Let me guess—you’ve seen the Copilot button pop up in your Microsoft 365 apps and you’re wondering, “Is this just another Clippy situation?” Don’t worry, you’re not alone. And no, this isn’t Clippy 2.0. This is Copilot, and if used right, it’s a game-changer that can actually help you unsuck your day-to-day tasks.

Think of Microsoft 365 Copilot as your ultra-capable sidekick that lives right inside the tools you already use—Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, and more. It doesn’t replace your work; it accelerates it, elevates it, and occasionally saves your butt at 4:59 PM when you forgot about that meeting summary you were supposed to write.

So what exactly does Copilot do?

Here’s the beauty of it: Copilot isn’t just a chatbot. It’s context-aware. That means when you use it in Word, it helps you write or rewrite based on your actual document. In Excel, it finds trends or generates formulas. In Outlook, it drafts emails (and yes, it can even help you be politely passive-aggressive). And in Teams, it summarizes chats, meetings, and helps you catch up when you’ve been double-booked for four hours straight.

Where do I find it?

Look for the Copilot icon—usually a sparkle or star-looking symbol—in your Microsoft 365 apps. It might be on your ribbon, next to a compose box, or in a side panel. If you don’t see it yet, you might need a Microsoft 365 license that includes Copilot (not all tenants have it yet!).

Okay, but what should I actually do with it?

Try these starter prompts to warm up:

• In Word: “Summarize this document in 3 bullet points.”
• In Excel: “Visualize trends over time from this data.”
• In PowerPoint: “Create 5 slides summarizing {document} for an executive audience.”
• In Onenote: “Organize these meeting notes into sections and highlight action items.”
• In Outlook: “Draft a reply thanking John for the update and requesting more details.”
• In Teams: “Summarize key points from today’s meeting.”

OK now that you tried them all, expand upon them and be very ellaborate, because that’s the whole idea behind being a good prompt engineer. For instance:

“Using the content in this document, write an executive summary that includes: (1) the three main goals of the project, (2) a high-level timeline with estimated completion dates for each phase, (3) identified risks and mitigation strategies, and (4) a closing paragraph that outlines next steps and who owns them. The tone should be professional but approachable, written for a VP-level audience who is short on time. Keep the total length under 300 words.”

But it does not stop there. You can go even MORE detailed.

Like this:

“Using the content in this document, generate a polished executive summary that will be presented to the VP of Operations. The summary should include the following:

• A concise overview of the project’s purpose and business impact (1–2 sentences).
• The top three goals of the project, clearly listed with a short explanation for each.
• A high-level timeline of key phases and milestones, with estimated start and end dates.
• Identified risks or potential blockers, and a brief description of mitigation strategies already in place.
• A closing paragraph with clearly defined next steps, ownership assignments, and any deadlines the VP needs to be aware of.

Keep the total length under 300 words. Use formatting (bold or bullets) where appropriate to improve scan-ability. The tone should be confident, professional, and approachable — assume the reader has limited time and needs to get the big picture fast
Do not repeat details already in the title or cover page. Focus on clarity, structure, and making the summary easy to digest. Write as if the reader will forward this to other senior stakeholders who have not read the full document.”

Get the point? The more specific you are, the better the results. And don’t worry if the first draft isn’t perfect—it’s meant to be edited. Copilot gives you a fast, structured starting point so you’re not staring at a blinking cursor all day.

But is it secure?

Yes! Copilot follows the same compliance and data security standards as the rest of Microsoft 365. It doesn’t leak your data across tenants, and it only pulls from content you already have permission to access. If you can’t see a file, Copilot can’t either. That said, this is your reminder (and gentle nudge) to review your SharePoint governance, permissions, and access policies. If Copilot is going to help people work smarter, your security model needs to be just as smart.

Why I love it (and why you might, too)

I’ve been architecting Microsoft 365 solutions for over 15 years, and I’ve seen countless features come and go. This one’s different. Copilot has actually made me more productive, not just busier. It’s helped clients brainstorm better, summarize faster, and dare I say—unsuck their meetings, inboxes, and documents in ways they didn’t think were possible.

And the M365 community? We’re already all over it. Prompt libraries are being shared, new use cases explored, and people are finding joy again in using the tools they already pay for. It’s not hype. It’s happening.

If you’re curious, don’t wait. Explore. Play. Prompt. This is your moment to start working smarter, not just harder. Copilot’s ready when you are.

Want to learn more?

• Get better results with Copilot prompting
• Explore the official Copilot Prompt Gallery
• How to write great prompts

This is your sign to start using Copilot and finally unsuck your Microsoft 365 experience.