Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft uses the name Copilot across three main setups. Checking which one you already have in your account and apps can save you buying something you do not need:

• Consumer Microsoft Copilot (personal Microsoft accounts): Available on the web, in the Windows/mobile app and in the Microsoft Edge sidebar for drafting text, answering questions and summarising open web pages.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (work or school accounts): Included with eligible Microsoft 365 business, enterprise and academic subscriptions, with enterprise data protection when signed in with your work or school account. In current Microsoft 365 apps (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook), eligible users can also open side-by-side Copilot Chat in the app pane to ask questions about the open file or use supported inbox and calendar context where enabled by their organisation.
• Licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on: Adds wider organisation-wide work-data grounding (across SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams meetings and email) and full in-app actions across Microsoft 365 where licensed and enabled by your IT administrator.

• Use F6 to move between your document and the Copilot side pane. In Word, Excel and PowerPoint, pressing F6 (or Shift + F6) moves focus between the document area, the ribbon and the right-hand Copilot chat pane.
• Ask for headings and bullet points. Prompting "Summarise this document under three headings with short bullet points" creates output that is much faster to scan with heading and list commands than a wall of prose.
• Insert or copy the text before editing. Reading and editing a draft inside the main Word document canvas is much more comfortable with JAWS or NVDA than trying to edit inside the narrow chat pane.

• The Copilot button is missing or shows different options from a colleague's PC. What appears inside Word, Outlook or Teams depends on which Microsoft 365 subscription or Copilot add-on is assigned to your account, whether your IT administrator has enabled in-app Copilot Chat, and whether your app build is up to date. Check which account you are signed into before purchasing any extra licence, or use Copilot Chat in the browser or Microsoft Edge sidebar.
• Teams Copilot cannot summarise a meeting. Check your Copilot licence, administrator policies and the meeting's Copilot or intelligent recap settings. Some workflows require transcription; eligible meetings can also use Copilot or intelligent recap without a saved transcript. Check which mode your organisation permits.
• The summary misses a key detail. Ask a targeted follow-up question such as "What risks or deadlines are mentioned in section 3?" and check the linked citation numbers in the Copilot pane.

1. Open a long public article in Microsoft Edge (or a non-confidential report in Word if Copilot Chat is available in your ribbon).
2. Open the Copilot side pane and type: "Summarise the main points of this page in five short bullet points using UK English."
3. Wait for the response to finish, check one point against the original text, and use the Copy button to paste the summary into a blank note.

• Microsoft Copilot Help & Learning (Microsoft Support)
• Use a screen reader with Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft Support)