The beginner's guide to Microsoft Copilot at work
A colleague's Excel has a Copilot pane that edits the workbook, and yours seems to offer a chat box. Before you decide you're missing out, read the label on your account, then try one small job in a practice workbook.
What does your job involve?
Copilot works inside the Microsoft apps you already use, but what it can do depends on your account. Check your label first, then pick a task.
Open a task to see where to start, the access to check, a prompt to use and what to check in the result.
Create or edit a PowerPoint deck Copilot in PowerPoint
Draft the deck you will present, in your own template.
- Where to start
- Open a copy of your organisation's template, select the Copilot icon in the bottom-right corner of the slide, choose Agent Mode under Add Content and describe the deck. Paste the key facts from the brief into the request: referencing files in Agent Mode is still rolling out.
- Access to check
- M365 Copilot (Basic) or (Premium) label, or a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium subscription. Copilot Chat (Basic) doesn't include Copilot in PowerPoint.
- Bring this
- The brief's key facts, the audience, the decision you need and your organisation's slide template.
Try this in Copilot
Create a five-slide presentation for [audience] from the facts below. Lead with [decision]. Keep every figure exactly as given and label proposals as proposals. Keep text editable. Facts: [facts]Why this request helps: Starting from the template keeps your theme and layouts. Naming the decision gives the first slide a job.
Check before using it: Read every slide against the brief: figures, dates and anything that has turned from proposed into agreed. A finished-looking deck can still say something the brief doesn't.
If this route is missing: Ask Copilot Chat for a slide-by-slide outline, then build the slides yourself in PowerPoint.
Build or edit an Excel budget Copilot in Excel
Get real formulas in the workbook, not a table-shaped answer in a chat.
- Where to start
- Open a practice copy, select the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of Excel and choose Plan from the mode menu. Copilot opens in edit mode (Allow editing) by default.
- Access to check
- M365 Copilot (Basic) or (Premium) label, or a qualifying personal subscription. Copilot Chat (Basic) doesn't include Copilot in Excel.
- Bring this
- The workbook, its units, which cells are inputs and the rule for any new column.
Try this in Copilot
Plan changes to this practice budget before changing anything. Keep the existing data unchanged, keep assumptions in their own cells and flag any missing prices. Use formulas that reference input cells, not typed totals. List the ranges you will change.Why this request helps: Plan shows you the steps before any cell changes, so you can correct a wrong column or sign first.
Check before using it: Click a changed cell and read the formula bar, then change one input and confirm the totals move.
If this route is missing: Paste a few rows into Copilot Chat, ask for the formulas and enter them yourself in a copy.
Rewrite a section inside Word Copilot in Word
Improve the document where colleagues already maintain it.
- Where to start
- Open the document, find the section you want to change, then open Copilot in Word.
- Access to check
- M365 Copilot (Basic) or (Premium) label, or a qualifying personal subscription.
- Bring this
- The document, the section's heading, the reader and the facts that must not change.
Try this in Copilot
Rewrite only the section headed [section] for [reader]. Keep every date, amount, exception and commitment as written. Make the next action clear. Leave the other sections unchanged. If a fact the section needs is missing, flag it instead of adding one.Why this request helps: Naming the section keeps the edit small, and listing the facts that must not change protects the meaning while the tone changes.
Check before using it: Compare the new section with the old one line by line before you keep it.
If this route is missing: Paste the section into Copilot Chat and copy the checked revision back into Word.
Draft an Outlook reply Copilot in Outlook
Draft a reply that answers the conversation in front of you.
- Where to start
- Open the thread you are replying to and select Copilot in the reply window.
- Access to check
- Copilot in Outlook is available to all Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers. What it can see of your inbox and calendar depends on your licence.
- Bring this
- The thread and any dates, amounts or conditions you have agreed elsewhere.
Try this in Copilot
Draft a reply to this thread for me to review. Answer [question] using the thread and these agreed facts: [facts]. Don't add a deadline, discount or commitment. List anything you couldn't answer separately.Why this request helps: The thread gives the context, and listing the agreed facts stops the draft from offering a convenient promise.
Check before using it: Check the recipients, any attachment and every promise in the draft before you send it yourself.
If this route is missing: Paste the relevant message into Copilot Chat, then write the reply in Outlook.
Find an answer in work files Copilot Chat → available work context
Find the answer in your organisation's files without guessing what Copilot can see.
- Where to start
- In Copilot Chat, check that Work IQ (at the top of the chat, next to the model picker) is on, name the file or project and open the citations in the answer.
- Access to check
- Answers from work files depend on your licence, your organisation's settings and which files you can already open.
- Bring this
- A question and the current version of the file that settles it.
Try this in Copilot
Using [file], answer [question]. Quote the passage that supports the answer and any exception. If you can't open that file, say so instead of answering from the web or an older version. Don't change the file.Why this request helps: Naming the file that settles the question separates your organisation's rule from a plausible general answer.
