Draft and add content with Copilot in Word

Start a draft with Copilot in Word

Start a new blank Word document.
Select the Copilot icon or press ALT + i to open the Draft with Copilot box.
In the Draft with Copilot box, type or paste your prompt. For example, "Write a proposal for a new flavor in the Fourth Coffee latte lineup."

Tip: If you want to ask Copilot to use an existing document as a source, type "/" and then type the name of your document—or in the pane that opens, select Files and then select your document from the list. If you have a Copilot Pro (home) account, this option is only available if you're using Word for the web.
Select Generate, and Copilot will draft new content for you.
After Copilot generates content, select Keep it to keep the content, Regenerate to regenerate a response, Discard to discard the content, or fine tune the draft by entering details into the compose box, like "Make it more concise" or "...for the holiday lineup."

Important: Remember that Copilot generates a draft. You'll need to verify and modify details to make sure it's accurate and fits your tone and style.

Try this

Here are some suggestions for prompts you might want to try. Copy them or modify them to suit your needs.

Write an article on the importance of creating work/life balance.
Write a white paper about project management.
Write a job offer letter for a sales position at Contoso. The start date is August 1st, and the salary is $60,000 per year plus bonuses.
Write a proposal for a new flavor in the Fourth Coffee latte lineup using /New flavor research.docx. (You'll need to have relevant content in a document called "New flavor research" for this to work.)

Note: If you're using a Copilot Pro (home) account, this option is only available if you're using Word for the web.

For even better results

Give Copilot more context to work with. The more you tell it, the more detailed and specific Copilot can be with the draft. For example, if you have an outline or a list that Copilot can work from, go ahead and add that to your prompt.

Start from a file (or three!)

Note: This feature is available to customers with either a Microsoft 365 Copilot (work) or Copilot Pro (home) license.

If you want Copilot to base your new document off a file you already have, you can tell it to do that. In the Draft with Copilot dialog, select Reference a file and choose up to 3 files that Copilot should look at when creating your new document.

In the compose box, you can also enter "/" and the name of the file you'd like to reference, which will update the file options shown in the menu.

To use files, you must have permission to access them in your organization's SharePoint or OneDrive. They can be Word, PowerPoint, or PDF files.

Add content to an existing document

Note: This feature is available to customers with either a Microsoft 365 Copilot (work) or Copilot Pro (home) license.

Stay in the flow and let Copilot help you add more to your document.

Go to a new blank line.
Select the Copilot icon in the left margin of your document.
In the Draft with Copilot dialog, tell Copilot what you'd like, or just select Inspire me to have Copilot add more text that builds on the text you already have in the document.
After Copilot has provided additional content, you can select Keep it, Regenerate, Discard it, or fine tune Copilot's response by entering details into Copilot's compose box, like "Make it sound professional."

Draft with selected content

Let Copilot enhance and create content based on the information you provide.

In your Word document, select the text, list, or table you want Copilot to work with.
Select the Copilot icon in the left margin of your document.
Select Make changes and in the Draft with Copilot dialog, tell Copilot what you'd like to do with the selected text.
After Copilot has provided additional content, you can select Keep it, Regenerate, or Discard it. You can also improve the response by entering details into Copilot's compose box, like "Fine-tune this draft."