How to Use Microsoft Copilot in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide

Section 01What Copilot is in 2026

Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant. The name says it all: you're the pilot with your hands on the controls, and Copilot suggests, calculates, drafts, and clears the busywork off your desk. It started in February 2023 as a chat inside Bing search. By the end of that year it was renamed Copilot, and since then Microsoft has built it into nearly everything it ships: Windows, the Edge browser, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and even Notepad and Paint.

Under the hood it runs on models from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, plus Microsoft's own models for voice and images. Since fall 2026, the business versions also let companies pick Anthropic's Claude models. As a user you don't need to think about any of this: the free chat has a Smart mode where Copilot decides which model to use for your question. A quick question gets a fast answer; a hard task goes to a model that takes longer to think.

Strip away the marketing, and Copilot differs from other chatbots in three ways.

• Answers with links. Copilot grew out of a search engine, so by default it goes to the web and shows where each fact came from. For questions about prices, rules, news, and services, that's handy: you see the source right away and can check it.
• It works with your Microsoft files. If you live in Word, Excel, and Outlook, Copilot sees your document, spreadsheet, or email thread from inside the app. No copying text into a chat window and back.
• It's already on your computer. On Windows 11, Copilot is built into the system, and new laptops even have a dedicated Copilot key. The barrier to entry is zero: press the key and ask.

Now the honest part about its weak spots. Copilot writes long pieces in a dry, slightly corporate voice. It's grammatically clean and gets the job done, but jokes and casual turns of phrase come out forced. For posts, articles, and sales copy I use Claude, and I keep Copilot for spreadsheets, email, and quick answers backed by sources. More on that in the comparison near the end.

Section 02Which Copilot you need: 4 products, one name

The biggest source of confusion with Copilot is that Microsoft gave one name to completely different products. Someone reads an article about "Copilot for programmers," goes to the website, sees a chat window, and has no idea what's going on. Here's the breakdown:

If you don't write code, cross GitHub Copilot off the list: it's built for programmers and does nothing for everyday tasks. If you sell services, courses, or consulting, your path looks like this: start with the free chat, see after a week whether it's enough, and only then decide on a subscription for Word and Excel.

A note on Copilot for companies. It's called Microsoft 365 Copilot, and an IT admin connects it to the organization's email and files. If you work for an employer and a Copilot icon has already shown up in your Outlook, that's the one. It has its own data rules and its own feature set, including Cowork mode, where Copilot carries out multi-step tasks on its own. For a solo practitioner or a small online school, that's overkill; a personal subscription is plenty.

Section 03How to get started and sign in

The good news: getting into Copilot takes about two minutes, and you probably already have everything you need. Copilot is available in the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, and most other countries, and the US usually gets new features first.

Here's what you need:

• A Microsoft account. It's one login for all of Microsoft's services: Windows, Outlook, OneDrive, Xbox, Skype. If you use a Windows PC or have ever had a Hotmail or Outlook address, you almost certainly have one already.
• Any email address, if you don't have an account yet. You can create a Microsoft account with Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, your work domain, or a new Outlook.com address. It's free.
• A modern browser or the app. Edge, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox all work. On your phone, the Microsoft Copilot app is in the App Store and Google Play.

Step by step, it looks like this:

A word on billing. A Microsoft 365 subscription is charged to a card through your Microsoft account, and the price depends on your account's country. US prices are listed below. Buy it directly from Microsoft or an official retailer. Don't buy "cheap shared accounts" from resellers: an account like that can be locked at any moment, and your OneDrive files go with it.

If you're traveling and see "Copilot isn't available in your region," it's usually the network you're on, not your account. Switch to a different connection or check the troubleshooting table in Section 13.

Section 04Free or paid: 2026 plans

At the end of 2025, Microsoft reshuffled its plans. The standalone Copilot Pro subscription at $20 a month is no longer sold. Its place went to Microsoft 365 Premium, and the regular Personal and Family plans got Copilot with a monthly allowance of AI credits. Prices below are US prices.

What's an AI credit? One Copilot action inside an app: rewriting a paragraph in Word, building a summary in Excel, drafting a presentation. Sixty credits works out to roughly two or three requests a day. That's enough for "shorten this email now and then," but not for daily work with reports. Credits don't roll over: the counter resets at the start of each month.

What to know about the free chat. Microsoft doesn't publish exact limits and adjusts them based on load. In practice, regular work with text lasts you the whole day; people usually hit the ceiling with images and voice mode. When you run out, Copilot offers a lighter model or asks you to come back tomorrow.

