Navigate Microsoft Copilot Chat
Microsoft Copilot Chat offers a UI designed to boost productivity and facilitate learning in both professional and educational settings. Users can identify their protection status by the enterprise data protection shield icon in the interface. The navigation menu provides quick access to tools such as agents, Pages, Notebooks, and recent chats, while the main chat area offers suggested prompts to help users get started efficiently.
Important
Your experience with Microsoft Copilot may differ from what is presented in this training based on your version. See What Copilot License do I have? for reference.
The Copilot Chat interface
Chat generally includes these areas:
| Area | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Navigation menu | Start a new conversation, search past chats, browse pinned or suggested agents, open notebooks, and revisit your chat history. |
| Main chat area | Enter a prompt, review suggested prompts to get started, and read Copilot's responses. |
| Status indicators | Near the top of the window, controls and icons show your current grounding mode, let you choose a response mode, and confirm your enterprise data protection status. |
Use these general areas as a guide as you explore Chat, since specific labels and layout can change with future updates.
Control access to work data
Copilot Chat uses one chat experience for prompts grounded in web or work data. In supported experiences, a Work IQ button appears near the top of the Chat window. Work data access is on by default. Use this button to turn access to your work data on or off without leaving the conversation.
- Work IQ on: Chat can use Work IQ to reason across organizational content that you have permission to access, such as files, emails, meetings, and calendar information.
- Work IQ off: Chat doesn't use Work IQ to ground its response. It can still use public web data, content you provide directly, and supported app context.
Check the Work IQ button before you enter a prompt so you know which information Chat can use. Regardless of the setting, your organization's permissions, privacy, and compliance controls continue to govern access to organizational content.
Note
The availability of the Work IQ button and the organizational content that Chat can use depend on your license, your organization's configuration, and where you access Chat. Without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, broad Work IQ grounding isn't available, but Chat can still use content you provide and supported app context. Copilot Chat in Outlook may provide access to additional supported organizational content.
Chat in three steps
- Enter your prompt: Type your request in the prompt box, and then select Send or press Enter.
- Review the response: Check the response and review any listed sources before you use the information.
- Continue the conversation: Ask a follow-up question or select a suggested prompt to refine the response.
Tip
To learn how to structure effective prompts, evaluate responses, and refine results through follow-up questions, see Write effective prompts to achieve optimal results.
Choose a response mode
By default, Chat uses Auto mode to select a model for your prompt. Use the model selector to choose Quick response for straightforward requests or Think deeper for complex questions that benefit from extended reasoning.
Manage your chat history
Chat saves your standard conversations so you can pick up where you left off. Knowing how to find, rename, and remove past chats helps you stay organized as your conversation history grows.
- Find a previous conversation: Select the Conversations icon in the navigation menu, then use the search bar to enter keywords from a previous prompt or response.
- Rename a conversation: Select the three-dot menu (⋯) next to a chat title, select Rename, and enter a name that reflects its purpose — for example, Q3 budget summary.
- Delete a conversation: Select the three-dot menu (⋯) next to a chat title, select Delete, and confirm. The conversation no longer appears in your history or search results.
Tip
Use specific keywords, like project names or task phrases, to narrow your search when locating a previous conversation.