90-Minute Facilitated Training Script — Introduction to M365 Copilot Chat, the GCSE prompting framework, working with files, live demos, and best practices.
| Section | Duration |
|---|---|
| Welcome & Introductions | 5 min |
| What is Microsoft Copilot? | 10 min |
| Getting Started with Copilot Chat | 10 min |
| Writing Great Prompts | 10 min |
| Working with Files in Copilot | 15 min |
| Live Demos & Practice | 25 min |
| Tips, Tricks & Best Practices | 10 min |
| Q&A | 5 min |
| TOTAL | 90 minutes |
Key Message: “Whether you’re brand new or have played around with it a bit, today’s goal is to make you confident and effective users of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.”
“We’ll start with what Copilot actually is, then we’ll move quickly into hands-on stuff — how to write great prompts and, importantly, how to work with your files inside Copilot. We’ll have time for live demos, and I’ll leave the last 15 minutes for your questions.”
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is an AI chat assistant included with your Microsoft 365 subscription — available as Copilot Chat (Basic) or M365 Copilot (Premium) with a paid license for advanced features. It’s powered by large language models from OpenAI and Anthropic (including GPT-4o and Claude), integrated with Microsoft’s security and compliance. It’s grounded in web data and general knowledge — upload files (up to 512 MB) directly for document-specific tasks. It helps you draft, summarize, analyze, and create — reducing time on repetitive tasks. Designed for every knowledge worker, not just technical users.
Copilot is built on three pillars:
| Pillar | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Large Language Model (LLM) | Understands natural language & generates intelligent responses |
| Web Grounding | Searches the web for current information & real-time data |
| Security & Compliance | Stays within your M365 tenant — no data leaves your boundary |
Copilot Chat is accessible from multiple entry points:
| Access Point | Details |
|---|---|
| Teams | Copilot icon in the left sidebar — available in both desktop and web |
| m365copilot.com | Select Copilot from the left navigation or app launcher — works in any browser |
| m365copilot.com | Full Copilot Chat experience — sign in with your work account |
| Copilot Chat (Basic — Today’s Focus) | M365 Copilot (Premium — Paid License) |
|---|---|
| Included with your M365 subscription | Requires a separate Copilot license |
| Available in Teams sidebar, m365copilot.com | Full Microsoft Graph access to emails, meetings, files, and chats |
| Ask any question in natural language | In-app Copilot features inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook |
| Upload files directly for document analysis | Advanced agents: Researcher, Analyst, and Copilot Cowork for multi-step tasks |
| Best for: general drafting, research, cross-app tasks | Priority access, faster response times, and model choice (OpenAI or Anthropic) |
Today we’re focusing on Copilot Chat (Basic), which is available to everyone right now.
| What Copilot CAN Do | Limitations to Know |
|---|---|
| Draft, rewrite, and summarize text | Not 100% accurate — always verify (AI can hallucinate) |
| Answer questions about uploaded documents and web content | Cannot automatically access all your data — other apps require uploading content |
| Create structured content (agendas, plans, reports) | Does not take action unless you confirm |
| Translate content and adjust tone | Cannot replace human judgment on complex decisions |
| Analyze uploaded files and surface insights | May not have real-time data unless web search is enabled |
| Search the web when web grounding is enabled | Your data is never used to train the AI model |
Data Privacy: All interactions are protected by enterprise-grade security. Your data is never used to train AI models.
Three ways to access Copilot Chat:
Copilot is conversational — talk to it like you’d talk to a smart colleague. No special commands or syntax needed.
The single biggest factor in getting good results from Copilot is how you write your prompts. Use the GCSE framework:
| Element | What It Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | What do you want Copilot to do? | “Write an email…” |
| Context | What background does it need? | “…to my project team about Q1 progress…” |
| Source | What data should it use? | “…based on our last meeting notes…” |
| Expectation | What format or length do you want? | “…in 3 short paragraphs, professional tone.” |
| Weak Prompt | Strong Prompt |
|---|---|
| Help me with my email. | Write a 3-paragraph email to my manager summarizing project status, risks, and next week’s priorities. Use a professional tone. |
| Summarize this. | Summarize this 20-page report in 5 bullet points. Focus on conclusions and recommendations. |
| Write a meeting agenda. | Create a 30-minute project kick-off agenda for a technical team. Include time slots and a 5-minute Q&A at the end. |
Stronger prompts include who the audience is, what tone to use, and what format you want. This takes 10 extra seconds and dramatically improves the result.
You rarely need a perfect prompt on the first try. Copilot is designed for back-and-forth conversation:
| Strategy | Example |
|---|---|
| Change the format | “Can you put that in a table instead?” |
| Ask for more detail | “Expand on the second point about timeline risks” |
| Adjust the tone | “Make this sound more casual and friendly” |
| Request shorter version | “Shorten this to 3 bullet points maximum” |
| Try a different angle | “Approach this from the customer’s perspective instead” |
| Mistake | Instead, Try… |
|---|---|
| Too vague — “Help me with work” | Be specific about the task, output type, and audience |
| No context — “Write a proposal” | Include the project name, audience, goals, and constraints |
| Treating it like a search engine — “Q2 report budget numbers” | Ask in full sentences: “What were the Q2 budget figures from my Finance team report?” |
| Expecting magic on complex tasks — “Write my entire presentation” | Break it down: start with an outline, then draft each section |
| Not verifying output — Copying directly | Always review and fact-check key figures, dates, and names |
| Giving up after one attempt — “It didn’t understand me” | Refine your prompt — add more context or rephrase |
You can bring your documents right into the conversation — contracts, research reports, spreadsheets, meeting notes. Ask Copilot Chat to work with that content directly. No copy-pasting needed.
