Microsoft Copilot can draft and revise documents in Word, analyze and edit workbooks in Excel, and answer questions about chats and meetings in Teams. The controls you see depend on your Microsoft account, subscription, Copilot license, app version, device, and organization policies, so confirm access before troubleshooting a missing button.
Start with access and the task you want to finish
Copilot is an assistant inside Microsoft 365 apps, not one identical chat window copied across them. Word works primarily with document content and any sources you provide; Excel works with workbook data and can sometimes make direct changes; Teams works with chats, files, meetings, transcripts, and other work context that your account is allowed to access. Choosing the app and a bounded task first produces more useful results than opening Copilot with no goal.
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Check which account and license you are using
Sign in to the Microsoft 365 app with the account that owns your subscription or was assigned access by your employer or school. Personal-account access requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription. Work or school access depends on the license assigned to you and on tenant settings controlled by your organization. Microsoft’s account guide explains how to identify the Copilot license associated with an account: What Copilot license do I have? The Excel eligibility guidance also lists qualifying personal and commercial, business, or enterprise subscription paths, while warning that tenant configuration can still affect availability: Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Excel.
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Use this task-and-context map
| App | Best starting task | Context to point Copilot toward | Check before accepting the result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word | Draft, rewrite, summarize, or explain a document | The current document, notes, a referenced file, or available Microsoft 365 work context | Meaning, factual accuracy, tone, completeness, and whether edits are approved |
| Excel | Formula help, data transformation, charting, or workbook analysis | A specific sheet, column, range, and desired result | Formula logic, source data, assumptions, and any direct workbook edits |
| Teams | Catch up on chats or ask a meeting or project question | Relevant people, project, chat, file, meeting, transcript, or recording | Cited sources, permissions, transcript status, and retention settings |
These apps are complementary. A polished Word brief may be based on figures checked in Excel and decisions found in Teams, but Copilot does not make those sources automatically authoritative. You remain responsible for confirming that the right file, range, conversation, or meeting was used.
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Use Copilot in Word
Word Copilot can draft from an instruction, outline, notes, or a referenced file; rewrite selected text; summarize a long document; and explain content. Depending on your account and rollout, it may also use broader Microsoft 365 work context such as files, email, and meetings. Microsoft documents the entry point and available experiences in Welcome to Copilot in Word.
Open the Copilot pane in a document
- Open the document in Word and sign in with the account that should have Copilot access.
- Select the Copilot button or open the Copilot pane. The exact button placement and controls can vary as Microsoft rolls out experiences across Word versions and platforms.
- Describe one outcome, identify the source material, and specify the audience, format, tone, length, or constraints.
- Read the response in the pane. Insert, replace, or apply a suggestion only after checking it against the document and your source material.
Draft a document from a prompt or source file
Give Copilot enough structure to make a useful first draft. A prompt such as Draft a two-page customer brief for a nontechnical audience using Quarterly_brief.docx. Include background, benefits, risks, and next steps. Use a neutral, practical tone. identifies the audience, purpose, source, sections, and style. If you have no file to reference, provide an outline or notes directly in the prompt. Referencing a source does not remove the need to verify names, dates, numbers, and quotations.
For a long document, ask for a specific section rather than an entire report at once. You can request an executive summary, a risks section, or a short introduction, then ask follow-up questions to change length or emphasis. Follow-up prompts are useful for refinement because they keep the immediate context of the draft, but inspect every revision to ensure that an edit did not remove an important qualification.
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Rewrite and refine selected text
Select the paragraph or passage you want to change, invoke Copilot, and state the transformation rather than merely saying “improve this.” Useful requests include:
- Make this introduction 80 words or fewer while preserving its meaning.
- Rewrite for a nontechnical customer audience and define the acronym on first use.
- Turn these three paragraphs into a numbered procedure.
- Make the tone direct and courteous without changing the commitments or dates.
- Identify ambiguous claims and suggest precise wording; do not invent supporting facts.
Compare the proposed version with the original before accepting it. A shorter rewrite can accidentally remove a condition, and a tone change can alter a legal or technical meaning.
Summarize or explain a document
For a summary, identify the reader and the decision the summary should support: Summarize this proposal for a project sponsor in five bullets. Separate confirmed facts, open questions, risks, and requested decisions. For explanation, point to the confusing passage and ask for a plain-language interpretation, definitions, or an example. If the document contains tables, appendices, or footnotes, ask Copilot to include them explicitly; otherwise, a short summary may omit details you need.
Write prompts that are specific enough to check
Microsoft’s prompt guidance recommends specifying the goal, context, source, expected format, tone, and constraints. See Write effective prompts for Copilot in Word. A reliable pattern is:
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- Goal: state the deliverable, such as a customer brief or meeting summary.