Check before using it: Open the cited file and confirm it is the current version and says what the answer claims.
If this route is missing: Upload a copy of the file where your account allows it, and treat the answer as true only for that copy.
Inspect a chart or variance explanation Copilot in Excel (Chat only) or Copilot Chat
Understand the change before the chart goes into a leadership pack.
- Where to start
- In Excel, choose Chat only from the Copilot mode menu so nothing changes. Without Excel access, paste a small table into Copilot Chat.
- Access to check
- Copilot in Excel for the workbook itself. Copilot Chat can explain a table you paste in, without changing any file.
- Bring this
- Two comparable periods, their definitions and totals, and the chart you plan to use.
Try this in Copilot
Explain the change between [periods] in this table. Show both the count and the rate where the base changes. Reconcile the totals, and keep what the data shows separate from possible causes. Name any missing data before suggesting a headline.Why this request helps: A count can rise while its rate falls. Asking for both stops a reassuring but incomplete explanation.
Check before using it: Check the base, the chart axes, the periods and one total you work out yourself.
If this route is missing: Paste a small table into Copilot Chat and build the checked chart yourself.
Know what you have
Copilot: the feature map
What each part of Copilot is for, where to find it and what access it needs. A reply in chat, an edited file and an action in another app are different results.
| Feature | Useful for | Where | Access / limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Chat | Questions, drafts and text you paste in | Copilot Chat in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app | Included with work accounts; tools and limits vary |
| Work context | Answers from your organisation's files | Copilot Chat with Work IQ on | Licence, settings and file permissions |
| Word | Draft or revise a document | Copilot in Word | M365 Copilot (Basic) or (Premium), or a qualifying personal plan |
| PowerPoint | Create and refine a deck | Copilot icon on the slide, Agent Mode | M365 Copilot (Basic) or (Premium); file referencing still rolling out |
| Excel | Tables, formulas, charts and workbook edits | Copilot in Excel | M365 Copilot (Basic) or (Premium); modes: Allow editing, Plan, Chat only |
| Outlook | Inbox questions and reply drafts | Copilot in Outlook | All subscribers; inbox context depends on licence |
| Agents / automation | Multi-step work with connected tools | Agents in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app | Each agent can need its own access |
Find out what your account can use
- For a work or school account, sign in to Microsoft 365, scroll to the bottom of the home page and read the label under your name.
- Copilot Chat (Basic): no Copilot add-on and no Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote. M365 Copilot (Basic): standard access to Copilot in those apps, without the add-on. M365 Copilot (Premium): the add-on, with priority access to the full Copilot experience in those apps.
- Open the app you need and look for its Copilot icon. Some features also depend on your organisation's settings or are still rolling out.
- For a personal Microsoft account there is no label: Copilot comes with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium, and only the subscription owner can use it in the desktop apps.
A Copilot button in one app doesn't mean every app has it. Check the label on the account you're signed in with before deciding a missing feature needs a new licence.
Ask your administrator:
Which Copilot licence label does my account have, is access to work files and emails turned on, and which apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) can I use Copilot in? I'd like to try [task] in [app] with the access we already have.What you'll make
a small budget workbook with a variance column and total that Copilot in Excel added after you agreed its plan, tested by changing one figure.
What you'll need
a work or school account whose label reads M365 Copilot (Basic) or M365 Copilot (Premium) (see “Find out what your account can use” above), or a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium subscription. Add Excel, a practice copy of a short budget and about 15 minutes.
Example result.
| Cell | Contains | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| D2 | =C2-B2 |
350 |
| D8 | =SUM(D2:D7) |
−750 |
| D2 and D8 after C2 changes to 5,400 | the same formulas | 600 and −500 |
1. Open Copilot in a practice copy and choose Plan
Save a copy of the budget and work in the copy. In Excel, select the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of the window to open the Copilot pane, then open the mode menu in the pane and choose Plan. The other two modes are Allow editing, where Copilot changes the workbook directly, and Chat only, where it analyses the data without changing anything.
Why this works: Copilot in Excel opens in edit mode by default. Plan makes it show you the steps before it touches a cell, which is where you catch a wrong column or a sign that runs the wrong way.
What you should see: the Copilot pane with Plan selected. If Excel has no Copilot pane, check the label: Copilot Chat (Basic) doesn’t include Copilot in Excel. Go deeper covers what to do instead.
2. Ask for a plan, not a finished sheet
Name the columns, the rule for the new column and what a positive number means. Copilot can’t guess your sign convention, and finance teams disagree about it.
Plan how to add a variance column to this budget before changing anything.
Use [budget column] and [spent column]. Add a column headed "Variance (£)"
calculated as spent minus budget, so a positive number means over budget.
Add a total row that sums each column. Use formulas that reference the
cells in each row, not typed numbers. Keep the existing data unchanged.Replace [budget column] and [spent column] with the headings in your sheet, such as “Budget (£)” and “Spent (£)”.