My advice on money is simple. Spend a week in the free chat, pasting in text from your documents. If you catch yourself shuttling tables between Excel and the browser ten times a day, get Personal. If you're out of 60 credits by mid-month, move to Premium. For more options that cost nothing, see my roundup of free AI tools for 2026.

Section 05Your first prompt in 5 minutes

Let's take a real task almost everyone who runs social media has: a content plan for the week. Our example is a nutritionist who sells one-on-one nutrition consults.

Here's the whole conversation:

Why it worked. The prompt has a niche, an audience size, a price, a picture of the audience, and an output format. Copilot didn't have to guess who you're writing for, so the topics landed in the real life of an office worker. There's no generic "benefits of broccoli" anywhere in the plan. And the second message: you fixed one spot in a finished answer without rewriting the whole prompt. That's faster and easier on your limits.

The most common mistake is a one-liner like "come up with posts about nutrition." You'll get exactly what you've already seen from a hundred other accounts. Another mistake is trusting numbers in the answer without checking. If Copilot writes "studies show 70% of women…," click the source icon and see where it came from. Sometimes the source is real; sometimes the number is made up.

Section 06What Copilot can do: modes and features

Copilot has a long list of features, and Microsoft changes it regularly. Below is what's actually useful for work, minus the exotic stuff.

Response modes

• Smart. The default mode: Copilot picks the model itself. For 90% of tasks you don't need anything else.
• Think Deeper. The model thinks longer, checks itself, and lays out the solution step by step. Use it to work out unit economics, compare pricing plans, or untangle a confusing letter from the IRS.
• Deep Research. Copilot reads dozens of pages on its own and puts together a report with links. It takes a few minutes. Good for a market overview, competitor research, or new platform rules.

Images

Ask it to "draw" or "create an image," and Copilot makes a picture from your description. It's good for post covers, lesson illustrations, and rough banner drafts. Lettering is hit or miss: a short word in big type usually comes out fine, while a long phrase gets garbled. Add text later in an editor. For more on images, see my guide to AI image generators.

Photos, files, and screenshots

Click the paperclip or plus sign next to the message box and upload a photo, a PDF, a Word document, or a spreadsheet. Copilot reads it and answers based on what's inside: it'll summarize a contract, spot errors in an estimate, pull numbers from a screenshot of a report, or explain a chart. Snap a photo of a restaurant menu or a product label on your phone, and it'll handle that too.

Voice and Vision

The app has a voice mode: you talk, Copilot answers out loud, and you can interrupt it. It's handy in the car or on a walk when you want to talk through an idea for a post. In voice mode you can turn on Mico, an animated character that reacts to the conversation. It's there for fun and doesn't affect the quality of the answers.

Copilot Vision is a mode where Copilot sees what you show it: your phone camera or your computer screen. Show it your ads dashboard and ask where to change the budget, and it'll tell you what to click. Vision isn't available everywhere, and some scenarios require a Microsoft 365 subscription, so if you don't see the button, it's your region or your plan.

Memory

Copilot can remember facts about you across conversations: your niche, your audience, your style, important dates. Tell it directly: "Remember: I'm a therapist, I work with adults with anxiety, I write without jargon and address readers as 'you.'" In future chats, it'll take that into account. You can view and delete what it remembers in the memory settings.

Groups

Copilot Groups is a shared chat you can invite up to 32 people to with a link. Copilot takes part like everyone else: it sums up the discussion, tallies votes, and hands out tasks. A real-life example: you, your business partner, and your assistant are planning a course launch, everyone drops ideas into one group, and Copilot turns them into a plan with deadlines.

Connecting email and drives

Settings has a Connectors section. You can add Outlook and OneDrive, as well as Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar. After that you can ask, "Find the email from my bookkeeper about the reconciliation" or "What's on my calendar Thursday?" Copilot will find the answer in your data. Connect only what you actually need: every connection is one more door into your data.

Pages

Copilot Pages is a workspace where you can move an answer from the chat and keep editing it with Copilot, like a document. It's handy when a conversation turns into something long: a lesson plan, an offer, a webinar script.

Section 07The prompt formula for Copilot

Like any AI, Copilot answers exactly the question you asked. A vague question gets a vague answer. I use a five-part formula, and it works both in the chat and in Word and Excel:

Put together, the prompt looks like this:

Three tricks on top of the formula that noticeably raise the quality:

• Give it a sample. Paste one of your posts that did well and write: "Write in the same style." Copilot picks up your sentence length, how you address readers, and your rhythm.
• Ask it to ask you questions. Add at the end: "Before you write, ask me 3 clarifying questions." Copilot will ask about things you didn't think of, and the answer gets sharper.
• Ask for options. "Give me 10 headlines" works better than "give me a headline." Picking one strong option out of ten is easy.

