This article applies to: All Microsoft Copilot experiences — personal accounts (Personal, Family, Premium, Pro), work or school accounts, and free Copilot Chat.
Last updated: October 2026
A deadline is coming up, but you missed a few messages, an email thread, a meeting, or a file update along the way. Microsoft Copilot can help you find the important details and turn them into a useful summary, so you can get back up to speed.
You can also interact with Microsoft Copilot using a powerful set of voice capabilities. To learn how to use voice capabilities in Copilot, see Get started with voice features in Microsoft Copilot.
Note
For Copilot to access your work data, you need a Microsoft Copilot add-on license. Learn more about using Copilot Chat with or without a Copilot add-on license.
Ask Copilot to help catch up on work
- Go to Microsoft Copilot and sign in with your Microsoft 365 work or school account.
- In Copilot Chat, type / to open the references menu and select work sources for Copilot to reference. Learn more at Refer to specific files in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- Ask Copilot for a summary of things like a file, the latest messages from a colleague, missed meetings, or unread emails.
Try these prompts to catch up on your work
| Scenario | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Track down a detail in a document | Last week, someone shared a document that defined the key deliverable dates for [Project X]. What were those dates? |
| Catch up after time away | Summarize messages from [Name] over the past two weeks. Call out any important details, like deliverables, due dates, and action items. |
| Get an executive-level project update | List the developments on [Product Z] that would be relevant to an executive who owns the product launch, based on collaboration over the past five business days. |
| Recap a missed meeting | Recap /[Meeting name]. |
Tip
If the meeting you're recapping has recorded visuals, Copilot can also create a short video recap that highlights moments from the recording.
Catch up with a personal Microsoft account
With a personal Microsoft account, you can use the same catch-up approach for content associated with that account. Depending on your Microsoft 365 subscription and available features, Copilot might use content like files in OneDrive and email or calendar information in Outlook.com.
For example, try:
- Summarize the recent emails about our family trip. Include important dates and anything we still need to do.
- Summarize [file name] and list the key details.
- What upcoming events from my calendar should I prepare for?
- Find the important dates mentioned in my recent emails about [topic].
Refine your results
If the first response is too broad, keep the conversation going. Ask Copilot to focus on what matters most to you.
- What changed since the previous update?
- Which details need my attention first?
- Make the summary shorter.
- Explain [specific detail] in simpler terms.