Why this works: the plan has to restate the formula and the sign rule in words, so you can compare it with what you meant before anything is written.
What you should see: a short numbered plan that names the new column, the formula pattern (for example =C2-B2), the rows it will fill and the total row.
3. Correct the plan, then let Copilot build it
Read the plan against your request. If it says budget minus spent, or puts the total in the wrong row, reply with the correction and ask for a new plan. When the plan matches, confirm it in the pane so Copilot carries it out.
Why this works: a one-line correction to a plan costs nothing. The same mistake found later can sit in a report for a month.
What you should see: the new column and total row appear in the workbook as Copilot works. The Stop button in the pane halts it if it heads somewhere you didn’t agree.
4. Change one figure and watch the total
Click a variance cell and read the formula bar. Then change one spent figure in the copy and check that the variance for that row and the total both move by the same amount.
Why this works: a neat column that doesn’t recalculate looks identical to one that does until a number changes.
What you should see: the formula bar shows a formula, not a number, and the totals update as soon as you press Enter.
Check the result
- Every variance cell holds a formula that refers to its own row.
- The sign matches your rule: overspends are positive.
- The total of the variance column equals spent total minus budget total.
- Your original columns are unchanged.
The usual failure: the column holds typed numbers. The values are right today, so the sheet looks finished, but the formula bar shows 350 instead of =C2-B2, and changing a spent figure leaves the variance and the total where they were.
The cells in [column] contain typed values, not formulas. Replace each one
with a formula that subtracts the budget cell from the spent cell in the
same row, and replace the total with a SUM of the column. Keep the
existing data unchanged, then tell me which cells you changed.[column] is the variance column, for example “Variance (£)” in column D.
Worked example: a refit budget that stops recalculating
Fictional example. A community library is tracking its reading-room refit. The practice copy has three columns and six lines:
Line Budget (£) Spent (£)
Shelving 4,800 5,150
Paint and materials 1,200 980
Electrician 2,500 2,500
Signage 650 720
Furniture 3,900 3,640
Contingency 1,000 310The Plan prompt from step 2 produced a plan to add “Variance (£)” in column D as =C2-B2 down to row 7, then a total row 8 summing B, C and D. That matched the request, so it was confirmed.
The finished sheet showed variances of 350, −220, 0, 70, −260 and −690, a budget total of 14,050, a spent total of 13,300 and a variance total of −750. All correct. Then the shelving invoice was revised from 5,150 to 5,400. The spent total moved to 13,550, but D2 stayed at 350 and D8 stayed at −750.
The formula bar for D2 showed 350. Copilot had written the right answers as typed numbers. After the repair prompt, D2 held =C2-B2 and showed 600, and D8 held =SUM(D2:D7) and showed −500, which matches 13,550 minus 14,050.
- The plan was right and the build still went wrong. Agreeing a plan narrows the job — it doesn’t replace step 4.
- The values passed every check except the change test. That’s why the change test comes last.
- The repair named the cells and the formula pattern, so Copilot had nothing left to interpret.
Task kit for this job: Download (ZIP) · Reusable instructions
Go deeper
If your label says Copilot Chat (Basic)
That label means no Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote, but you can still get the formulas. Open Copilot Chat in your work account, paste a few rows from the practice copy with their column letters, and ask for formulas you will enter yourself. Then run the same change test.
Here are the headings and first rows of a budget, with column letters.
Give me the Excel formula for a variance column (spent minus budget,
positive means over budget) and for a total row. Show the formula for
row 2 and explain how to fill it down. Don't calculate the values.Asking it not to calculate the values keeps the answer to formulas, which is the part you can test.
Ask Chat only to explain a sheet before you change it
A workbook you inherited is a better place to ask than to edit. Switch the Copilot pane to Chat only and ask which cells feed the total, which cells hold typed numbers and whether any formula refers to a different row from its neighbours. Chat only answers about the data without changing the workbook, so you can find the weak spot before you ask for a fix in Plan.
Keep a checked answer as a Copilot Page
When a Copilot Chat answer is worth keeping, such as the explanation of how your budget is calculated, select the pencil button (Edit in Pages) below the response. The answer opens as a page beside the chat, where you can edit it and later share it with colleagues. Work or school accounts can use Pages with OneDrive or SharePoint storage, even without a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence. Check what the page says before you share it: it is your answer now. And note that this is Microsoft 365 Copilot, not GitHub Copilot, which is a separate coding product with its own licence.
Sources
- What Copilot licence do I have? (Microsoft Support)
- Get started with Copilot in Excel (Microsoft Support)
- How Copilot Chat works in Microsoft 365 apps (Microsoft Support)
- How Microsoft 365 Copilot Pages works (Microsoft Support)
- Draft content with Copilot Chat and Copilot Pages (Microsoft Support)