use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 apps is discussed in detail below section.

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How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps

Microsoft 365 Copilot's real potential is found in its capacity to foster creativity in the workplace. Copilot creates a more stimulating and dynamic work environment by acting as a catalyst for creativity.

Microsoft has showcased Microsoft 365 Copilot, an integrated productivity app that uses massive language models to connect with your organization's data to revolutionize the way we work. Copilot collaborates with you as a work companion.

The new Microsoft 365 Chat goes well beyond basic question-and-answer sessions for Microsoft 365 Copilot. To tackle your most challenging work-related issues, it searches across your whole data universe, including all of your emails, meetings, chats, papers, and more, in addition to the internet. 

Additionally, it's connected with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 apps that millions of users use daily.

Copilot can be activated from the Home Tab of the Office Application you are working on. Clicking the Copilot button gives you access to the most relevant options for you to work with in the sidebar on the right.

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How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Word

Microsoft Word's Copilot is a powerful feature that enhances your writing experience by making it more efficient and creative. With Copilot, you can create, summarize, understand, refine, and elevate your documents. The latest version of Copilot offers several enhanced capabilities, such as visualizing and transforming text into a table. You can also add to existing prompts, draft a document by referring to up to three documents, and discover information about your document. 

Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that can help you with content creation in Word. It can draft, rewrite, transform, and summarize your documents based on your instructions. Here are some steps to enable and use Copilot in Word:

• Make sure that you currently hold an active subscription to Microsoft 365 and possess a valid Copilot license. Next, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Smart Lookup and check the box that says "Use Microsoft Copilot to help you with content creation".
• In a new or existing document, click the Copilot icon on the ribbon menu and select Copilot to open the chat sidebar.  You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C to open Copilot Chat.
• In the chat sidebar, you can type your queries or requests for Copilot, such as "Write an introduction for my report" or "Rewrite this paragraph in a more formal tone". Additionally, you can use the slash command "/" to access various Copilot features, such as "/summarize" or "/table".
• Copilot will generate and display suggestions based on your input. You can choose to keep, discard, or regenerate the suggestions. You can also adjust the tone, length, and style of the suggestions using the buttons below the Copilot compose box.
• To insert the Copilot suggestions into your document, click the Insert button or press Enter. You can also drag and drop the suggestions to the desired location in your document.

To learn more about using the prompts and tips on how to use Copilot in Word, you can watch the above video 

How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Excel

Copilot in Excel helps you analyze and explore your data by visualizing, highlighting, filtering, and sorting it.

Microsoft Copilot in Excel is another powerful AI assistant that can help you with data analysis, comprehension, and visualization in Excel. It can generate formula column suggestions, show insights in charts and PivotTables, and highlight interesting portions of data based on your prompts. Here are some steps to activate and use Copilot in Excel.

• Make sure that you currently hold an active subscription to Microsoft 365 and possess a valid Copilot license. Next, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Smart Lookup and check the box that says "Use Microsoft Copilot to help you with data analysis".
• In a new or existing workbook, click the Copilot icon on the ribbon menu and select Copilot to open the chat sidebar. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C to open Copilot Chat.
• In the chat sidebar, you can type your queries or requests for Copilot, such as "Generate a formula column suggestion" or "Show me a chart for this data". Additionally, you can use the slash command "/" to access various Copilot features, such as "/insights" or "/highlight".
• Copilot will generate and display suggestions based on your input. You can choose to keep, discard, or regenerate the suggestions. You can also adjust the tone, length, and style of the suggestions using the buttons below the Copilot compose box.
• To insert the Copilot suggestions into your workbook, click the Insert button or press Enter. You can also drag and drop the suggestions to the desired location in your workbook.

For more information on prompts and tips on how to use Copilot in Excel, you can watch the above video.

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How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - PowerPoint

Copilot in PowerPoint is an incredible tool that assists you create amazing presentations. It helps to convert written documents into engaging slides with slide notes and sources. You can also start a new presentation by providing a prompt or outline. 

Copilot can even help you shorten long presentations by just clicking a button. You can also use AI prompts to adjust the layouts, reformat text, and set the perfect timing for animations.

Microsoft Copilot in PowerPoint is an amazing AI assistant that can assist you create stunning and professional presentations in PowerPoint. It can generate slides, apply layouts, choose themes, add images, summarize content, and organize your presentation based on your prompts. Here are some steps to activate and use Copilot in PowerPoint:

• Make sure that you currently hold an active subscription to Microsoft 365 and possess a valid Copilot license. Next, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Smart Lookup and check the box that says "Use Microsoft Copilot to help you with data analysis".
• In a new or existing presentation, click the Copilot icon on the ribbon menu and select Copilot to open the chat sidebar. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C to open Copilot Chat.
• In the chat sidebar, you can type your queries or requests for Copilot, such as "Create a presentation about AI trends" or "Summarize this presentation in 5 slides". Additionally, you can use the slash command "/" to access various Copilot features, such as "/create", "/summarize", "/organize", or "/image".
• Copilot will generate and display suggestions based on your input. You can choose to keep, discard, or regenerate the suggestions. You can also adjust the tone, length, and style of the suggestions using the buttons below the Copilot compose box.
• To insert the Copilot suggestions into your presentation, click the Insert button or press Enter. You can also drag and drop the suggestions to the desired location in your presentation.

For more information and tips on how to use Copilot in PowerPoint, you can watch the above video.

How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - OneNote

Using Copilot in OneNote you can transform the way you plan and organize your notes. With Copilot, you can gain better insights by asking detailed questions, creating summaries of your content, writing content for you, and improving the clarity of your writing. By using Copilot, you can be better prepared and take proactive action from your notes.

