Is Your AI Prompt Missing the Real Problem? | Introducing the 6W + E Framework
One thing I’ve noticed while working with Generative AI and Microsoft Copilot: Sometimes the problem isn't the AI. It's the way we think before we prompt. We often write: “Create a presentation on AI.” “Summarize this document.” “Write an email to the customer.” The AI can certainly do these tasks. But will the output be what we actually need? I've been working on a simple principle to make prompting easier to remember: 6W + E WHY → WHAT → WHO → WITH → WAY → WIN → EVALUATE Here’s how I think about it: WHY — Why are we asking AI to do this? WHAT — What exactly do we want? WHO — Who is the audience or stakeholder? WITH — What context, data, documents or tools should AI work with? WAY — How should the output or task be delivered? WIN — What does a successful outcome look like? EVALUATE — Did the result actually achieve what we wanted? The last one is particularly important. Good prompting shouldn't be: Prompt → Answer → Done It should be: Think → Prompt → Evaluate → Refine I don't see 6W + E as a formula for writing longer prompts. I see it as a way to think more clearly before asking AI to work. And as we move from prompting to Copilot, AI workflows and AI agents, I believe this way of thinking becomes even more important. I'm going to explore this with practical Copilot examples in our upcoming Tuesday Prompt Day discussions. But before we get there, I'd like to start with the community: 👉 Which of these do you most often forget when prompting AI? WHY | WHAT | WHO | WITH | WAY | WIN | EVALUATE And do you normally evaluate and refine the first response—or accept it as it is? I'm curious to hear how others approach this.GenAI Knowledge Byte | KB-002
Understanding AI Hallucinations: Why AI Sometimes Gets Things Wrong 🤖 Generative AI is incredibly powerful, but it's not always correct. One of the biggest challenges with AI is hallucination—when an AI model generates information that sounds convincing but is actually incorrect, misleading, or completely fabricated. 💡 Why do hallucinations happen? AI predicts the most likely next word based on patterns it learned during training. It doesn't "know" facts the way humans do, so when information is missing or ambiguous, it may confidently generate inaccurate answers. 🚨 Common causes ✅ Ambiguous or incomplete prompts ✅ Outdated training data ✅ Missing business context ✅ Complex reasoning across multiple topics 🛡️ How to reduce AI hallucinations ✔️ Provide clear and specific prompts ✔️ Include relevant context and reference material ✔️ Ask the model to cite sources when appropriate ✔️ Verify important information before making decisions ✔️ Use enterprise AI solutions like Microsoft 365 Copilot, which ground responses in your organization's authorized data while respecting permissions. 💼 Microsoft Perspective Microsoft's Copilot experience combines Large Language Models with enterprise data through grounding techniques, helping improve response relevance while still encouraging users to validate critical outputs. 🎯 Key Takeaway AI is an intelligent assistant—not an infallible expert. The best results come from combining AI with human judgment. 💬 Discussion: Have you ever encountered an AI hallucination? What techniques do you use to verify AI-generated content?🚀 Prompt Tuesday | Write Prompts Like a Pro
Prompt Tuesday | PT-002 | A small change in your prompt can dramatically improve AI responses. Instead of asking: ❌ "Summarize this document." Try this: ✅ "Summarize this document into 5 key points. Highlight risks, action items, and decisions. Keep the response under 200 words and format it as a table." 💡 Prompt Formula Role + Task + Context + Constraints + Output Format Example: Act as a Microsoft Solutions Architect. Review the following Azure migration proposal. Identify technical risks, suggest improvements, and present the findings in a table with Risk, Impact, and Recommendation. Why it works ✔ Gives AI a clear role ✔ Provides context ✔ Defines expectations ✔ Specifies the output format The more specific your prompt, the better the results. 💬 Challenge: Share one prompt that saves you time at work. Let's learn from each other!🧠 What is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)?
