Best practices for Copilot Cowork

To work efficiently with Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork, give clear instructions. Use these best practices to help tasks complete smoothly, avoid duplicate actions, and improve the accuracy of results.

Work efficiently

• Be specific: A request like "Email Sarah about the Q2 review tomorrow at 2pm" works better than "Send that email."
• Plan for task complexity: Allow extra time for complex tasks like building a deck, research across multiple sources like email and Teams, or scheduling large meetings.
• Monitor progress during longer tasks: Use the real-time progress indicators to track activity. If steps are updating, Cowork is actively processing your request. Retry only if progress stops for 60 or more seconds.
• Review before approving actions: Before you send emails, post to Teams, or create calendar events, review previews for accuracy before you approve.
• Set up recurring tasks: For tasks that you do frequently, just say "do this every morning," and Cowork sets it up automatically.

When things don't progress as expected

If you notice:	Try this:
"I couldn't access X" message	The specific source was unavailable. Cowork tells you what it found versus what it couldn't reach. Try again in a few minutes.
Card or file doesn't appear initially	Ask: "Where's my file?" Cowork locates and re-delivers it.
Totally stuck/No response	Refresh the session and re-submit.