I've collected ready-made wording for dozens of tasks in my AI prompt library, and it works in Copilot too. If you want the theory behind it, read how to write prompts.

Section 0820 chat prompts for real work

Copy, fill in your details in the square brackets, and send. Every prompt has been tested in the free Copilot.

If you post regularly, take a look at my collection of social media prompts: it has separate sets for stories, reels, and carousels.

Section 09Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook: 20 prompts

This is where Copilot is strongest. Inside the apps it sees your whole document, so you don't copy anything. You need a Microsoft 365 subscription, the same account signed in to the app, and an up-to-date version of Office. The Copilot icon appears on the ribbon at the top or right inside the document.

Word: documents, contracts, handouts

In a blank document, Copilot offers to "Draft with Copilot." In an existing one, select some text and an icon for editing appears next to it. The side panel answers questions about the document.

• Draft a consulting services agreement: the parties, scope, fee [amount], payment terms, and session cancellation and rescheduling.
• Summarize this document in 5 bullet points for a client who won't read 12 pages.
• Rewrite the selected paragraph in simpler language for someone with no background. Keep all the numbers.
• Turn this text into a handout: headings, bullet lists, and a 7-item checklist at the end.
• Find contradictions in this document and places where dates or amounts don't match.

Excel: spreadsheets without formulas

Copilot in Excel works best with data formatted as a table: select the range and press Ctrl+T. Then just ask in plain words. For more on spreadsheets and AI, see my guide to AI for spreadsheets.

• Calculate revenue by month and show me which month dipped. Build a chart.
• Add a column with the average order value per client and highlight anyone who bought more than twice.
• Find duplicate clients by phone number and combine their totals.
• What 3 conclusions can you draw from this table of leads? Where do the clients who actually pay come from?
• Write a formula that marks a row "overdue" if the payment date has passed and the status isn't "paid."

PowerPoint: decks from a document

The flashiest feature: Copilot builds a presentation from a Word file or a short description. The design comes out clean but generic, so treat it as a draft. For how to turn slides into something that sells, read how to make a presentation with AI in an hour.

• Create a 10-slide webinar presentation from [Word document]. One idea per slide.
• Add a slide with the three course tiers and their prices [prices].
• Cut the text on every slide in half and move the details to the speaker notes.
• Rewrite the slide titles so they sound like benefits for the audience.
• Add a summary slide at the end: what the audience learned and what to do next.

Outlook: an inbox that doesn't bury you

In Outlook, Copilot summarizes long threads, drafts replies, and helps with tone. It's useful when clients email you and a thread grows to twenty messages.

• Summarize this thread: what we agreed on and what's expected from me.
• Write a reply: I agree to move the meeting to Thursday at 3 p.m.; please send your questions in advance.
• Make the tone of this email warmer, but keep the payment deadline firm.
• Which emails from this week need a reply from me? A list with one line about each.
• Write a reminder to clients about tomorrow's webinar: the time, the link [link], and what to prepare.

If you're on Personal with 60 credits, spend them in Excel and PowerPoint: that's where Copilot saves the most time. Emails and short copy can be done in the free chat and pasted in.

Section 10Copilot in Windows and the Edge browser

On Windows 11, Copilot is a separate app you open from the taskbar icon, with Win+C on some builds, or with the Copilot key on newer laptops. You can turn on voice activation: say "Hey Copilot," and it starts listening. The app is the same chat with a few extras: you can share your screen with Copilot, and it'll show you where a setting lives in an app or explain an error message.

What's genuinely useful in Windows:

• Ask "how do I take a screenshot of part of the screen" or "where do I turn on dark mode" and get an answer that fits your system.
• Show it a screen with a confusing error and ask what to do.
• Ask it to summarize the PDF you have open without uploading it anywhere.

In the Edge browser, Copilot lives in the sidebar on the right. It sees the page you have open, so you can ask:

• "Summarize this article in 5 bullet points."
• "Compare the plans on this page with the plans in my other tab."
• "Pull the main points from this YouTube video with timestamps."

Edge also has Copilot Mode, where Copilot takes actions on websites itself: it fills in forms, gathers information from several tabs, and searches for what you need. It's useful, but be careful: give it simple tasks and check the result, especially when purchases or personal data are involved.

Section 1110 use cases if you sell services

The theory is clear; now here's how it fits into a real week. Ten tasks I'd hand to Copilot if I were running consultations or selling a course.

