What Microsoft Copilot Can Do in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Quick Answer

Microsoft Copilot helps you draft documents in Word, analyze data in Excel, and create presentations in PowerPoint using natural language prompts. Instead of starting from a blank page or manually building formulas and slides, you can ask Copilot to generate content, summarize information, identify trends, and suggest improvements directly within Microsoft 365 apps. Copilot also works in Outlook and Teams, helping with email drafting, thread summaries, meeting recaps, and scheduling.

What Can Microsoft Copilot Do?

Microsoft Copilot is built directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams for eligible Microsoft 365 subscribers. If you are new to Copilot, this guide explains how it works, where to find it, and the everyday tasks it can help you complete faster.

For step-by-step workflow instructions and real prompts you can use immediately, see our companion guide: Create Documents, Analyze Data, and Build Presentations Faster With Microsoft Copilot.

What Copilot Can Do in Microsoft Word

One of the most popular uses for Copilot is turning rough notes into polished documents.

To access Copilot in Word, select the Copilot icon on the Home tab in the ribbon and enter a prompt describing what you would like to create. For example: "Turn these meeting notes into a professional report. Include an executive summary, clear section headings, and a formal tone."

Copilot can generate a complete first draft with organized sections, headings, and supporting content in seconds.

Beyond drafting, Copilot can also:

• Rewrite content in a different tone

• Make sections shorter or more detailed

• Summarize lengthy reports

• Generate tables and bullet lists

• Suggest improvements and missing information

• Extract action items from meeting notes

You can ask follow-up questions such as "What points should I expand on?" or "Suggest improvements to this conclusion." Copilot can also provide inline suggestions while you write, helping improve clarity, readability, and overall document structure.

While Copilot can significantly reduce drafting time, it works best as a starting point. You will still want to review content for accuracy, context, and company-specific requirements before sharing.

For more on Word's full feature set, see our guide: Microsoft Word Best Features and How to Use Them.

What Copilot Can Do in Microsoft Excel

Excel is where many users first experience the practical value of Copilot. Instead of manually building formulas or searching through large datasets for patterns, you can describe what you need using plain language.

Before getting started, note that most Copilot features in Excel require workbooks to be saved to OneDrive with AutoSave enabled. For more on how AutoSave works, see our guide: AutoSave in Microsoft 365: How It Works in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Once your workbook is open, select the Copilot icon on the Home tab and enter a prompt such as: "Analyze this data, identify trends, highlight month-over-month growth, and flag any significant declines."

Copilot can review the dataset and provide summaries, charts, and insights without requiring advanced Excel expertise.

Additional capabilities include:

• Explaining existing formulas

• Suggesting new formulas

• Creating PivotTables

• Generating charts and visualizations

• Forecasting trends

• Identifying outliers

• Highlighting important data points

• Summarizing large datasets

Many users also rely on Copilot to clean data by identifying duplicates, filling missing values, and improving organization before analysis.

The quality of results depends heavily on data structure. Clean, consistently formatted spreadsheets generally produce the most accurate recommendations. For best results, convert datasets into Excel Tables before working with Copilot.

For more on Excel's capabilities, see our guide: What Is Microsoft Excel Used For?.

Microsoft official video: Excel Agent: Build New Spreadsheets With Copilot Chat

What Copilot Can Do in Microsoft PowerPoint

Creating presentations can be one of the most time-consuming parts of a project. Copilot helps accelerate the process by generating slides, organizing information, and creating speaker notes.

You can start with a simple prompt or use an existing Word document as source material. For example: "Create a 10-slide presentation summarizing this marketing proposal."

Copilot can generate:

• Slide titles

• Supporting bullet points

• Suggested layouts

• Speaker notes

• Image recommendations

• Presentation structure

Once the initial presentation is created, you can continue refining it with prompts such as "Make this slide more persuasive" or "Shorten all bullet points to five words or fewer." Copilot can also help reorganize sections, add slides, rewrite content, and improve overall presentation flow.

One particularly useful feature is speaker note generation. Select a slide and ask Copilot to create talking points based on the content. These notes can provide presentation guidance and reduce preparation time before meetings.

