Get started with Copilot in Word to create, summarize, rewrite text with AI on Windows 11

• To use Copilot in Word, open the app, use the “Alt + I” shortcut, and from the Copilot Pro floating box, compose your prompt to generate or rewrite the text. 
• You can also chat with chatbot AI by opening the side panel from the “Home” tab and clicking the “Copilot” button.

Copilot is now available in Microsoft Word, and in this guide, I’ll teach you how to use it if you have the Copilot Pro subscription as well as a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription.

The ability to access Copilot in Word means having an advanced digital assistant that can help you generate, rewrite, and summarize content effortlessly, making it an invaluable tool if you’re a professional, student, or casual user. The best part is that the chatbot AI is available within the application, meaning you don’t have to switch tools to craft a business proposal, write an academic paper, edit a document, or brainstorm creative ideas.

You can use Copilot in Word (web), Windows, macOS, and iPadOS. If you already have a Pro subscription, you can use these instructions to enable Copilot in Word.

In this guide, I’ll outline the steps to get started using Copilot on the desktop version of Word on Windows 11. (Copilot is also available in Outlook.)

How to use Copilot on Microsoft Word

If you use the apps from Microsoft 365 (Office), you can access the Copilot AI feature to help you brainstorm ideas and improve your writing.

The assistant offers the ability to draft, rewrite, and summarise documents and answer virtually any question through the chat interface.

Generate text with Copilot

Copilot in Word can generate drafts of content based on a specific topic, depending on your prompt. The assistant can always make mistakes, so modifying the prompt and adding more details and context is vital for the best result.

To use Copilot to generate drafts of contents in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Word.

2. Create a new blank document.

3. In the “Draft with Copilot” floating box, compose the prompt describing what you want the AI to generate. For example, “Write a project proposal (topic)” or “Add a paragraph (topic).”

   

4. Click the Generate button.

5. If the prompt doesn’t appear automatically, click the “Copilot” button (Alt + I) on the page.

   

6. You can create a prompt on a document with content or click the “Inspire me” button to generate new content.

   

7. (Optional) Give the AI more instructions in the prompt box. For example, “Make it casual” to change the tone.

8. Click the Keep it button to add the content.

   

9. Click the Regenerate button to rewrite the generated text.

10. Click the back-and-forth buttons to navigate between the different revisions if you use the “Regenerate” option.

11. Click the “Discard it” button to discard the text and exit the Copilot interface.

12. (Optional) Click the “Stop generating” button to terminate the query forcibly.

Once you complete the steps, Copilot will generate the content, which you have to make sure is accurate and modify as needed to fit your writing style and tone.

If the assistant doesn’t get the content perfectly, it’s recommended to edit the prompt and provide more context to improve the response.

You can also open Copilot from the “Home” tab, but this option will open the side panel instead of the floating box.

Rewrite text with Copilot

Copilot can also help you improve existing content by rewriting the text, adjusting the tone, changing the style, or adding more text. The assistant can convert text into a table to improve the visualization of the content.

Rewrite text

To rewrite existing content from a Word document with Copilot, use these steps:

1. Open Word.

2. Open an existing document. (Or create a new document and create some content.)

3. Select the text to rewrite.

4. Click the Copilot button on the page and choose the “Rewrite with Copilot” option.

   

   Quick tip: When selecting some text, the context menu in Word should also appear with the “Rewrite with Copilot” option.

5. Click the back-and-forth buttons to navigate between the different draft suggestions.

6. Click the Replace button to insert the new text.

   

7. (Optional) Click the “Insert below” button to keep the original and newly generated content.

8. (Optional) Click the Regenerate button to rewrite the generated text one more time.

9. Click the “Adjust tone” button to change the tone style of the rewrite.

Once you complete the steps, Copilot will rewrite the content of your document.

Convert to text to table

To convert text into a table with Copilot, use these steps:

1. Open Word.

2. Open an existing document. (Or create a new document and create some content.)

3. Select the text to rewrite.

4. Click the Copilot button on the page and choose the “Visualize as a Table” option.

   

5. (Optional) Give the AI more instructions in the prompt box. For example, “Add another column” to change the tone.

6. Click the “Keep it” button to add the tablet to the document.

7. Click the Regenerate button to rewrite the table and its content.

8. Click the back-and-forth buttons to navigate between the different revisions.

9. Click the “Discard it” button to discard the table and exit the Copilot interface.

After you complete the steps, the table will be added to the Word document.

Chat with Copilot in Word

Similar to chatting with Copilot on Windows 11, Word also includes a side panel to interact with the chatbot AI. The functionalities available are virtually the same as the floating interface.

To chat with the Copilot in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Word.

2. Open an existing or create a new document.

3. Click the Copilot button from the “Home” tab to open the side panel.

4. Compose your prompt at the bottom of the panel. For example, “Summarize this document,” “Question: (question),” “Change (action),” and “Write bout (topic).” Or you can ask the AI for more help with questions like “How can I edit this document to make it more professional?”

   

5. Click the Submit button.

6. (Optional) Click the microphone button to submit a voice prompt to Copilot.

Once you complete the steps, the assistant will process and respond to your queries.

Create a summary with Copilot

Copilot in Word can also summarize any content or document with a simple prompt.

To summarize a document in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Word.

2. Open an existing or create a new document.

3. Click the Copilot button from the “Home” tab to open the side panel.

4. Compose your prompt at the bottom of the panel. For example, “Summarize this document.”

   

5. (Optional) Click the References option at the bottom of the summary to understand the source of the information.

6. Review the summary and make sure everything is correct.

7. (Optional) Continue conversing with Copilot with more context to improve the summary.

After you complete the steps, Copilot will provide a summary of the content.

Compose prompts with Copilot in Word

Although you can use natural language to interact with Copilot, choosing the correct words to compose a prompt that will produce the most accurate answer can sometimes be challenging. For this reason, Word comes with a feature that allows you to learn the basics of creating prompts, and with the “Copilot Lap” feature, you can view and select from a predefined list of prompts.

To learn more about composing a Copilot prompt in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Word.

2. Open an existing or create a new document.

3. Click the book button to open the prompts context menu.

4. Click the Copilot button from the “Home” tab to open the side panel.

5. Choose one of the prompts menus (Create, Understand, or Ask) to access examples of how to interact with Copilot.

   

6. (Optional) Click the “View more prompts” option to open “Copilot Lab.”

   Quick note: Copilot Lap is a place that contains a collection of prompts that can spark creativity to help you improve your interaction with Copilot.

7. Choose the prompt to insert it into the box to help you create a new question for the AI assistant.

   

Once you complete the steps, you will have a better understanding of how to compose prompts for the best responses with Copilot in Word.