Have you ever wondered how AI tools answer questions using your company's documents instead of making things up? That's where Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) comes in. Instead of relying only on what the AI learned during training, RAG first searches trusted sources—such as PDFs, SharePoint libraries, knowledge bases, or internal documentation—and then uses that information to generate a response. Why organizations use RAG ✅ Reduces hallucinations ✅ Uses the latest company knowledge ✅ Keeps responses grounded in trusted data ✅ Improves enterprise AI accuracy Common Microsoft stack Azure AI Search Azure OpenAI Microsoft Copilot SharePoint Microsoft Fabric RAG is one of the key building blocks behind modern enterprise AI assistants. 💬 Discussion: Have you implemented a RAG solution in your organization, or are you planning one?Why AI Collaboration Matters More Than AI Tools in 2026
Artificial Intelligence has evolved from being a "nice-to-have" productivity tool to becoming an integral part of how we collaborate, innovate, and solve problems together. But here's something I've been reflecting on: The real competitive advantage isn't having access to AI—it's knowing how to collaborate with AI effectively. Organizations around the world are adopting solutions like Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Azure AI to streamline workflows and unlock productivity. Yet, the teams seeing the greatest success aren't necessarily using the most advanced tools—they're building a culture where people and AI work together. What does AI collaboration look like? It's about using AI to enhance, not replace, human expertise. For example: 💡 Brainstorming ideas with Copilot before a team meeting. 📊 Transforming raw data into meaningful insights with AI assistance. ✍️ Drafting documents faster while applying your own judgment and expertise. 🤝 Sharing prompts, best practices, and lessons learned across teams. 🚀 Automating repetitive tasks so people can focus on creativity, strategy, and innovation. The technology is powerful, but collaboration is what creates real value. Three habits of successful AI-powered teams ✅ Share what works. A great prompt or workflow can save hours for your colleagues. Building a culture of knowledge sharing helps everyone grow together. ✅ Experiment continuously. AI capabilities evolve rapidly. Small experiments often lead to significant productivity improvements. ✅ Keep humans in the loop. AI can generate content and suggestions, but people provide context, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making. A question for the community As AI becomes part of our daily work, what's the biggest change you've noticed in the way you collaborate with your team? Have you found a Microsoft Copilot feature that's transformed your workflow? Has AI changed the way your team communicates or shares knowledge? What's one lesson you've learned from working alongside AI? I'd love to hear your experiences. Your insights could inspire someone else's next productivity breakthrough. How is your team using Microsoft Copilot or other Generative AI tools to improve collaboration? What has worked well, and what challenges have you encountered? Share your experience in the comments.The New Era of Copilot: From Assistant to AI Agent Platform
Microsoft 365 Copilot is shifting from a simple AI assistant into a full agent platform that can understand context, take actions, and be governed at scale. This new direction changes how enterprises design, deploy, and monitor AI in daily work. The headline: Copilot is no longer just “answering prompts”; it is orchestrating tasks across email, documents, meetings, and business systems, with controls and analytics that IT and AI leaders have been asking for. 1. GPT‑5 Chat Inside Copilot Agents One of the most important updates is the move to GPT‑5 Chat for agents created with Copilot’s Agent Builder and Copilot Studio. Key implications: Higher-quality answers: Better reasoning, fewer hallucinations, and more fluent responses in complex business scenarios. More reliable instructions: Agents follow multi-step instructions more consistently, which is critical for workflows like HR onboarding or IT helpdesk. No extra configuration: Where available, tenants automatically benefit from the new model when their agents respond to prompts. For innovators, this means your existing Copilot agents can suddenly handle richer conversations and more nuanced tasks without you rewriting them. 2. Microsoft Agent 365: A Control Plane for AI Agents Another big change is the introduction of Microsoft Agent 365, a unified control plane for enterprise AI agents. What this brings: Centralized governance: One place to manage policies, access, and behaviours for all your agents across the organization. Monitoring and analytics: Visibility into which agents are used, how they perform, and where to improve. Real actions with connectors: Agents can schedule meetings, generate documents, send emails, and update CRM records with full compliance and audit trails. This is crucial if your organization wants to go from “a few pilots” to hundreds of agents safely and consistently. 