(From the series: “Learning AI Tools Step by Step”)
🌟 Why Copilot Chat Deserves Its Own Post
In Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, Copilot stays inside the app.
But with Copilot Chat, you step outside the apps and ask questions across your whole Microsoft 365 world.
At first, I thought it was just “another chat window.” But once I tested it, I realized it’s a bridge between your work data and AI-powered Q&A.
💬 What Copilot Chat Can Do
✅ Copilot Chat can:
- Pull insights across apps (emails, Teams, files in OneDrive/SharePoint).
- Summarize information (e.g., “Summarize all emails from my manager last week”).
- Draft action plans (e.g., “Create a task list from the last 3 meetings”).
- Answer context-aware questions (e.g., “What’s in the Q3 budget file attached to my last email?”).
- Help brainstorm within your company’s data (e.g., “Give me 3 ways to present the sales data in Excel to leadership”).
❌ Copilot Chat cannot:
- Replace ChatGPT for creative storytelling or content outside of work.
- Access non-Microsoft data (unless integrated).
- Know personal details unless in your work data.
✍️ Best Ways to Use Copilot Chat
Option A: Email + Calendar Recap
Prompt:
“Summarize all emails from my manager last week and create a list of my action items. Also, show my meetings with her for next week.”
✅ You get a single summary instead of digging through inbox + calendar.
Option B: File Q&A Without Opening Them
Prompt:
“Summarize the key numbers in the Q3 budget Excel file attached to my last email.”
✅ Saves you from opening, scrolling, and scanning.
Option C: Meeting Prep
Prompt:
“What were the main decisions in the last 2 project team meetings, and what should I review before tomorrow’s call?”
✅ Combines Teams notes + emails + files into one briefing.
Option D: Brainstorming with Work Context
Prompt:
“Suggest 3 slide approaches for presenting the Q3 results to executives. Keep it concise and persuasive.”
✅ Combines AI creativity with company-specific data.
📝 My Thoughts
Copilot Chat feels like a middle ground between in-app Copilot and ChatGPT.
- In-app Copilot = focused task helper (email, slides, data).
- Copilot Chat = broader assistant across apps.
- ChatGPT = creative and flexible, but not tied to your work data.
The key is knowing when to use which.
✅ TL;DR
- Copilot Chat works across Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and more.
- Best for summaries, task lists, meeting prep, and file Q&A.
- Not a replacement for ChatGPT’s creativity—use both side by side.