Welcome to Copilot in Word

Draft with Copilot

Whether you’re creating a new document or working on an existing one, Copilot can help you move forward. In a new, blank document or upon creating new line in an existing document, the Draft with Copilot experience appears. 

The description you provide can be a simple sentence or a more complex request with outlines, notes, or referenced files that you want Copilot to use. You could tell Copilot "Write an essay about baseball" or "Create a paragraph about time management," for example. 

For users with a Copilot for Microsoft365 license, the Reference a file button allows you to search for and include up to three of your existing files as inputs to ground the content Copilot drafts. In the compose box, you can also enter "/" and the name of the file you'd like to reference, which will update the file options shown in the menu for selection. This feature only references the files you select, not any other organizational data.

Upon proceeding, Copilot will generate and display new content accordingly. You can Keep it,   Discard, or direct Copilot to   Regenerate to provide a different version. You can also go back and change your starter prompt. Select < and > to navigate through Copilot's suggestions.

In the Copilot compose box, enter in details on how you would like Copilot's response to change. For example, write "Make this more concise," and Copilot will fine tune its response based on your instructions.

In a document with existing content, you can also use the Inspire Me button to have Copilot automatically keep writing for you, based on the content already in your document. 

For more information, see Start a draft with Copilot in Word.

Transform with Copilot

Sometimes rewriting and editing your documents takes more time and thought than writing your ideas down in the first place. Copilot not only helps you create new content, but it also helps you transform your existing content into a document you can be proud of.

With text already in your document, highlight the text that you would like to rewrite or transform into a table. In the left margin next to your text, select the   Copilot icon. From the menu, select Rewrite to have Copilot provide rewritten options to choose from. You can also adjust Copilot's response by selecting the  Adjust tone button or  Regenerate to receive new set of responses.

After you've highlighted text in your document, you can also choose to visualize your text as a table. In the left margin next to your text, select the   Copilot icon. From the menu, select Visualize as a table to have Copilot turn the text into a table. You can select  Regenerate to receive a new table or  Discard to remove the generated table.

Fine tune the table by entering details into the Copilot compose box about what to adjust in the table, like "Add an empty third column."

For both Rewrite and Visualize as a table, select < and > to navigate through Copilot's suggestions.

For more information, see Transform your content with Copilot in Word.

Chat with Copilot

You can open the Copilot pane via the  Copilot icon in the ribbon's Home tab. This helpful feature provides answers to questions—broad or specific—about your document. You can even iterate and refine with back-and-forth discussions, get a summary or specific information about the document content, or ask it to generate ideas, tables, or lists that you can copy and insert into your document. 

When generating summaries or asking questions about your document, Copilot will provide references with citations to where it retrieved its information from.

For more information, see Chat with Copilot about your Word document.

Some ideas to try 

Want to practice a bit and see what Copilot can do? Here are some starter ideas. 

Privacy

Copilot and Microsoft 365 are built on Microsoft's comprehensive approach to security, compliance, and privacy.

For more information about privacy, see the following information:

• If you’re using Copilot for Microsoft 365 in your organization (with your work or school account), see Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365.

• If you're using Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps at home as part of Copilot Pro (with your personal Microsoft account), see Copilot Pro: Microsoft 365 apps and your privacy.

Current limitations

• The content of the chat pane isn't saved, so Copilot won't be able to refer to previous interactions there.

• Copilot may not work well with content containing SmartArt, tables, or charts.

• Copilot currently supports fewer languages than what's available for the UI. Find more information at Microsoft Copilot supported languages.

• Copilot is currently limited in the number of words it can process per prompt. For more information about processing longer documents, see Keeping it short and sweet: a guide on the length of documents that you provide to Copilot.

Keep in mind...

The features described here use GPT, an AI system from OpenAI that creates text based on a prompt. As it is a new system, it may create things you didn’t expect. If you find its content to be unexpected or offensive, please send us feedback so we can make it better. Because content generated via AI draws from the internet, it may contain inaccuracies or sensitive material. Be sure to review and verify the information it generates. Also note that similar requests may result in the same content being generated. 

We want to hear from you!

If there's something you like about Copilot—and especially if there's something you don't like—you can submit feedback to Microsoft. Just click the thumb-up or thumb-down button in the response output. This feedback will help us improve your experience in Word. 

Learn more

Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Word

Copilot in Word help & learning

Microsoft Copilot help & learning

Where can I get Microsoft Copilot?