Microsoft Copilot in OneNote is a wonderful AI assistant that can assist you with note-taking, research, and creativity in OneNote. It can generate summaries, to-do lists, plans, insights, and more based on your prompts and context. You can also chat with Copilot and get responses to your questions and ideas. Here are some steps to activate and use Copilot in OneNote:

• Make sure that you currently hold an active subscription to Microsoft 365 and possess a valid Copilot license. Next, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Smart Lookup and check the box that says "Use Microsoft Copilot to help you with content creation".
• In a new or existing notebook, click the Copilot icon in the ribbon menu and select Copilot to open the chat sidebar. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C to open Copilot Chat.
• In the chat sidebar, you can type your queries or requests for Copilot, such as "Summarize this page" or "Create a plan for my birthday party". Additionally, you can use the slash command "/" to access various Copilot features, such as "/summarize", "/todo", "/plan", or "/chat".
• Copilot will generate and display suggestions based on your input. You can choose to keep, discard, or regenerate the suggestions. You can also adjust the tone, length, and style of the suggestions using the buttons below the Copilot compose box.
• To insert the Copilot suggestions into your notebook, click the Insert button or press Enter. You can also drag and drop the suggestions to the desired location in your notebook.

How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Outlook

With Copilot in Outlook, you can manage your inbox efficiently and compose effective emails in a shorter amount of time. With Copilot, you can request a summary of an email conversation to quickly access the main content, suggested actions, replies, and follow-up meetings. Additionally, you can tailor the tone and length of your email using the available options.

Microsoft Copilot in Outlook is a brilliant AI assistant that can assist you with email writing, coaching, and prioritizing in Outlook. It can draft, rewrite, summarize, and suggest improvements for your emails based on your prompts and context. You can also chat with Copilot and get responses to your questions and ideas. Here are some steps to activate and use Copilot in Outlook:

• Make sure that you currently hold an active subscription to Microsoft 365 and possess a valid Copilot license. Next, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > Smart Lookup and check the box that says "Use Microsoft Copilot to help you with content creation".
• In an email, click the Copilot icon in the ribbon menu and select Copilot to open the chat sidebar. You can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C to open Copilot Chat.
• In the chat sidebar, you can type your queries or requests for Copilot, such as "Draft an email to my boss" or "Coach me on this email".  Additionally, you can use the slash command "/" to access various Copilot features, such as "/draft", "/coach", "/summarize", or "/chat".
• Copilot will generate and display suggestions based on your input. You can choose to keep, discard, or regenerate the suggestions. You can also adjust the tone, length, and style of the suggestions using the buttons below the Copilot compose box.
• To insert the Copilot suggestions into your email, click the Insert button or press Enter. You can also drag and drop the suggestions to the desired location in your email.

For more information and tips on how to use Copilot in Outlook, you can watch the above video.

How to Use Microsoft Copilot in Office 365 Apps - Teams

Copilot in Teams is an AI-powered feature that can assist you in various ways during a conversation. It can suggest relevant questions based on ongoing discussions, summarize important points, arrange key information, and even create meeting agendas using the chat history. Moreover, it can identify individual contacts for follow-ups and schedule future check-ins.

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that can assist you with various tasks in Teams, such as summarizing meetings, catching up on chats, finding information, and generating content. Here are some steps to get started with Copilot in Teams:

• To use Copilot during a meeting, you need to enable transcription or select Copilot without transcription from the meeting options. Then, you can open Copilot from the meeting controls and ask questions or prompts in the Copilot compose box. Copilot will respond with relevant information, suggestions, or content based on the meeting context.
• To use Copilot after a meeting, you can go to the meeting chat and select the Recap tab. Then, you can open Copilot and ask questions or prompts to review the main points, action items, and decisions of the meeting.
• To use Copilot in a chat or channel, you can expand the replies of a conversation and select Open Copilot from the upper-right corner. Then, you can ask questions or prompts to get a summary, action items, or insights from the chat or channel.

For more tips and resources on how to use Copilot in Teams, you can watch the above video.

How to Install and Set up Microsoft 365 Copilot

To install and set up Microsoft Copilot for Office 365, you need to follow these steps:

• Make sure your organization meets the prerequisites for Microsoft 365 Copilot, such as having Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licenses and OneDrive accounts for your users.
• Contact Microsoft 365 Sales or your Microsoft representative to buy Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on licenses for your users.
• Assign the licenses to your users using the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• Send an email to your users announcing Microsoft 365 Copilot and its features. 

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered tool designed to enhance productivity while using popular Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and others. It assists with various tasks such as writing, editing, summarizing, creating data visualizations, and managing inboxes. You can access Copilot either by clicking on the Copilot icon in the ribbon of your Microsoft 365 App or by typing `@Copilot` in the chat window of Teams.

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Conclusion 

Microsoft 365 Copilot is a productivity tool that utilizes AI technology to assist users with various tasks in popular Microsoft 365 Apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Teams, and more. 

With Copilot, you can easily write, edit, summarize, create data visualizations, and manage your inbox. Additionally, you can create custom Copilot models for specific topics or domains. This tool is designed to enhance productivity, promote human creativity, and ensure responsible and secure usage of AI technology.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is expanding its availability to enterprises of all sizes and across more channels. It is also offering a new Copilot Pro subscription for individuals that provides premium access to the latest models and web grounding. 

Microsoft 365 Copilot is integrated with Office Apps to provide a seamless and consistent experience across work and life. Microsoft 365 Copilot is poised to dramatically transform the way work gets done in the future.

I hope this guide helps you navigate through when using Microsoft 365 Copilot in your work. Share this article with your colleagues. Thanks for reading. Have a great day ahead!