Copilot in Outlook: how to get, enable and use

What is Copilot in Outlook?

Copilot in Outlook is a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms. Its primary objective is to assist users in handing emails, scheduling meetings, and organizing their daily workflow. Copilot is designed to learn from your interactions and adapt to your work patterns, providing a personalized and productive email experience. It's worth noting, however, that AI is built to support you in your work, not to replace you.

Which Outlook versions have Copilot?

As of now, Copilot is available in the new Outlook (for Windows and Mac) and in Outlook on the web. Also, Microsoft promises to extend its support to the classic Outlook desktop in the future. Some features, such as Coaching by Copilot, have begun rolling out for the classic Outlook for Windows (Win32 desktop app), but they are not yet fully available.

How to enable Copilot in Outlook

Enabling Copilot in Outlook is a straightforward process – there are no settings to configure. To activate Copilot in Outlook, you'll just need to purchase the required Microsoft subscriptions and install the supported app:

1. Get Microsoft 365 subscription. Before getting Copilot, ensure you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, such as Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Business.
2. Get Copilot subscription. Choose the Copilot plan that aligns with your Microsoft 365 subscription (please refer to these options) and buy the corresponding Copilot subscription.
3. Assign Copilot licenses to users. If you've bought Copilot for your organization, assign Copilot licenses to users as needed in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
4. Install new Outlook. Install the new Outlook and create an account using the same email address as your Copilot subscription. Alternatively, log into Outlook on the web using the same Microsoft account.

That’s it - integration complete!

What Copilot in Outlook can do

Currently, Outlook Copilot introduces three key features:

Summarize emails - automatically creates a summary based on the content of an individual email or an entire email thread. This feature helps you comprehend the core information and quickly grasp the key points.

Draft emails - writes a comprehensive email draft based on the original email you’re responding to or your own prompt when composing a new email. You can use the generated content as-is or tweak the tone and length settings to create a new draft that’s just right for you.

Improve emails (coaching) - analyzes your email drafts and provides feedback on tone, clarity and reader sentiment, accompanied by specific suggestions to improve various aspects of the email. This feature is particularly useful for obtaining feedback on crucial emails, allowing users to fine-tune their text before sending.

These main functionalities offer a variety of practical applications, including:

• Condensing lengthy emails, meeting invites and whole discussions.
• Summarizing recent emails on a certain subject or from a particular person.
• Creating initial email drafts, providing a solid foundation for you to build upon.
• Helping you prepare for meetings and events: draft a meeting agenda from your notes, alert you about any conflicts in your Outlook calendar, and even offer recaps for your meetings that have already happened.
• Helping you find attachments or shared files from a specific sender.
• Refining, rephrasing, and improving your emails, making sure your messages are clear, concise, and effective.
• Adding some style to your emails to make them more engaging and personalized.
• Teaching you to write better emails.

In summary, Copilot is an amazing tool that is actively developed. So, you can anticipate even more incredible features in future. Just as Microsoft shows in their promotional videos, it will be able to prioritize your emails and tasks, provide suggestions for follow-up actions, and search for information from other Office apps to include to your emails. And that’s just the beginning!

How to use Copilot in Outlook

Getting hands-on with Copilot is intuitive and straightforward. Typically, wherever an AI feature is accessible, you'll see its icon or a prompt guiding you along the way. Let’s explore how to use Copilot in typical scenarios that Outlook users encounter daily.

Communicate with Copilot directly using a chat

In the latest version of the new Outlook and web app, Copilot is even more intuitive and effective, letting you communicate your needs directly via the chart. Here's how to activate it:

1. Click the Copilot icon in the upper-right corner of the Outlook window.
2. In the Copilot pane that appears on the right side of the window, you can try one of the inbuilt prompts to get more information on a specific subject, find a file shared with you or sent as an attachment, or summarize recent emails where you were mentioned.
3. Alternatively, you can type your request directly in the chat box.

For example, you you've misplaced an important file that was emailed to you, you can ask Copilot to locate it. As a result, Copilot will give you a clickable reference to the email containing the requested file, so you can quickly retrieve and review the document.

Another useful feature is getting a summary of recent emails from a specific sender, which is incredibly handy for catching up on conversations. Copilot will not only provide a brief summary of the emails along with references to the original messages, but also suggest a couple of additional questions you may want to ask, such as clarifications or follow-ups.

Here are a few examples of other possible prompts that you can use with Copilot:

• Find the presentation file John sent last week.
• Summarize the emails from Sarah in the past month.
• Locate the attachment from last month's sales report.
• Summarize the discussion in the team meeting email thread.
• Find the email where I was mentioned in the project update.
• Give me feedback on the last product release.

These prompts will help you complete routine work faster and focus on your most critical tasks.

Limitations of Outlook Copilot

While Microsoft Copilot in Outlook offers many advantages, it’s important to be aware of its limitations and challenges. Some of these include:

• Can't be purchased separately. Copilot is integrated with all Microsoft 365 apps and cannot be purchased exclusively for Outlook.
• No trial. Unfortunately, there's no trial version of Copilot available, making it a direct purchase without an evaluation period.
• Not supported in desktop Outlook. Copilot is only supported in the new Outlook and Outlook on the web, but not in the classic desktop app.
• Some features may be unavailable. Copilot is constantly evolving, so some features may not be available yet or may be in development.
• Dependence on data quality. Copilot’s effectiveness depends on the quality and completeness of the data it accesses. Incomplete or outdated information may lead to less accurate suggestions.
• Summarizing limits. For very long email threads, the Summarize feature may not be able to include all the older messages. This is due to limitations in the amount of data that can be processed by the language models. In such cases, you may receive a warning that the summary might not represent the entire thread.
• Drafting limits. Although there is no restriction on the length of prompts in the Draft with Copilot feature, in lengthy conversations, not all previous messages might be considered due to limitations in data processing.
• Coaching limits. The Coaching by Copilot feature cannot be used on a draft that is less than 100 characters in length.
• Limited to primary mailbox. The Copilot features in Outlook are only available for your primary mailbox that’s associated with your Copilot subscription. This means that you won’t be able to access them in archive, group, shared and delegate mailboxes, or any other email accounts.
• Accuracy. Keep in mind that the content generated by Copilot may not always be 100% accurate, as it’s based on language data patterns and probabilities. So, before making any decisions, be sure to use your own judgment and double-check the facts.
• Privacy and security. Just like any other AI tool that deals with personal or sensitive data, there are always concerns about data security. Microsoft takes these concerns very seriously and has a strong focus on security, compliance, and privacy. However, it’s always a good idea for users to stay informed about these issues and understand how Microsoft handles data within Copilot.

Outlook Copilot FAQs

Now that you’ve learned about the amazing things Outlook Copilot can do, let’s dive into the technical specifics and answer some frequently asked questions.