3. Stronger Governance: Agent ID, Security, and Compliance To support this growth, Microsoft has added new governance and security capabilities. Highlights include: Microsoft Entra Agent ID: A dedicated identity layer for agents so IT can see which agent did what, when, and under which policy. Real-time protection: Integration with security tools for threat detection and protection as agents access resources and perform actions. Enhanced content governance: Features that help prevent oversharing and protect sensitive data in SharePoint and other repositories. For AI and Copilot leaders, this makes it easier to say “yes” to more AI use cases without sacrificing risk management. 4. Smarter Copilot Chat and Conversation History On the user side, Copilot Chat is becoming more context-aware and persistent. Recent improvements include: Better models in Copilot Chat: Higher quality and faster performance for everyday chat across Microsoft 365. Conversation history: Copilot can now use your past chats to provide better follow-up answers and let you pick up where you left off. Scoped content sources: Users can explicitly limit Copilot responses to selected sources (like a specific site or set of files), improving precision and transparency. This makes Copilot feel less like “a new chat every time” and more like an ongoing AI partner that remembers context responsibly. 5. New Agent Experiences in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams Across core apps, Copilot is gaining new “agent-like” behaviours that go beyond simple prompts. Examples: Agent Mode in Word and Excel: Copilot can act like a mini-assistant inside your document or workbook, guided by higher-level goals such as “clean this dataset and prepare a summary” or “improve this proposal for executives.” Meeting planning and summaries in Outlook and Teams: Copilot can help plan meetings, summarize email threads, and recap live or recorded meetings with clearer action items. PowerPoint “Explain” and speaker support: New features help explain complex slides, add speaker notes, and translate content. For innovators, these capabilities are building blocks for domain-specific solutions—like sales decks that update themselves or financial models that explain their own assumptions. 6. What This Means for Generative AI and Copilot Innovators For your Generative AI and Copilot Innovators community, this new wave of Copilot updates opens several strategic opportunities. You can: Design agent-first solutions: Move from “prompt libraries” to full AI agents that can take actions, respect policies, and be measured. Partner deeply with IT: Use new governance and identity controls to align AI innovation with security and compliance. Build reusable patterns: Create templates for HR agents, sales agents, support agents, and analytics agents that others in your org can reuse and adapt. Educate on responsible scaling: Use these updates as a framework for training colleagues on safe, effective deployment of AI at scale. A practical scenario: imagine a “Project Delivery Agent” that reads project documents, updates tasks, drafts status reports, checks risk registers, and prepares meeting agendas—governed centrally, monitored via dashboards, and powered by GPT‑5 Chat. 7. How to Start Exploring These Updates To make the most of these new capabilities: Identify one or two high-value processes (like employee onboarding or customer proposal creation) and prototype an agent around them. Work with IT to configure governance, identities, and data access correctly from day one. Capture lessons learned—prompt patterns, guardrails, and adoption tips—and share them with your community so others can accelerate. These updates transform Copilot from “a powerful assistant” into a foundation for building a whole ecosystem of governed, action-taking AI agents inside your organization.📚 Happy New Year Innovators & Learners! 🎉
As we begin 2026, I want to celebrate the spirit of learning that defines this community. This group isn’t just about technology — it’s about curiosity, growth, and shared knowledge. This year, let’s focus on: ✨ Learning together — breaking down complex ideas into simple, practical insights. 💡 Sharing experiences — whether it’s a success story, a challenge, or a new discovery. 🤝 Collaborating on projects and discussions that help us all grow stronger. 🌍 Building a supportive space where every question sparks learning and every answer inspires action. 2026 is a fresh chapter, and together we can make it a year of continuous learning and collective progress. Here’s to a year filled with curiosity, collaboration, and breakthroughs. 🚀 Wishing all members a joyful and knowledge‑rich New Year!