- Context: explain the audience, business situation, and what the reader already knows.
- Source: name the current document, notes, or referenced file.
- Format: request headings, bullets, a table, an email, or a specified word limit.
- Constraints: preserve figures, flag uncertainty, use a specified tone, or exclude confidential details.
- Review request: ask Copilot to identify assumptions or missing information instead of filling gaps silently.
Review before sharing
Microsoft advises checking generated material for accuracy, completeness, tone, style, and safety. Treat a fluent paragraph as a draft, not evidence. Verify every number against the source, check that citations or links point to the intended material, and make sure the output does not disclose information to an audience that should not receive it. Keep track of changes when a document has an approval process.
Use Copilot in Excel
Excel Copilot is designed for workbook work: it can help build or edit a workbook, generate formulas, create charts and PivotTables, and highlight, sort, or filter data. It is an assistant for analysis, not a guarantee that a formula or conclusion is correct. Microsoft describes current capabilities and eligibility in its Excel Copilot FAQ.
Prepare the workbook before asking for analysis
- Use clear column headers and keep each column’s values consistent. A column that mixes dates, text, and numbers makes both formulas and summaries harder to check.
- Identify the worksheet, table, named range, or columns that matter. A request aimed at
Sales2025!B2:B500is easier to verify than “analyze the sheet.” - State the desired output: a formula, a chart, a PivotTable, a sorted view, a filtered list, or a written explanation.
- Save a copy before allowing a mode that can edit the workbook directly, especially when the file is shared.
Understand edit, plan, and chat modes
Excel experiences can expose three modes, and availability differs by platform and rollout:
| Mode | What it is for | How to use it safely |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | Ask Copilot to make workbook changes, such as adding formulas, formatting, filters, or analysis elements. | Review the proposed or completed changes, inspect affected cells, and keep a backup before accepting broad edits. |
| Plan | Prepare an approach before changing the workbook. | Use it when the task has several steps or assumptions; confirm the plan and data scope before moving to edits. |
| Chat | Ask questions and receive explanations in the conversation without necessarily changing the workbook. | Use it to explore trends, clarify a formula, or decide what analysis to run, then verify any suggested action in the sheet. |
If a mode or control is absent, that can reflect the app, platform, license, or tenant configuration rather than an error.
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Name the inputs, the condition, and the expected result. For example: In the Orders table, create a formula in Total that multiplies Quantity by UnitPrice, returns blank when either input is blank, and rounds to two decimal places. Explain the formula before applying it. Check the cell references, blank handling, rounding, and whether the result should include tax or discounts. Test the formula with a known row and an edge case before filling it down.
Analyze trends in a bounded range
A precise request might be Using the Revenue column in the FY2025 table, summarize the monthly trend, identify the three largest month-over-month changes, and state which rows support each conclusion. Restricting the range reduces the chance that unrelated notes or old data influence the answer. Confirm that dates are recognized as dates, that totals are not mixed with detail rows, and that the cited rows actually support the claimed trend.
Create a chart or PivotTable
Specify the measure, grouping, filters, and preferred chart type: Create a column chart of revenue by region from the FY2025 table. Exclude blank regions and do not include the grand-total row. For a PivotTable, name the row field, values, aggregation, and filters. After creation, inspect the source range and aggregation. A sum, average, and count can tell very different stories when records are unevenly distributed.
Use Copilot for sorting, filtering, and transformations
Requests such as Filter the Orders table to open orders due this month and sort by due date ascending are easier to audit than an open-ended cleanup request. Ask Copilot to describe the rows or columns it will affect before applying a destructive transformation. Preserve the original data when removing duplicates, splitting columns, changing values, or converting formats.
Validate every workbook change
- Inspect formulas in representative cells and use Excel’s auditing tools when a result feeds a financial, operational, or compliance decision.
- Compare totals before and after an edit. Unexpected changes often indicate a shifted range, hidden rows, a filter, or a changed data type.
- Check assumptions such as exchange rates, date periods, missing values, and whether a chart uses detail rows or totals.
- Ask Copilot to explain a result, but verify the explanation against the underlying cells and source data.
Use Copilot in Teams
Teams has two distinct Copilot experiences: Copilot Chat for work-context questions and meeting Copilot for live assistance and, when enabled, post-meeting recap. The data available to either experience depends on your permissions, account features, meeting configuration, and organizational policy.
Ask Copilot Chat about chats and work context
Microsoft’s documented path is Teams → Chat → Copilot above the chat list. Enter a question and inspect cited sources when they are shown. The steps are described in Start a conversation with Microsoft Copilot Chat in Teams.
- Open Teams and select Chat.
- Select Copilot above the chat list.
- Ask a focused question about a project, person, conversation, file, or meeting.
- Open the cited chats, files, emails, or meeting references when available.
