Microsoft 365 Copilot in practice: Your guide to the new everyday work routine

To understand what Copilot can do, you have to understand how it works. Copilot isn’t just a simple chat window. Its intelligence is based on a triad of three core components:

• Large Language Models (LLMs): The “brain” of the operation. Models like GPT-4 provide the ability to understand, process, summarize, and generate language.
• Microsoft Graph: Your company’s “memory.” The Microsoft Graph has access to all your company data in Microsoft 365—your emails, calendar entries, chats, documents on SharePoint and OneDrive. It provides the context that makes Copilot so powerful.
• Microsoft 365 Apps: The “hands” to execute. Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Co. are the applications where Copilot receives commands and directly executes the results.

  So, if you ask Copilot to “create a presentation based on yesterday’s Word document,” the LLM uses its intelligence, accesses the contextually correct document via the graph, and executes the command in PowerPoint.

This is where it gets concrete. How does Copilot change the daily work in the individual programs?

1. Microsoft Word: From Blank Page to Finished Structure

The biggest hurdle in writing is often getting started. Copilot acts as a creative sparring partner here.

• Create Drafts: Give a simple command (prompt) like: “Create a first draft for a blog post about the benefits of hybrid work, including an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion.” Copilot delivers a solid foundation in seconds.
• Summarize Documents: Receive a 20-page report? Ask Copilot to summarize the key takeaways, most important findings, and open calls to action on a single page. This saves a tremendous amount of time.
• Revise and Adapt Texts: Highlight a section and ask Copilot: “Rewrite this paragraph more professionally and concisely.” or “Transform these bullet points into a smooth, readable text.”

2. Microsoft Excel: Data Analysis in Natural Language

Excel is powerful, but complex formulas and pivot tables pose a challenge for many. Copilot democratizes data analysis.

• Questions instead of formulas: Instead of learning VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, simply ask: “Which product category had the highest sales last quarter?” Copilot analyzes the table and gives you the answer.
• Data visualization on command: Say: “Create a bar chart comparing sales figures for the last six months.” or “Highlight all values ​​above €5,000.”
• Trend analysis and forecasting: “Analyze the data and show me the most important trends.” Copilot can recognize patterns and derive simple forecasts for the future.

3. Microsoft PowerPoint: Create a compelling presentation in minutes

Creating presentations is often a manual and time-consuming process. Copilot automates large parts of it.

• Create a presentation from a document: Give Copilot the command: “Create a 10-slide presentation based on this Word document [Link/Name].” Copilot extracts the outline, the key messages, and suggests suitable layouts.
• Organize and summarize slides: “Summarize slides 3, 4, and 5 onto a single slide.” or “Create an agenda slide based on the presentation headings.”
• Generate speaker notes: A finished presentation, but no notes? Copilot can generate the most important bullet points as speaker notes for each slide.

4. Microsoft Outlook: Taming the Email Chaos

The daily deluge of emails is one of the biggest productivity killers. Copilot acts as an intelligent assistant here.

• Summarize long email threads: Before you wade through 15 replies, Copilot summarizes the entire conversation for you: Who decided what? What are the outstanding issues?
• Draft replies: Provide short instructions such as: “Reply to this email, thank the sender for the invitation, politely decline, and suggest two alternative dates next week.”
• Tone coaching: Unsure whether an email sounds too assertive or too passive? Copilot can analyze the draft and suggest a clearer or more appropriate tone.

The biggest mistake when using Copilot is seeing it as a mere command-and-control tool. To unlock its potential, a shift in perspective is required:

From Creating to Revising: Your primary task shifts. Instead of starting from scratch, you begin with a solid AI draft, which you then refine, review, and finalize using your expertise. You become the editor and curator.

The Art of the Right Prompt: The quality of the result depends directly on the quality of your instructions. Learn to formulate precise and context-rich prompts. Give Copilot a role (“Write as a marketing expert”), a format (“in bullet points”), and a clear objective.

Iterative Process: Consider Copilot’s initial draft as your starting point. Engage in a dialogue: “This is good, but make it shorter,” “Add another point on topic Y,” “Change the tone to a more informal style.”

Microsoft 365 Copilot is undoubtedly one of the most significant developments in office software in decades. It has the potential to free us from repetitive, routine tasks and give us more time for strategic, creative, and critical thinking.

However, it is not an autopilot. Responsibility for the facts, the strategic direction, and the final quality remains with the user. Those who learn to collaborate effectively with this new tool will not only work faster but also achieve better results. The revolution isn’t in the software itself, but in how we interact with it. The future of work has begun—and it’s dialogue-driven.