The strongest results typically come from well-organized source material. Before generating a presentation, consider asking Copilot to review and organize your content in Word first. This helps ensure important information is included and presented logically throughout the deck.

While Copilot can provide a strong starting point, you will still want to review branding, design choices, transitions, and final messaging before presenting.

Microsoft official video: PowerPoint Agent: Generate Presentations From Your Work With Copilot Chat

What Copilot Can Do in Microsoft Outlook

Copilot in Outlook goes beyond simple email suggestions. It brings AI assistance into the communication and scheduling workflows where many professionals spend the largest portion of their day.

To access Copilot in Outlook, select the Copilot icon on the Home tab when composing or reading an email.

Copilot can help with:

• Email drafting and tone adjustment - Provide a brief prompt and Copilot generates a complete email draft. You can also ask it to adjust tone - making a message more formal for a client, more concise for a busy executive, or more conversational for a team update

• Thread summarization - Long email conversations become manageable. Copilot summarizes key decisions, action items, and open questions so you do not have to read 30 messages to find the one thing that matters

• Meeting preparation - Before a meeting, Copilot can review related email threads and surface relevant context, previous decisions, and outstanding action items

• Scheduling assistance - Copilot helps identify available time slots across attendees, reducing the back-and-forth that delays getting people in the same room

• Follow-up tracking - After a meeting or email exchange, Copilot can identify follow-up tasks and help draft response emails that address outstanding items

For a deeper look at Outlook's full capabilities, see our guide: How Microsoft Outlook Helps You Manage Email and Calendar in One Place.

What Copilot Can Do in Microsoft Teams

Copilot in Teams addresses one of the biggest challenges in modern work: keeping up with the constant flow of meetings and messages. It works during live meetings, in chat threads, and across channels.

During and after meetings

Copilot can provide real-time assistance during supported meetings, including answering questions about what has been discussed so far. This is especially useful if you join late and need to catch up without asking colleagues to repeat themselves.

After meetings, Copilot generates summaries that include key discussion points, decisions made, and action items with assigned owners. Instead of manually reviewing notes or replaying recordings, you get a structured recap in seconds.

In chats and channels

Copilot can summarize unread messages in both individual chats and group channels. Select the Copilot icon in the chat panel and ask it to summarize the conversation. It also helps draft replies, proposals, and follow-up messages directly in the chat interface.

Finding information from past discussions

You can ask Copilot questions about previous discussions and decisions, such as "What decision was made regarding the marketing launch?" or "Which file was shared during last week's planning discussion?" Copilot surfaces the relevant information without manual searching.

Copilot in Teams requires meeting transcription to be enabled for meeting-specific features. For a full walkthrough, see our guide: Using Copilot in Microsoft Teams for Meetings, Chats, and Everyday Work.

Does Your Microsoft 365 Plan Include Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot availability depends on your Microsoft 365 subscription and region.

Many Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans now include access to Copilot experiences and AI-powered features within supported applications. However, included features, usage limits, and availability may vary.

For business users, Microsoft 365 Copilot is typically available as an additional subscription layered on top of eligible Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise plans.

Because Microsoft regularly updates Copilot licensing and feature availability, review Microsoft's latest plan information before making a purchasing decision. For a full plan comparison, see our guide: Microsoft 365 Personal vs. Family vs. Business.

HP Laptops Built for Microsoft Copilot

Copilot runs inside Microsoft 365 apps on any supported Windows device, but the speed and responsiveness of AI features depend on the hardware underneath. Here is the key distinction to understand.

Copilot works on any compatible laptop - but it works faster on a Copilot+ PC

Microsoft Copilot does not require a Copilot+ PC. It runs on any compatible Windows device with a supported Microsoft 365 subscription and internet connectivity.

However, a Copilot+ PC includes a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) - specialized hardware designed to accelerate AI tasks locally on the device. When Copilot processes a request on an NPU-equipped laptop, the AI work happens on your machine rather than relying entirely on cloud servers. The result is noticeably faster responses when drafting in Word, generating formulas in Excel, summarizing threads in Outlook, or recapping meetings in Teams.

Think of it this way: Copilot is the software feature, and the NPU is the hardware that makes it faster. You get Copilot either way, but on a Copilot+ PC, it feels more responsive - especially when running AI tasks alongside other demanding workflows like video calls and large spreadsheets.

