How to use Copilot in Outlook: Step-by-Step Guide

We’ve all been hearing about it now – Copilot is the new tool that is changing the way businesses function. And one way that this AI-powered software is transforming business operations is in emails.

Copilot in Outlook is a game-changer when it comes to alleviating the pressure of reading long emails, drafting emails with perfect grammar and understanding long email threads.

In this blog, we’re going to look at what exactly is Copilot in Outlook, how to enable it and what wonders it can do when it comes to your day-to-day email management.

What is Copilot in Outlook?

Copilot is an AI-powered software that uses machine learning to assist you in your daily tasks when it comes to Outlook. Incorporating Copilot in Outlook is a great way to streamline your emails, summarize long threads and power your way to a more efficient way of working.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that Copilot in Outlook adapts to your specific behavior and builds itself up to become even better with each interaction. It is also important to note that Copilot is only another tool that you are going to use to accomplish your tasks and is not here to take over anything.

Copilot is currently available on all versions of Outlook, but only if you use a work or school account. This means that people whose Microsoft account is associated with another email provider like Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud will not be able to access Copilot in Outlook.

Why use Copilot in Outlook?

The main question remains: why use Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook? First off, Copilot in Outlook is a great way for you to save time, power through long email threads and send polished emails like a pro.

Thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning, Copilot can easily help you manage your emails in Outlook. This enables you to be more efficient and save time to focus on tasks that require your attention the most.

Adding Copilot in Outlook is the newest way of doing things. It is how many businesses can save time and crunch in more hours to perform higher priority tasks. Copilot in Outlook works just like a virtual assistant.

It helps you understand an email quicker and to draft a perfect email. The best part of it all is the fact that Copilot in Outlook considers your specific behavior and way of doing things over time to become more personalized.

How to enable Copilot in Outlook?

Activating Copilot in Outlook is rather easy and straightforward. It does not require any deep knowledge about IT or AI for you to set up Copilot in Microsoft Outlook. All you will need is an active subscription to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Before subscribing to Microsoft Copilot, make sure you plan who will have access to the AI software and how many users will require the tool. This helps you to properly understand your needs and tailor the subscription based on that. You may also reach out to Gestisoft if you need additional assistance in Copilot subscription.

Once you have subscribed to Copilot, you can then launch your Outlook, and you will see the Copilot icon at the top of the banner. Please note that you will need to use the same Outlook account that you used to sign up for Copilot when launching your email.

What can Copilot in Outlook do?

Copilot in Outlook offers three main functions, and they are to draft your emails, summarize your emails and help you polish your emails when it comes to tone, voice and grammar.

Using Copilot in Outlook can greatly enhance your email management skills, as you will be able to quickly reply, write and understand emails. This is a game-changer when it comes to emailing systems in businesses.

Let’s take a closer look at how Copilot in Outlook can help you write, summarize and polish your emails from A to Z.

How to quickly summarize emails with Copilot in Outlook?

Lost in email threads that you no longer understand? Want to save time reading a long email? Looking for a quicker way to gauge the main points in an email?

Enter Copilot. The AI tool helps you to summarize your emails so that you can understand it in seconds. No need for you to spend time reading long emails or going back in email threads to find missing links – Copilot in Outlook is here to do it for you – and it does it within seconds.

It is super easy for you to summarize an email in Outlook with Copilot.

Step 1: Click on the email.

Step 2: Click on “Summarize” at the top of the email.

Then, sit back and watch the magic happens as Copilot summarizes the email for you quickly.

Streamline email drafting with Copilot in Outlook

While summarizing emails works like magic when it comes to Copilot in Outlook, another great function is email drafting. Copilot can help you write emails within minutes.

This is a great way to save time and have at least a first draft of your email that you intend to send. You can then work on it to make it better or use Copilot in Outlook to polish it even further.

Step 1: Click on “New Email.”

Step 2: Click on the Copilot icon at the top.

Step 3: Click on “Draft with Copilot.”

Step 4: A box will pop up where you can write down what you want your email to say. Once you have written what you want your email to say, you click on “generate”, and Copilot will automatically provide the draft of your email in Outlook for you.

Step 5: Once Copilot has generated the first draft, you can choose to adjust the emails based on your specific needs. Hence, you can either keep it, discard it, ask Copilot in Outlook to regenerate a new draft or adjust the existing draft by making it longer, shorter, to sound more formal, to sound more direct, to sound more casual or turn it into a poem (Copilot has a sense of humour).

Another important thing is to always review the content that Copilot has generated. The basis remains that it is still an AI software and may not always be accurate.

Polish your emails with Copilot’s assistance in Outlook

The next thing that Copilot in Outlook can help you with is by polishing your emails. This is a great feature that assists users in adjusting their emails to sound more like what they want it to be.

This helps save time and ensure that you send an email that you are proud of. Thanks to the coaching from Copilot in Outlook, you can easily rewrite your email with a simple click and ensure that you obtain a result that is up to standards.

Step 1: Choose the “Coaching by Copilot” option on the Copilot icon. Note that you need to use it on an existing email that already has some text to it to receive feedback.

Step 2: Once you click on it, Copilot will generate a small analysis of your email to inform you how it is performing on three basis: the tone of the email, how the receiver will feel when reading it and how clear your email is.

Step 3: A great thing about this option is that Copilot in Outlook can also suggest you possible changes that you can make to change the tone of your email or make it clearer.

This is a revolutionary option that can help make your emails better and more efficient. This ensures that your recipients fully understand your email, and in turn, replies to you promptly and effectively.

Limitations of Copilot in Outlook

While Copilot in Outlook rings a positive change for organizations, we should also consider some of its limitations. The fact remains that it is still a tool and is constantly learning and developing with each interaction.

Some of the limitations associated with Copilot in Outlook are:

• Compatibility: Copilot in Outlook may not work if the email is encrypted or has a digital signature.
• Accuracy: As with any technology, Copilot is not always accurate or right. It is our responsibility to always fact-check everything before we hit send.
• Customization: Copilot in Outlook does not offer broad customization options and can only be used as mentioned above.
• Data sensitivity: You always need to ensure compliance with data security when using AI.

Best practices of Copilot in Outlook

But just because Copilot has some limitations – this does not mean that they cannot be overcome. As such, here are some best practices that you can adopt when using Copilot in Outlook.

• Review suggestions: Always double-check what AI is generating before sending it.
• Set boundaries: Use Copilot only when you need it. An over-reliance on the tool can risk making your email sound “fake” and you might miss some important things along the way.
• Combine human with AI: Always keep in mind that Copilot is a tool to enhance, not replace. Hence, combining human intelligence with artificial intelligence is the best approach to adopt when dealing with AI.
• Stay updated: Make sure you update your Microsoft Outlook as and when required so that you always have access to the latest updates from Copilot.

Looking for specialists in Copilot?

Integrating Copilot in Outlook can sound daunting – especially if this is your first time dealing with AI solutions for your business. As such, it would make you feel less stressful if you had specialists in the topic by your side.

And that is exactly why Gestisoft is here. With over 25 years of experience, we accompany businesses in North America to identify and implement business solutions, such as Copilot in Outlook, from start to finish.

Our team would be happy to assist you in any query that you may have when it comes to our AI solutions, and how your business can benefit. Do not hesitate to reach out to us and let’s book a free consultation today.

Further Reading:

How to use Copilot in Excel: Step-by-Step Guide

How to use Copilot in PowerPoint? Your Step-by-Step Guide

Your Ultimate Guide on how to use Copilot in Word

How to Use Copilot Across Different Microsoft Apps and Platforms?