- Follow up to narrow the date range, people, or project and correct any misunderstanding.
Examples include Summarize unread chats about the Atlas launch from this week and list decisions separately from open questions, What changed in the onboarding project since Monday? Cite the relevant chats and files, and Find the action items assigned to me from recent project conversations. A response can only reflect content your account can access, so an omitted message is not proof that the discussion never occurred.
Use Copilot during a live meeting
Meeting organizers can configure Copilot for Only during the meeting, allowing participants to use it live without turning on transcription or recording. Microsoft explains this configuration in Use Copilot without transcribing or recording a Teams meeting or call. During the meeting, you can ask for clarification, a list of points raised so far, possible action items, or a comparison of positions. State the time period or topic so the answer is constrained to the discussion you mean.
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Understand post-meeting recap and transcript requirements
To prompt or view the meeting Copilot conversation after the meeting, transcription must be turned on. Without a transcript or recording, the meeting’s Recap tab does not provide speech context for questions about what participants said. Microsoft’s recap guidance covers these limits in Catch up on meetings with Microsoft Copilot in Teams.
This distinction matters when planning a meeting. If the organizer chooses live-only Copilot and no transcription or recording, ask participants to save decisions and action items in the chat or a shared document before leaving. Those written artifacts may remain available to Copilot Chat even though the spoken discussion is not available for a later recap, subject to permissions and retention rules.
Set meeting options and respect retention policy
Meeting options can control whether Copilot is allowed, whether transcription is enabled, and who can access a recording or transcript. Some controls require a Copilot or Teams Premium license and do not apply to every meeting type. Organizers should review Meeting options in Microsoft Teams before a sensitive or regulated discussion.
Turning off transcription and recording does not necessarily mean prompts and responses disappear immediately. Organizational Microsoft Purview retention policies can retain Copilot prompts and responses even when transcription and recording are off. Follow your organization’s rules for confidential material, participant notice, retention, and access.
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Use each app where its context is strongest instead of asking one app to perform every step.
- Collect context in Teams: use Copilot Chat to find the relevant project conversation, decision, file, or meeting. Open cited sources and confirm that the dates and participants are correct.
- Check the numbers in Excel: point Copilot at the named table or range, ask for formulas or a chart, and validate totals and assumptions before using the result.
- Write the deliverable in Word: reference the approved figures and source file, ask for a draft aimed at the intended audience, then revise selected passages for clarity and length.
- Return decisions to Teams: post a concise summary and action list in the appropriate channel or chat so the project record does not depend on an unshared Copilot conversation.
This workflow keeps source discovery, quantitative checking, document writing, and team communication separate enough to audit. It also gives colleagues a durable record of the decisions that Copilot helped you organize.
Why Copilot is missing and how to troubleshoot it
- Confirm the account. Check whether Word, Excel, or Teams is signed in with a personal account or a work or school account. A different account can have a different subscription or assigned license.
- Check eligibility. Review Microsoft’s current license information and the Excel FAQ rather than assuming that every Microsoft 365 plan includes every Copilot experience. Personal access requires a qualifying subscription; organizational access can be restricted by tenant policy.
- Check the app and platform. Update the Microsoft 365 app where your organization permits updates, and compare the supported experience on your current desktop, web, or mobile platform. Excel modes and controls are not identical everywhere.
- Check organization settings. An administrator may need to assign a license, enable the service, permit connected experiences, or allow meeting Copilot, transcription, recording, or recap. Ask the administrator for the exact policy status.
- Check meeting configuration. For a live meeting, confirm that Copilot is allowed. For questions after the meeting, confirm that transcription or a recording exists and that you have permission to access it.
- Reopen the app and document. Sign out and back in only after saving work, then reopen the specific document, workbook, or Teams meeting. A feature can appear in one file or meeting type but not another.
- Do not treat a missing citation as proof of missing data. In Teams, Copilot can only use content your account can access, and citations may not appear for every response. Open the underlying chat, file, or meeting when available and ask the owner or administrator about permissions.
If the button remains absent after these checks, provide your administrator with the account type, app, platform, version, meeting type if relevant, and the exact control you expected. That information distinguishes a licensing issue from a rollout or policy restriction.
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Accuracy, privacy, and approval checklist
- Define the desired result and the source before prompting.
- Limit the scope to the document section, worksheet range, chat, date range, or meeting you actually need.
- Verify facts, calculations, formulas, dates, names, and cited sources independently.
- Review tone, completeness, and unintended omissions in Word drafts and rewrites.
- Keep a copy before Excel Copilot makes broad edits or transformations.
- Check that Teams citations and permissions match the people who will receive the answer.
- Confirm whether transcription, recording, prompts, and responses are subject to your organization’s retention policy.
- Obtain the required human approval before publishing a document, sending a decision, or acting on analysis.
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