1. Sorting leads in a spreadsheet. Export the leads from your form to Excel and ask Copilot which source brings in the people who pay. Five minutes later you know where to put your ad budget.
2. Session notes. After a call, paste in your notes and ask: "Write a session recap for the client: what we discussed, the homework, and the date of the next session." The client gets a tidy email, and you look organized.
3. A handout from a webinar. Upload the webinar transcript to Word and ask for a handout with headings and a checklist. That's a ready-made lead magnet.
4. Slides for a live session. PowerPoint can turn that same handout into draft slides. All that's left is to adjust the design and add your own case studies.
5. Answers to common questions. Collect 20 questions clients ask in your DMs and have Copilot write short answers in your tone. That becomes a cheat sheet for you or your assistant.
6. Competitor overview. Deep Research will go through your peers' websites and build a table of prices, formats, and promises, with links. Useful before you raise your rates.
7. Content plan. Once a week: "Here are my last 5 posts and their reach. Suggest a plan for next week based on what performed best."
8. Working with testimonials. Paste in testimonials and ask it to pull out specific client results. You get ready phrases for ads and your sales page.
9. Email. In Outlook, have Copilot show you every evening which emails need a reply, and draft the responses. You just review and hit Send.
10. Monthly finances. Upload your bank statement to Excel and ask where the money went and which subscriptions you can cancel. Not fun, but useful.

Notice that in every scenario Copilot makes a draft and the final decision is yours. That's the whole point of a copilot. If you want to go further and have AI run part of your work on its own, read about automating your routine with AI step by step.

Section 12What not to send Copilot

The free Copilot is a cloud service. Your messages go to Microsoft's servers, and the company may use some of them to improve its models unless you turn that off in settings. So there are a few simple rules.

• Social Security numbers, card numbers, passwords – never. Not yours, not your clients'.
• Clients' personal information – full names, phone numbers, diagnoses, therapy details. If you're a therapist, coach, or nutritionist and want to work through a case, anonymize it: "a client, 34, anxiety at work." If you handle health information under HIPAA, the consumer Copilot isn't the place for it.
• Confidential business information – partners' private numbers, contracts with a confidentiality clause.
• Signed documents – better to describe the gist in your own words.

In Copilot's privacy settings there are toggles for model training on your conversations and for personalization. I recommend turning off the first one right away. You can delete your chat history all at once or one conversation at a time.

The business version has stricter protections: Microsoft 365 Copilot for organizations doesn't train on company data, and that's written into the contract. But if you're an individual with a personal subscription, the regular rules above apply.

A separate question is who owns the copy and images Copilot creates. Can you use them in ads and sell them? I cover that in detail in who owns AI-generated content.

Section 13When something goes wrong

If something breaks that isn't in the table, describe the problem to Copilot itself: "I'm seeing this error [text or screenshot]. What should I do?" Half the time it suggests the fix on its own.

Section 14Copilot vs ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity

No AI is the best at everything. I keep several on hand and pick by task. Here's how Copilot stacks up against its neighbors:

How to choose in practice:

• Spreadsheets, email, and presentations in Office – Copilot.
• Posts, articles, and sales copy in your own voice – Claude. Sign up at claude.ai; it takes a minute with any email. Step by step in learning Claude from scratch.
• Google Docs and Gmail – Gemini.
• Fast research with sources – Perplexity.
• One subscription that does a bit of everything – ChatGPT. If you're torn between the two big ones, read Claude vs ChatGPT.

I've put the full picture by task in my roundup of the best AI tools of 2026: everyday work tasks and which tool to use for each.

Section 15Your first-week checklist

• ☐ Day 1. Signed in at copilot.microsoft.com with your Microsoft account.
• ☐ Day 1. Turned off model training on your conversations in settings.
• ☐ Day 2. Told Copilot to remember your niche, audience, and tone.
• ☐ Day 2. Made a weekly content plan with the formula: role, task, context, format, limits.
• ☐ Day 3. Uploaded a PDF or contract and asked for a plain-English summary.
• ☐ Day 4. Made a post cover with "draw."
• ☐ Day 5. Tried voice mode on a walk and talked through a post idea.
• ☐ Day 6. Ran Deep Research on your competitors and saved the table.
• ☐ Day 7. Counted how many times this week you moved data between Office and the browser. More than 20 – time to think about a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Section 16The whole path in a minute

Start today with one action: open copilot.microsoft.com, paste in the content-plan prompt from Section 05, and swap the nutritionist for your own niche. In five minutes you'll have a week of post ideas, and you'll know whether Copilot fits the way you work.