How to attach: Click the attachment icon in the prompt bar. You can browse your OneDrive, SharePoint, or upload from your computer.
What you can do: Summarize documents, extract key information, compare multiple files, draft content from a brief, analyze spreadsheet data, and ask Q&A about documents.
The most common use case. Attach a long report and ask Copilot to distill it for you. A 50-page report? Done in seconds.
Pull specific data points from long documents — action items, dates, stakeholders, deadlines.
| Document Type | Example Prompt |
|---|---|
| Meeting Notes | “What are the action items and who owns them?” |
| Project Docs | “List all dates and deadlines mentioned in this document.” |
| Contracts | “Find all mentions of [vendor name] and summarize what was said.” |
| Meeting Recap | “What decisions were made in this document?” |
Attach two or more files for comparisons — contracts, proposals, or different drafts. Useful for legal reviews, vendor comparisons, or reviewing multiple drafts.
Use the file as raw material to create something new — emails, status updates, discussion questions.
Copilot can read structured data from Excel (.xlsx) files attached to the chat. Ask it to identify trends, outliers, top performers, or calculate differences. Great for turning raw numbers into insights.
Best for: sales reports, budget summaries, KPI tracking files, survey results.
Note: For complex Excel analysis (pivot tables, formulas, charts), use Copilot inside Excel directly for best results.
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Supported Types | Word (.docx), PDF (.pdf), PowerPoint (.pptx), Excel (.xlsx), Plain text (.txt), Images (.png, .jpeg), Data files (.csv, .json, .md) |
| File Size Limit | Up to 512 MB for licensed M365 Copilot users; 50 MB per file for standard Copilot Chat |
| Upload Method | Browse OneDrive, SharePoint, or upload from your computer via the attachment icon |
| Confidentiality | Only share documents with Copilot Chat if your company’s policy permits it. When in doubt, check with IT. |
Key coaching point: Notice how each prompt specifies audience, format, and length. Encourage participants to try their own variations.
| Great For | Less Suited For |
|---|---|
| First drafts of documents and emails | Final decisions requiring human judgment |
| Summarizing long documents | Sensitive HR or legal matters |
| Brainstorming and ideation | Advice requiring up-to-the-minute accuracy |
| Reformatting content | Sharing highly confidential data |
| Analyzing structured data for insights | Replacing expert review or approval |
Key Message: “Think of it as a brilliant intern — incredibly helpful, but you’re still the expert.”
| Use Copilot When… | Use Search When… | Ask a Colleague When… |
|---|---|---|
| Drafting, summarizing, or rewriting content | Finding a specific document you know exists | The question requires organizational judgment |
| Pulling insights from uploaded documents or web content | Looking up a policy, form, or process doc | You need someone who was “in the room” |
| Generating first drafts quickly | Browsing current news or external content | The topic requires accountability or sign-off |
| Comparing or analyzing documents | Finding a known file by name or keyword | Building relationship matters more than the answer |
| Creating agendas, plans, or structured content | Getting precise results from structured databases | The topic is sensitive or confidential |
When you want clean, copy-ready output, add this to the end of your prompt:
Running out of iterations (max 30 per chat)? Ask Copilot for the cumulative prompt so you can continue in a new chat session:
Copilot will output a consolidated version of everything you’ve asked for. Copy it, start a new chat, paste the resultant prompt, and continue where you left off.
Custom Instructions let you set persistent preferences that shape every Copilot response — without repeating yourself each time. Access them via Settings → Personalization in Copilot Chat.
Below is a comprehensive set of custom instructions participants can use as a starting point. They can copy the entire block or pick the sections most relevant to their role:
“You now have the foundation to be a confident Copilot user. Before I open it up for questions — what was the one thing that surprised you most today?”
Your next step: Complete 3 Copilot prompts in the next 24 hours. Practice is the fastest way to build confidence.
Microsoft releases Copilot updates monthly. Here’s what’s on the horizon:
| Timeline | Feature | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Live Now | Copilot Agents | Copilot Cowork (Wave 3) launched March 2026 — enables multi-step agentic tasks across M365 apps. Requires a Copilot license. |
| Live Now | Expanded File Types | Now supports images (.png, .jpeg), data files (.csv, .json, .md), and search grounding for CAD, ZIP, and MP4 formats. |
| Live Now | Personal Customization (Work IQ) | Copilot learns your name, role, writing style, and work patterns for more personalized responses. |
| Rolling Out | Deeper SharePoint & Viva | SharePoint list and site grounding now available in Copilot Chat, with deeper Viva integration rolling out. |
| Rolling Out | Enhanced Meeting Intelligence | Richer summaries with automated action items and Planner integration for licensed users. |
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot Adoption Hub | adoption.microsoft.com |
| Copilot Scenario Library | adoption.microsoft.com/copilot |
| Copilot Prompt Gallery | m365copilot.com/copilot-prompts |
| Microsoft Copilot Help | support.microsoft.com/copilot |