Recommended HP laptops

HP OmniBook Ultra - Thin, lightweight, and built for portability with long battery life. Ideal for professionals who live in Outlook and need a laptop that handles email, calendar, and Teams meetings comfortably throughout a full workday - whether at a desk, in a conference room, or at a coffee shop.

HP EliteBook line - Enterprise-grade laptops with HP Wolf Security, high-definition webcams, and noise-reducing microphones. A strong choice for business users who rely on Outlook for professional email, scheduling, and Teams integration alongside built-in hardware security for sensitive communications.

HP Copilot+ PCs - Laptops with built-in NPUs that accelerate Microsoft Copilot locally on the device. If you use Copilot in Outlook daily for drafting emails, summarizing threads, and preparing for meetings, an NPU-equipped HP laptop delivers noticeably faster AI responses - so Copilot keeps pace with the speed of your inbox.

For a full comparison, read our guide: Best HP Laptops for Microsoft 365.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Microsoft Copilot free in Word and Excel?

Microsoft Copilot is included with some Microsoft 365 subscriptions, while other plans may require additional licensing. Availability, included features, and usage limits can vary by plan and region. Check Microsoft's latest subscription details for current information.

How do I turn on Copilot in Word?

Open Word, select the Home tab, and look for the Copilot button in the ribbon. If your Microsoft 365 account includes Copilot access, selecting the button opens the Copilot panel where you can enter prompts and begin using AI-assisted features.

What can Copilot do in Excel that I cannot do myself?

Excel users can perform the same tasks manually, but Copilot completes them faster by analyzing data, suggesting formulas, creating charts, building PivotTables, and summarizing findings using natural language prompts. This can significantly reduce the time required to work with large datasets, especially for users who are not advanced Excel specialists.

Can Copilot in PowerPoint create a full presentation?

Yes. Copilot can generate a complete presentation from a prompt or an existing Word document. It creates slide titles, supporting content, speaker notes, and suggested layouts. Most users will still want to review and refine the final design, branding, and messaging before presenting.

What can Copilot do in Outlook and Teams?

In Outlook, Copilot can draft emails, adjust tone, summarize long email threads, help prepare for meetings, and track follow-up action items. In Teams, Copilot can summarize meetings in real time, recap unread chat threads, draft messages, and answer questions about previous discussions. Both features require eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and Teams meeting features require transcription to be enabled.

Do I need a Copilot+ PC to use Microsoft Copilot?

No. Microsoft Copilot works on any compatible Windows device with a supported Microsoft 365 subscription and internet connectivity. However, a Copilot+ PC includes a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) that accelerates AI tasks locally on the device, delivering noticeably faster Copilot responses. An HP Copilot+ PC is not required, but it provides a meaningfully better experience for users who rely on Copilot regularly.

Which HP laptop works best for Microsoft Copilot?

HP Copilot+ PCs with built-in NPUs deliver the fastest Copilot performance across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. The HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 is a strong choice for professionals who need lightweight portability with Copilot support. The HP EliteBook Ultra suits business teams that need enterprise-grade security alongside AI-powered productivity. For a full comparison, read Best HP Laptops for Microsoft 365.

Conclusion

Microsoft Copilot helps streamline many of the tasks people perform every day in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Whether you are drafting reports, analyzing spreadsheets, building presentations, managing your inbox, or catching up on meetings you missed, Copilot reduces the time spent on repetitive work and helps you focus on the thinking and decisions that matter most.

The best results come from providing clear, specific prompts and treating Copilot as a productivity partner rather than a replacement for human judgement. While Copilot can generate content, identify patterns, and organize information quickly, reviewing and refining the output remains an important part of the process.

To get the fastest Copilot experience, an HP Copilot+ PC with a built-in NPU accelerates AI processing locally on the device. For professionals who need portability, the HP OmniBook Ultra delivers long battery life and Copilot support in a thin, lightweight package. For business teams, the HP EliteBook Ultra pairs Copilot performance with enterprise-grade security through HP Wolf Security.

Check your Microsoft 365 subscription at microsoft.com and explore how Copilot can improve your workflow.