Write more effective emails with Copilot in Outlook

If you’re like me, so much of your day is spent managing a busy inbox, trying to craft the perfect email responses, and staying on top of countless threads. It can be overwhelming, right? That's where Copilot in Outlook comes to the rescue. This powerful tool helps you draft emails efficiently, refine your writing, and ensure your communication is clear and professional. 

In today's fast-paced work environment, managing your emails effectively is crucial. Outlook's Copilot feature acts like a personal assistant, helping you streamline your email composition, revise with precision, and communicate more effectively. Let's dive into how Copilot in Outlook can transform the way you handle your emails, starting with some scenarios that I find particularly useful in my own work. 

Draft emails quickly 

Imagine starting an email to a new customer and feeling overwhelmed by the blank page. With Copilot, you can provide context about the recipient, the purpose of the email, and key points to include, and Copilot generates a draft based on this context. In seconds, the blank canvas is filled with a professional draft, saving you valuable time. 

Select Draft with Copilot as you begin composing your email message.

Try it out: 

1. Open Outlook and select Home > New Email to begin composing a message. 
2. Using Draft with Copilot, input details about the recipient, the purpose of the email, the tone, and key points you want to include using Copilot's prompt fields. 
3. Once the context is set, select Generate. Copilot will draft a message for you. 
4. Read through the message to ensure it aligns with your intended message and tone.  
5. If you’re satisfied with the result, select Keep. 
6. Make any edits or adjustments as needed, then select Send. 

Rewrite and refine 

Maybe you feel the first pass from Copilot doesn’t quite hit the mark. The tone is too formal, and you’d like it to be more direct. Or perhaps you need it to be shorter and more concise. Copilot is here to help with a few options: 

• Try your prompt again for a new result. 
• Choose an option from the dropdown to modify length or tone, with options like shorter, longer, more direct, more casual, and more formal. 
• Tell Copilot specifically what to change – i.e. “Please make this sound more casual and direct. Add a request to meet to kick off this workstream and suggest a few times in the next week.”  

Once you’re satisfied, review the draft again, and make any edits needed before sending or moving on to Coaching with Copilot. 

Try it out: 

1. Review your message after using Draft with Copilot. If it’s not quite what you want, do one of the following: 
   1. Try the same prompt again by selecting Regenerate. 
   2. Choose one of the options in the dropdown to modify length or tone 
   3. Type specific instructions as to what you’d like to change in the prompt box and select Generate. 
2. When you’re satisfied with the result, select Keep.
3. Make any additional edits as needed, and then your email is ready to Send.

Enhance effectiveness with Copilot coaching 

The email composition experience doesn't end there. Whether you draft your email with Copilot’s help or write it yourself from scratch, Copilot can help you feel confident that your email conveys your message as effectively as possible. Use Copilot to provide feedback on tone, clarity, and reader sentiment. This coaching feature analyzes your email and provides suggestions on those three topics, considering what your email is communicating and how your message could come across to its recipients. Positive reinforcement highlights what you did well, helping build your confidence in your writing skills. 

Copilot can offer suggestions related to tone, reader sentiment and clarity of your email.

Copilot’s suggestions provide guidance on how you could adjust specific wording, phrases to add or swap (for example, to convey more enthusiasm, encourage a collaborative mindset, or communicate urgency), and how additional detail can improve understanding and make your desired outcomes clearer.  

Try it out: 

1. Select Home > New Mail and type your email message or open an existing draft. 
2. Select the Copilot icon from the toolbar. Choose Coaching by Copilot from the drop-down menu. 
3. Copilot will review your email and offer suggestions on improving the tone, clarity, and reader sentiment. 
4. Read through the feedback, which may include suggestions for changing the words you use, providing more details or necessary instructions, or adjusting how you present information to your recipients. 
5. If you are happy with all of Copilot’s suggestions, you can apply all of them in one click, by selecting Apply all suggestions. This will regenerate your message using the recommended improvements. Some suggestions require you to provide more detail on a particular topic, add specificity to an instruction, or make manual edits. 
6. If you prefer to incorporate suggestions individually, or do not wish to apply all of Copilot’s suggestions, you can do so manually. Adding or replacing phrases is as easy as copy and paste.  
7. Once you’re satisfied, your email is ready to Send.

Transform your email 

Email continues to be an indispensable communication tool for businesses, but one that can take up a lot of your valuable time. Copilot in Outlook transforms your email experience with streamlined composition, intelligent suggestions, and helpful coaching, saving you time and boosting your confidence.