Reference
Copilot fundamentals
The tool that's already where you work.
Copilot is built into your Microsoft 365 tools. You don't need to install anything. Here's what it actually does, and what to ask it first.
Three things to know before you open it
1. It knows your Microsoft 365 data.
Ask it to summarize a document from SharePoint, pull themes from recent emails, or prep you for a meeting using your calendar context. Most people have not asked it to use their calendar, email, or SharePoint yet.
2. It’s safe for your work.
Copilot runs within MillerKnoll’s Microsoft 365 environment. Conversations stay inside our tenant and are not used to train public models.
3. Low-stakes practice in the apps you already use.
If you are new to AI, Copilot is the right first tool, Outlook, Teams, and Word, with room to review before you send. Start with Learning & development, then Working with AI.
What Copilot is great at
Where it earns its keep.
Drafting
Context + format → strong first draft. You still edit and decide; the blank page problem goes away.
Summarizing
Long threads, documents, transcripts, what matters, quickly.
Rewriting
Shorter, clearer, more direct, a useful second opinion on your own writing.
Brainstorming
Five angles on a problem; you might use one, and that one was worth it.
Synthesizing across your work
Copilot can connect across Microsoft 365 context, not just a single chat window.
What it's not great at
Know the limits before you rely on it.
Real-time information
No live internet. Paste current context in when freshness matters.
Deep judgment calls
Structure a decision, do not outsource it. Use Copilot as a thinking partner, not an authority.
Knowing when it’s wrong
Confident guesses happen. Read the output before you use it, every time. That is a workflow step, not a disclaimer.
Replacing your context
It does not know your client history, politics, or intent. You bring that.
Tactics for new Copilot users
Summarize a long email thread.
Open a long thread, use Copilot, ask for key decisions and open questions. Calibrate against the thread, that is the lesson.
Try this
Summarize this email thread. What decisions were made and what's still unresolved?
Draft a message from rough notes.
Paste rough notes or describe what you need. Ask for a draft. Edit down. Send the version that sounds like you.
Try this
Draft a Teams message to my team. I need to let them know [topic]. Key points: [list them]. Keep it under 100 words.
Prep for a meeting in five minutes.
Topic, who is in the room, what you need to accomplish, three things to cover and one question to ask.
Try this
I have a meeting in 15 minutes about [topic] with [who]. My goal is [outcome]. What are the three most important things to cover and what's one question I should ask?
Rewrite something you've already written.
Paste something from this week. Ask for shorter and more direct. Compare versions.
Try this
Here's something I wrote: [paste it]. Make it shorter and more direct. Keep the main point.
Ask it to push back on your thinking.
Write a plan or recommendation. Ask what you are missing or how this could go wrong.
Try this
Here's a plan I'm considering: [describe it]. What am I probably underestimating? What would someone who disagreed say?
How to Build a Copilot Agent
Step-by-step: open Agent Builder, paste your specification, test, then share.
Exact menus depend on how IT enables agents for your tenant. Use this as the click path wherever your org’s Copilot entry point lives.
Open Agent Builder (desktop browser)
- Go to microsoft365.com/chat.
- In the left menu, click Agents, then New agent, then Skip to configure.
- Work on the Configure tab first, then Try it to test, then Create to save.
If you do not see Agents or New agent, ask IT which surface is approved for your group.
Configure tab — what goes where
Paste workshop output into the matching fields: Description (short overview), Instructions (the full system prompt — role, tone, output shape, what never to invent, how to flag missing inputs), Conversation starters (suggested first messages), and Knowledge (SharePoint files or folders the agent may read).
Test before you share
On the Try it tab, run the workshop test prompts (or your architect’s Testing plan). Edit Instructions if the agent invents facts or skips required sections. Treat published agents like internal tools — share broadly only after a pass with real inputs.
Ready to go deeper? Building agents in Copilot curriculum →
Official guidance: AI at MillerKnoll.
The next move
The prompts above are the right starting point. The skill that makes all of them work better is specificity, real context, something you can actually use.
Review before you send, especially when the output sounds confident.
MillerKnoll AI · 2026