Top 5 Copilot Prompts Every MCT Should Know 🎓
As trainers, we spend a lot of time preparing content, engaging learners, and managing communication. Copilot + AI can change the game—if you know how to use it smartly. Here are my top 5 prompts and tips: ✅ 1. “Create a training outline for [topic] with objectives and key takeaways.” AI Insight: Copilot uses context to build structured outlines. Add details like audience level (beginner/advanced) for better results. ✅ 2. “Give me 5 scenario-based questions for a workshop on [topic].” Tip: Scenario-based prompts make AI generate practical, real-world examples—great for hands-on learning. ✅ 3. “Turn this document into a 3-slide PowerPoint summary for learners.” AI Insight: Copilot can condense complex content without losing key points. Always review for accuracy before sharing. ✅ 4. “Write an email inviting participants to a session on [topic], highlighting benefits.” Tip: Add tone instructions like ‘professional but friendly’ to make your email sound natural. ✅ 5. “Suggest 3 creative icebreakers for a virtual training on [topic].” AI Insight: Copilot can pull ideas from diverse sources—combine them with your personal touch for maximum engagement. 💡 Pro Tip: The more context you give (audience type, duration, tone), the smarter Copilot gets. Think of it as prompt engineering for trainers. 👉 Your turn: What’s your favorite Copilot prompt for training? Share in comments!Welcome to the Copilot Studio User Group!
🚀 About This Community The Copilot Studio User Group is a virtual community where members share knowledge, experiences, and ideas about using and building with Microsoft Copilot Studio. Our goal is to make Copilot Studio more accessible, collaborative, and fun for everyone — whether you’re experimenting with AI copilots or running automation in your organization. 💡What We’ll Be Doing Here’s what you can expect from our group: 💬 Virtual Chat Events: Join topics-based sessions where members discuss Copilot Studio best practices. 🧩 Community Projects: Collaborate on creative experiments and prototypes. 📢Feature Updates: Stay informed on the latest Microsoft Copilot news. 🤝Member Spotlights: Learn from other community builders and share your own work. 🌍 Why Join Our Events Each virtual event is designed to be interactive you’ll be able to: Ask questions live in chat. Exchange use cases and demos. Network with fellow makers and technologists. Get inspired by what others are building! 🧰 Resources & Tools Here are some links to help you get started: Microsoft Copilot Studio Official Site Copilot Documentation Join The Microsoft Tech Community 💬 Get Involved We’d love your participation! Here’s how to engage: Comment on posts and share your insights. Participate in our chat-based virtual sessions. Share your own tutorials, blog posts, or project ideas with the group. 🌟 Our Commitment This user group follows all Microsoft Tech Community Standards, and Terms Of Use. Our focus is collaboration, inclusion, and respectful discussion. 🙌 Final Note Whether you’re new to Copilot Studio or a seasoned pro, you belong here. let’s build the future of AI collaboration — together.How to use Microsoft Copilot
What Is Microsoft Copilot? Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant built into familiar applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. It helps automate tasks, draft emails, summarize documents, analyze data, and generate creative ideas—simply by responding to your commands in everyday language. Getting Started Access Copilot: Look for the Copilot icon or side panel in your Microsoft 365 apps. Make Your First Request: Type a clear and direct instruction, such as: “Summarize this meeting” “Create a chart from this data” “Draft an introduction for my report” Review and Edit: Copilot will generate a response that you can use, customize, or request to change (“make it shorter” or “add bullet points”). Tips for Effective Use Be specific about what you want Copilot to do. For best results, provide context (e.g., “Summarize this thread for a project update email”). If you want to try something new, start a fresh conversation with a new prompt. Use Copilot for a variety of tasks—from writing, summarizing, and brainstorming, to designing slides or replying to emails. Example Prompts “Turn this data into a bar chart.” “Draft a thank you email for today’s meeting.” “Outline the key points from this document.” “Rewrite this paragraph more formally.” Common Copilot Features Word: Drafts and edits documents, rewrites text, summarizes content. Excel: Analyzes data, creates charts, offers formula suggestions. PowerPoint: Designs slides, summarizes presentations, generates outlines. Outlook: Composes and summarizes emails, drafts replies. Why Use Copilot? Saves time on repetitive or complex tasks. Helps brainstorm and organize ideas. Makes working with documents and data easier. Improves productivity, especially for new users. The key is to start with simple prompts and explore what Copilot can do for different needs. Have you tried Copilot yet? Share your first experience, or ask any questions in the comments!
