Today, I will explore Outlook Automation Draft Emails and email coaching. I will also Summarize and schedule meeting invitations using Copilot in Outlook. Microsoft 365 Copilot is combined into general Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It offers a regular user experience on these platforms with a shared design language for prompts, improvements, and commands.
Copilot in Outlook is a powerful tool for making your email management process more efficient. It can summarise lengthy email threads, saving you time and effort. Furthermore, Copilot can respond quickly to any suggestion, like drafting an email, and efficiently clear the inbox in minutes rather than spending hours sifting over emails.
In this post, I will go through the possibilities of copilot in Outlook and its features. Copilot applies large language models (LLMs) and Outlook data to improve workplace efficiency.
A Microsoft Copilot subscription can help you develop your work productivity and creativity. It offers enhanced implementation, necessary access to GPT, and faster AI image creation with Microsoft Designer.
Table of Contents
Outlook Automation Draft Emails using Copilot in Outlook
Copilot in Outlook currently only supports work or school accounts and Microsoft accounts using outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, and msn.com email addresses. Any Microsoft account using Gmail, Yahoo, or iCloud, can still use Outlook but won’t have access to the Copilot features.
Copilot in Outlook |
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Microsoft 365 |
Windows and Web |
Mac |
Android and iOS |
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Outlook for Windows and Web
In Outlook for Windows and Web, I will explain how to draft an email with a simple prompt, use email coaching, summarize an email thread, and schedule a meeting invitation from an email discussion in Outlook.
Draft Emails Summarise Schedule Meeting Invitations using Copilot in Outlook
Drafting in Outlook for Microsoft 365 is now available in the new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the Web, classic Outlook for Windows and Outlook.com.
In Outlook, you first select New Mail in the Home. Then, select the Copilot icon from the toolbar to start a new message.
- Select Draft with Copilot from the drop-down menu, which is situated at the top ribbon.
- In the Copilot box, type your prompt.
Select Generate options to choose your desired length and tone, which is given in the drop-down menu.
Copilot will draft a message for you.
- Review the message. If it’s not exactly what you want, do one of the following:
- To create a new version, choose Regenerate draft.
- To start over, change your prompt and select Generate again.
- When you’re satisfied with the result, select Keep.
You can edit the draft as needed and then select Send.
Note: In New Outlook and web versions of Outlook, Draft with Copilot doesn’t support messages composed in plain text format. To compose messages in HTML instead of plain text, go to Settings > Mail > Compose and reply. Select HTML from the dropdown.
Email Coaching with Copilot in Outlook
If you want to write an important email and ensure it conveys your intended message well, you can use Copilot in Outlook. You will receive valuable ideas on adjusting the tone, clarity, and reader sentiment before hitting send.
To use coaching, write a message with more than 100 characters and select Coaching by Copilot in the toolbar. Copilot will review and enhance your message.
- In Outlook, select Home > New Mail > Mail. Type your email message.
- Select the Copilot icon from the toolbar. Choose Coaching by Copilot from the drop-down menu.
- Copilot will review your email and suggest improving the tone, clarity, and reader sentiment.
- If you have any suggestions, include them in the draft. When you’re complete, send your email.
Summarize an Email Thread with Copilot in Outlook
In Outlook, select the email conversation for which you want to summarise.
- Select Summary by Copilot (or Summarize) at the top of the email thread. Copilot will scan the thread for key points and create a summary of the email.
- The summary will appear at the top of the email.
- It includes numbered references linked to specific emails in the thread when selected.
Schedule a Meeting Invitation from an Email in Outlook
When you use the Schedule with Copilot option, Copilot goes through the email and sends you a meeting invitation. It fills in the meeting title and agenda and attaches the email thread. The people on the email thread have been added as meeting attendees. You can then quickly check the invitation, make any changes, and send it out.
Note: This feature is only available if you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot (Work) license.
- Open an email conversation in Outlook.
- Select Schedule with Copilot from the toolbar.
- If you agree with Copilot’s suggested content, select Insert (you can edit it in the next step if needed).
- Examine the meeting invitation, make any changes you want, and select Send.
Copilot in Outlook for Mac
The Copilot for Microsoft 365 feature is currently accessible in the latest version of Outlook for Mac. Legacy versions of Outlook do not get this feature.
- In Outlook, select New Message.
- To start a new message, select the Copilot icon from the toolbar.
- Select Draft with Copilot from the drop-down menu.
- In the Copilot box, type your prompt and select Generate. Copilot will draft a message.
- Review the message. If it’s not what you want, choose Regenerate draft, and Copilot will create a new version.
- To change the tone and length of the output:
- Select Neutral to see a list of options.
- Select Short to change the length.
- Change your prompt and select Generate again.
When you’re satisfied, select Insert. You can edit the draft as needed and then select Send.
Copilot in Outlook for iOS and Android
On your iOS or Android device, select New Mail. Use the Copilot icon in the toolbar to compose a new message. You should choose either Draft with Copilot to create a message from scratch or Coaching by Copilot for assistance with your message.
- Type your prompt in the box if you selected Draft with Copilot.
- When you hit the arrow, Copilot will create a message to review.
- You can then select Options to adjust the tone and length according to your preferences.
- Choose Keep It if you are OK with the content or Discard to start over.
- You can Regenerate for an entirely new version.
- You can edit the text directly or input a custom suggestion in the prompt box for further customisation.
- Then, select Generate for an updated draft and repeat this.
- Edit the draft further if needed, or hit Send your message.
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Author
Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP for 10 consecutive years from 2015 onwards. He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM, Windows, Cloud PC, Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc.